September 26, 2020

We are thankful that Cedar Haven has continued to remain COVID-free for some time. It has been over 2.5 months since we have had a case of COVID-19 at our facility. On behalf of the management team, we would like to extend our heart-felt thanks and immense appreciation for our team’s hard work and dedication at Cedar Haven during this prolonged pandemic. Please join us in thanking them and congratulating them on their valuable contributions to resident safety, wellbeing, and happiness at Cedar Haven during this period.

Cedar Haven has invested in a rapid-testing system that will improve testing time and we are currently training our staff on how to use this new tool.  During the month of September, we enjoyed more themed days designed for our residents’ and team’s enjoyment—including Baseball day, Football day, and even a “Red” themed day complete with an entire menu of red food items. Our creative team is cooking up some other ideas to keep fall fun and festive. We are maintaining strict infection control procedures and measures in order to continue protecting our residents and team.

Our in-person visitations for “Green Floors” have begun and have been successful. It has been a joy to reconnect many residents with their loved ones in-person in a safe manner. These offerings will expand to include Saturday appointment times beginning on October 3^rd. You can continue to review the visitation guidelines and request a visit appointment on our website at https://cedarhaven.healthcare/visits/ (the form has been updated to include an option for requesting a Saturday appointment). Additionally, video calls can still be requested as part of our ongoing Resident Care Connection program by visiting https://cedarhaven.healthcare/video. Unfortunately, residents currently residing on 1D are still not able to accept in-person visitors at this time due to the “Yellow status” of their floor, where residents isolate for a period of time after admission from the hospital or an outside medical appointment. All other floors are considered “Green” at this time.

Thank you all for your continued understanding and adherence to the critical protocols that are meant to maintain the safety of our residents. From all of us at Cedar Haven, we wish you a healthy and happy Fall filled with your favorite parts of the season.

August 27, 2020

We are thankful to report that we still do not have any positive cases of COVID-19 among our resident population. One resident was recently tested and the test results were negative for COVID-19.

Cedar Haven is also pleased to announce that visitation is reopening for residents residing on “Green status” floors. Unfortunately, residents currently residing on 1D are still not able to accept visitors at this time due to the “Yellow status” of this floor, where residents isolate for a period of time after admission from the hospital or an outside medical appointment. All other floors are considered “Green” at this time and will now be able to accommodate visitation. It has been a long time since our residents have been able to safely visit with their families and loved ones in person and we are all looking forward to the joyful reunions to come.

It is vitally important that visitation is conducted in a safe manner. All visitors will be screened upon arrival. The screening will include a temperature check and questions about known exposure to COVID-19, symptoms, out-of-state travel, and your willingness to adhere to new visitation rules. You can view the survey here. If the survey identifies a risk for the health of our residents, you will be asked to reschedule for a later date. All visitors will be required to follow all current visitation rules (see below). We thank you in advance for your commitment to these mandatory measures which protect our vulnerable residents.

Cedar Haven Visitation Rules (as of 8/27/20):

1. Visitation is by appointment only. Please request a visitation appointment by filling out this form on our website.
2. Face masks must be worn at all times.
3. Only 2 visitors per resident are permitted at this time during each visit.
4. Stay seated, do not stand up during your visit. You must maintain 6 feet of social distancing throughout your visit.
5. Children under 2 years of age are not permitted to visit at this time. Children over 2 years of age must wear a mask and be properly managed by an adult visitor. Children must also maintain strict social distancing (6 feet).
6. Resident and visitor physical contact is not permitted at any time during the visit. No food or drinks are permitted in the visiting area.
7. Follow all instructions given by the Cedar Haven Visitor Monitor. Failure to do so will result in being directed to leave the visit.
8. Your visit will be timed due to the need to facilitate visits for many of our residents. Please cooperate and leave when you are instructed to do so.
9. Visitation will occur in designated visit areas except for when residents receiving hospice care require a visit take place in their room.

Please keep in mind that these visitation rules for this stage of reopening are subject to change at the discretion of our healthcare management team. Please also note that we will continue to offer video calls for family members who would like to schedule a time to speak with their loved one in that manner. As always, you can request a video call here. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

August 20, 2020 UPDATE

Cedar Haven has not had a positive case of COVID-19 among our resident population in 6 weeks. We are continuing to utilize PPE and practice strict infection control procedures and policies to protect our residents. One CNA employed by Cedar Haven Healthcare Center has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating at home. Eight other staff members were recently tested due to related symptoms of illness experienced by either themselves or family members. Thankfully, all eight tested negative for COVID. Despite their negative test results, they will not return to Cedar Haven until permitted by our infection control team. This week, one resident was transferred to 1D (our isolation unit) due to temperature and tremors. This resident’s signs and symptoms subsided quickly and the test was negative. Cedar Haven has invested in an in-house rapid testing system that we plan to begin utilizing at the end of the month. We are continuing to review potential reopening plans and will publish these as soon as they are finalized and approved. Thank you for your continued support and understanding during this unusual time.

August 11, 2020 UPDATE

Cedar Haven has not had a positive case of COVID-19 among our resident population for the past 5 weeks. Our last positive staff member case occurred 4 weeks ago. As of Friday, 8/7/20, one staff member was self-isolating and awaiting test results.

Cedar Haven is currently assessing and reviewing our Implementation Plan for Reopening, which will be published on our website upon its completion. With the exception of our established isolation unit (which since March has been utilized to mitigate risk associated with new admissions and residents who must leave the facility for dialysis and other medically necessary reasons), all other areas of our facility are deemed “green zones.” Our isolation unit, though it is COVID-free, is still regarded as a “yellow zone.” That means that new admissions and any residents who may have experienced an ER visit or outside consult are subject to a 14-day assessment period within the yellow zone in order to protect the rest of our population from potential exposure. Once the assessment period is complete, those residents are free to matriculate into the other areas within the building.

We are continuing to host a large number of video calls each week with family members and specialist medical providers as part of our Resident Care Connection and Telehealth program. Our robust Telehealth Program, powered by SAGE Health, continues to connect residents with specialists in Psychiatry, Cardiology, Digestive Health, Neurology, and more. This secure technology ensures that our residents receive safe and convenient specialist care without delay. Our Resident Care Connection program facilitates calls with family members and has received ongoing positive feedback such as this recent comment: “(I enjoyed) being able to see mom. Knowing that she’s well cared for gives me peace of mind…The girls are so considerate!” If you are a family member who desires to schedule a video call, please request a time slot at https://cedarhaven.healthcare/video.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our residents, team, and facility. We will continue to update our website when there are new changes in status and/or when our Implementation Plan for Reopening is available for publication.

July 16, 2020 UPDATE

Cedar Haven saw our first confirmed case of COVID-19 on June 3rd and were able to contain the impact of the virus to one floor (1C). Our team’s preventative measures ensured that it did not spread further throughout the rest of the building, as we have shared in previous updates. After an exposure event, 2D also underwent extensive testing, however, no residents tested positive on that floor. We have no current cases of COVID-19 among our resident population. Our Infection Control Director has announced that since the isolation period on 2D has expired, that floor can move from red to green status within our building. We are also pleased to announce that the resident isolation and incubation period on 1C has also expired without further cases. We applaud our team’s extraordinary efforts and outcomes.

At this time, green status still requires visitation restrictions, daily temperature checks and symptom surveys among staff, the use of N95 masks, and the limitation of staff between various areas of the building in order to continue to protect our vulnerable residents from further exposure. We thank you for your understanding and compliance with the important policies that have been put in place to keep our residents and team safe. If you are missing visits with your loved one, we would also encourage you to utilize our ongoing Resident Care Connection video call service by requesting a time for a call with one of our residents at https://cedarhaven.healthcare/video.

Staffing has been a challenge for all long-term facilities during the pandemic, but our staffing continues to improve as we now have identified more RNs and other licensed staff required for our current schedule. Additionally, the state approved our unique 80-hour in-house CNA training course so that we can continue to train new staff for CNA duties far above and beyond the minimum requirements set by the state during the pandemic (these Nursing Assistant Trainees will receive 10 times the state minimum required training time for Temporary Nursing Assistants). Our classes have been well received and generally have a waiting list for applicants to join our training group.

We will continue to update our website as changes in status or new cases occur and thank you for your ongoing support of our residents and team.

July 3, 2020 UPDATE

It has now been three-and-a-half months since the pandemic began, our visitation was restricted, and our initial precautionary measures were put into place. Our visitation restrictions and enhanced infection control procedures remain fully in place and we continue to connect our residents with their families, friends and medical professionals via video calls. Our team has worked incredibly hard to mitigate further spread of COVID-19 within our facility after it was first confirmed within our community in early June. At this point in time, we are happy to report that over 50% of the 30 team members who tested positive with the virus have now been cleared to return to work after taking the necessary precautions. We continue to follow state and federal guidelines and recommendations related to training new staff to join our team and have continued to offer above and beyond the minimum requirements set forth by the Department of Health. We are thankful that our full 3.5 week Nursing Assistant Trainee course will resume this month.

Ten days ago we saw one additional resident confirmed with COVID-19 but have otherwise not seen any new resident cases since our last update. Sadly, however, over the past two weeks there have been an additional three deaths among residents confirmed with COVID-19 and two resident deaths that are suspected to be related to COVID-19. One of these deaths did not occur at the facility but took place in a local hospital. All of us at Cedar Haven offer our sincere condolences to the family-members and friends of these residents during this difficult time. We want to thank all of our dedicated staff for their hard work and the personal sacrifices they have made during this historic period that has been thrust upon all of us in Central PA. We truly are all in this together and we appreciate your ongoing support of our residents and team of healthcare heroes.

June 22, 2020 UPDATE

We are thankful to report that Cedar Haven has not seen any confirmed cases of COVID-19 among our residents for ten days. We are continuing testing in order to mitigate further risk and spreading of the virus. Thankfully 16 of the residents with COVID-19 have been asymptomatic and all impacted residents with the exception of one have been located on the same floor. It is with heavy hearts, however, that we announce that our facility has experienced a total of four resident deaths due to COVID-19. All of us at Cedar Haven offer our sincere and heartfelt condolences to their families and loved ones during this difficult time. 26 of our staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 to date though approximately half of those staff members were both exposed and tested outside of Cedar Haven. All impacted staff are following strict quarantine requirements before returning to work. We want to thank our team for their rigorous efforts and commitment to our residents and also thank our community for the ongoing support during this truly unprecedented time.

June 14, 2020 UPDATE

After several months of remaining COVID-free, Cedar Haven saw its first positive case of COVID-19 confirmed on June 3rd. We implemented widespread testing efforts which have confirmed an increasing number of COVID cases, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, despite the rigorous precautions that have been in place since mid-March. As of June 14th, we now have 30 positive cases among our residents and suspect that 8 more may also have been impacted. Of the 30 confirmed cases, 13 are asymptomatic. Thankfully, these cases are not widely distributed throughout our facility. All but one of these confirmed or suspected cases appeared on the same unit (1C), while the other impacted resident was on 3C and has now been moved from that floor. To date, 23 Cedar Haven staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, 11 of which were asymptomatic at the time of testing. Our team has been working hard to follow guidelines put in place by health officials and experts to mitigate the further spread of the virus to other units within the building. Cedar Haven has also been working to reprioritize and reallocate our team in order to care for the immediate essential needs of our residents. Our first priority and absolute commitment now and always is to provide high-quality and compassionate care for our residents. We will continue to update the website as we receive additional information. We appreciate your patience and support.

June 10, 2020 UPDATE

Cedar Haven has now received confirmation that eight total residents at our facility have tested positive for COVID-19. These confirmed instances have all appeared on one floor (1C) and all affected residents have been moved to our dedicated isolation wing where they are receiving care in a safe setting in order to limit further exposure on that floor. We suspect that two additional residents may possibly have COVID-19 and are awaiting test results. Our team is working hard to facilitate widespread testing among our staff and residents. We are also actively working to set up additional remote COVID-related care opportunities with local experts via telehealth. Please know that we are dedicated to remaining transparent and sharing updates as often as possible as we receive more information. Our team is reaching out to families directly if their loved ones are suspected or diagnosed with COVID-19. Our first priority and absolute commitment is to provide high-quality and compassionate care for our residents. We appreciate your ongoing support of our facility during this time. Please remember to use our website to request a video call with your loved ones (https://cedarhaven.healthcare/video) and continue to visit this webpage for additional updates.

June 8, 2020 UPDATE

As you are most likely aware, Pennsylvania now has had over 80,000 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and Lebanon County has now seen over 1,000 confirmed cases. We began preparing for the impact of this pandemic upon our facility in early March, as we have outlined in detail in earlier communications, when we began checking staff temperatures twice a day and implementing other strict infection control precautions. Cedar Haven has now received confirmation that two residents at our facility have tested positive for COVID-19. These instances all appeared on one floor (1C). Several more residents are currently being tested and we are awaiting the results. We have taken measures to isolate residents who are positive with COVID-19 in order to protect our other residents during this challenging time. Our administrative team created an isolation wing ahead of time so that we could swiftly implement this measure for the safety of our residents and team should we see confirmed cases among our resident population. Any impacted resident who moves to the isolation wing will receive high-quality, compassionate care in that dedicated unit. Please know that we are dedicated to remaining transparent and sharing updates as quickly as possible. Please continue to visit our webpage to receive additional updates. Thank you for your ongoing support and patience during this unprecedented set of circumstances.

June 4, 2020 UPDATE – Edited at 5:20pm EST

We are very thankful for our administrative and clinical teams and for how they have thoughtfully and carefully navigated our first confirmed case of COVID-19 among our staff, which we learned of yesterday (6/3/20) as announced below. Since yesterday, two additional team-members have tested positive for COVID-19. All three of these individuals were exposed to persons outside of the facility with COVID-19. All team-members who have tested positive are self-isolating at home for the prescribed amount of time and will be required to take a second test before returning to work. No residents at Cedar Haven have tested positive for COVID-19 to date.  Our strict infection control guidelines which have been in place for months (including taking staff temperatures twice a day, heightened housekeeping protocol, and the use of PPE) will continue. The safety and well-being of our residents and staff is our top priority. Thank you for your ongoing support during this time.

June 3, 2020 UPDATE

It has now been several months since we first put cautionary measures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In early March, Cedar Haven Healthcare Center quickly adopted best practices as recommended by the CDC, CMS, PADOH, and our own administrator and infection control director. Visitation was restricted, PPE was required for all and a new isolation wing with dedicated staff was established for new admissions and anyone who was symptomatic. We immediately increased housekeeping routines to include disinfection of surfaces multiple times per day. We also limited the possibility for cross-community spread by requiring staff to cease working at outside facilities affected by COVID-19. Employee temperatures have been taken at the beginning of the shift and a health questionnaire has been completed by each staff member entering the building since the pandemic began. To alleviate resident and family anxiety or sadness at not being able to visit in person, we implemented a video conference option so families could see and speak with their loved ones. We have also launched a full telehealth program so that residents can receive remote specialist care without risking outside exposure.

On June 3rd, a Cedar Haven staff-member tested positive for COVID-19, which leads us to report our first positive case to date. This employee was immediately quarantined at home.

While we have tested any resident or staff member exhibiting or reporting any symptoms associated with this virus since the beginning of the pandemic, we are now putting new measures in place. In light of our one positive case, this week we are implementing more wide-spread testing among those who might have had contact with the employee, regardless of the presence of symptoms. Additional screening processes and heightened disinfection procedures are in place throughout the building as we make every effort to contain any spread.

Please check back for updates on this webpage and rest assured that we are continuing to implement the highest level of precautions to protect our residents and staff. Thank you for your continued support and adherence to necessary protocol during this unprecedented time.

The Cedar Haven Management Team

May 22, 2020 UPDATE

We are happy to report that Cedar Haven remains COVID-Free at this time. As you know, the number of Coronavirus cases in Lebanon County has climbed substantially and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as well as our local Department of Health officials are monitoring the situation closely. Thankfully, our residents and staff have remained safe in part due to the heroic efforts of our team to maintain infection control protocols and precautions.

You can always view our current policies and the precautions we put in place to protect our residents on this web page (https://cedarhaven.healthcare/coronavirus), which will we keep up-to-date:

All Non-Essential Visitation is Still Restricted Until Further Notification

It is in the best interest of our residents to stop all non-essential visitation to our facility.

Video Call Technology at Cedar Haven

We are proud to announce that our “Resident Care Connection” and Telehealth program has been well received and utilized by many of our residents and their loved ones. We have conducted over 150 video calls over the last month! Families interested in coordinating a video call with their loved ones can request a planned meeting time at https://cedarhaven.healthcare/video.

Telehealth for Specialist Care

Cedar Haven has also been offering numerous telemedicine opportunities for our residents that allow them to continue to access additional specialist care without being exposed to unnecessary risk of exposure to COVID-19. To date, our residents have received assisted Telehealth services that have directly connected them to specialists in psychiatry, neurology, endocrinology, orthopedics, and more, without leaving the comfort or safety of their rooms! These events are powered by SAGE Health, which enables the secure transmission of private health care information to the provider office.

Screening

We continue to conduct required screening for all personnel and vendors as they come into our building, which involves signing a form to attest to screening criteria as well as temperature checks conducted multiple times a day. For residents who require hospitalization, we have provided a safe, comfortable, and separated area of our building where they can return to Cedar Haven and wait 14 days before matriculating back into their usual living quarters. This policy, and all of our current procedures, are designed to proactively keep our residents safe and lower risk of exposure for those who call our facility home.

We cannot say at this time how long these restrictions and policies will be in effect. Our clinical team will continue to monitor this evolving situation and will consider the necessity of this policy moving forward as new information becomes available. In the interest of protecting our vulnerable residents and our staff, please continue to adhere fully to these policies. As you know, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) can severely impact the elderly or those with chronic health conditions.

Social Distancing Activities

Our Therapeutic Recreation Department has been creative and proactive in leading a number of fun activities for residents that are designed to keep them safe and smiling. For example, they are using our television broadcast system to run live bingo games that can be enjoyed from each resident room.

Our social distancing dance parades in the hallways have continued to be enjoyed by all.

Please continue to check back for new updates. Thank you for your continued support during this time!

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