Updates: July 22
| Menorah Park COVID-19 Status – Updated July 22, 2020 | Status |
| JH ResidentsONSITEtesting positive for COVID-19 and moved to dedicated COVID unit | 0 |
| JH Residents tested positive for COVID-19 and transferred to outside facilities | 0 |
| JH ResidentsONSITE RECOVEREDand transferred off of the dedicated COVID-19 unit | 9 |
| JH ResidentsRECOVEREDand transferred back from outside facilities (as of5/29) | 11 |
| Number of nursing units impacted | 0 |
| JH ResidentsONSITE under investigation for COVID-19 symptoms | 0 |
| Resident deaths ONSITE due to COVID-19 | 9 |
| Resident deaths at outside facilities after testing positive for COVID-19 | 5 |
| Staff members ONSITEtesting positive for COVID-19 | 0 |
| Staff members positive for COVID-19, SELF-QUARANTINED | 1 |
| Total # of resident positive COVID 19 cases (as of April 29) | 34 |
| Total # of staff positive COVID-19 cases ( as of May 1) | 43 |
At this time Menorah Park has no other confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our campus which includes the Terrace, the Inn, and the Oaks.
Family Visits
Jewish Home
We apologize for the recent confusion regarding visitation for Jewish Home residents. To clarify: we continue to offer “Drive-up” visits to residents and their family members as we have been doing for the last several weeks.
We are also working on a plan to offer visits in which family members will be able to get out of their vehicles to visit with their loved one per NYSDOH’s July 10th executive order. This order encourages socially distanced, outdoor visits but also allows for indoor visits in a designated common area of the building in the event of inclement weather.
Due to a new employee positive case at the Jewish Home, we will not be able to offer this until early August as we are required to have a 28-day period without a positive staff or resident COVID test.
With the addition of drive-up visits, the volume of facilitated visits has significantly increased, requiring additional effort and time on the part of Syracuse Jewish Family Service staff. For this reason and in the spirit of fairness to all of the residents residing in the entire building, only one weekly visit (whether virtual or a drive-up) with family can be scheduled.
If there are multiple family members who wish to have a visit, please coordinate this with the lead family member (the designated primary contact) by determining who will participate in each weekly visit. This will enable SJFS staff to spend more time on the actual visits and less time coordinating with different family members.
The Inn
Beginning July 24, Inn families can schedule in-person or virtual visits. Jacki Gerace-O’Brien is facilitating these visits this week but will be transitioning into the Jewish Home starting on Monday, July 27th. More information will be forthcoming with regard to the contact person for scheduling Inn visits after this week.
Keeping Residents and Staff Safe
The local media has recently reported about the nationwide delay in the processing of test results affecting healthcare facilities and the general public throughout the CNY region. This leaves us in the position of relying on the most recent test information available.
The safety and well-being of our residents and staff is our top priority While the testing processing is out of our control, what IS in our control is continued diligence on the part of our staff to wear PPE, continue to submit to mandatory weekly testing and refrain from traveling to any states restricted by NYS. Menorah Park continues to monitor staff and residents for signs and symptoms. And we continue to test any residents who were exposed to a known positive COVID resident and/or staff member.
Now, as we gradually open our doors to families, we cannot emphasize enough how important infection control measures are for all of us, including families. This includes wearing masks, washing hands, and adhering to proper social distancing. These are the measures that will help us collectively reduce the spread of this virus and protect our most vulnerable.