Update for 2/25/21:

We have had 3 new residents and 1 additional staff member test positive for COVID since my last entry. Unfortunately I must also report to you that we had 1 resident pass away. Also unfortunately, we will not be able to open visitation for another 2 weeks due to the COVID positive test results from this week. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold. The local and State Department of Health have been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 2/22/21:

We have had 5 new residents and no additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. Unfortunately I must also report to you that we had 2 residents pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health have been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 2/9/21:

We have had 5 new residents and 2 additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. Unfortunately I must also report to you that we had 1 resident pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health have been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 2/3/21:

We have had 7 new residents and 0 additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health have been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 1/23/21:
We have had 1 new resident and 6 additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. We are now removing many residents and staff from isolation and they are now considered resolved. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had 2 residents pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 1/12/21:

We have had 31 new residents and 16 additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. We are now removing many residents and staff from isolation and they are now considered resolved. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had 4 residents pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Gift giving guidelines for the holiday season

We will be accepting gifts for residents during the holiday season. All gifts need to be sealed and labeled with the residents’ name. If you are bringing them to Elcor, the gifts need to be placed in between the doors at the Maple Creek building. If mailed, the postal service is aware of the procedure. If you are sending in clothes, or other items that need to be labeled, please indicate on the top of the package. If you have any questions, please call 607-739-0304 ext. 269.

Update for 12/30/20:

We have had 10 new residents and 3 additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. We are now removing many residents and staff from isolation and they are now considered resolved. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had 3 residents pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/24/20:

We have had 3 new residents and 4 additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry.
We are now removing many residents and staff from isolation and they are now considered resolved.
Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had 3 residents pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/21/20:

We have not had any new residents or additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. We are now removing many residents and staff from isolation and they are now considered resolved. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had 1 resident pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/16/20:

We had 2 new residents and 1 additional staff member test positive for COVID since my last entry. We are now removing many residents and staff from isolation and they are now considered resolved.
Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had 2 residents pass away, not necessarily due to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/14/20:

We had no new residents and 1 additional staff member test positive for COVID since my last entry. We are now removing many residents and staff from isolation and they are now considered resolved.
Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had 5 residents pass away, not necessarily due to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/11/20:
We had no new residents and no additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry.
We are now removing many residents and staff from isolation and they are now considered resolved. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had 2 residents pass away, not necessarily due to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/10/20:

We had 1 new resident and 3 additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry.
Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we also had 2 residents pass away, not necessarily due to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/9/20:

We had 2 new residents and no additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry.
Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we also had 2 residents pass away, not necessarily due to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/6/20:

We had 1 new resident and 9 additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we also had 2 residents pass away, not necessarily due to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/4/20:

We had no new residents and no additional staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we also had 2 residents pass away, not necessarily due to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/3/20:

We had 30 residents and 8 more staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. The residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor and the employees are on isolation at home.

Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we also had 4 residents pass away, not all necessarily due to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 12/1/20:

We had 4 residents and 6 more staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. The residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor and the employees are on isolation at home. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we also had 2 resident pass away, not all necessarily due to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

11/30/20 Call Em All Message to Families:

Hi this is Ed Linsler from Elcor,

I’m calling to let families and residents know that we have had 1 additional resident and 5 staff members test positive for COVID since my last call to you. The residents are on isolation at Elcor and the employees are on isolation at home. Unfortunately I must also report to you that we had 3 residents pass away, not all necessarily related to complications from COVID. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

Update for 11/27/20:

We had 3 residents and 30 more staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. The residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor and the employees are on isolation at home. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we also had 1 resident pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 11/25/20:

We had 52 residents and 14 more staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. The residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor and the employees are on isolation at home. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we also had 1 resident pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 11/24/20:

We had 5 residents and 19 more staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. The residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor and the employees are on isolation at home. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had 1 resident pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 11/23/20:

We had 3 residents and 1 more staff member test positive for COVID since my last entry. The residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor and the employees are on isolation at home. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report that we had a resident pass away. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support for Elcor.

Update for 11/18/20:

We had 15 more residents and 3 more staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. The employees are on isolation at home and the residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

Update for 11/17/20:

We had 8 more residents and 2 more staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. The employees are on isolation at home and the residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

Update for 11/16/20:

We had 4 more residents and 7 more staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. The employees are on isolation at home and the residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

Update for 11/15/20:

We had 2 more residents and 3 more staff members test positive for COVID since my last entry. The employees are on isolation at home and the residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

Update for 11/13/20:

We had 6 more residents test positive for COVID since my last entry.  Unfortunately, one of the newly diagnosed residents passed away, however we do not believe it was a result of contracting COVID.  All the other positive residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor.  We had no new positive test results for employees.  We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID.  We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice.  The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID.  Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns.  Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

Update for 11/12/20:
We had 2 more residents and 1 more staff member test positive for COVID since my last entry. The employee is on isolation at home and the residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

Update for 11/10/20:

We had 3 more residents and 5 more staff test positive for COVID since my last entry. All the employees are on isolation at home and the residents have been placed on isolation at Elcor. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We will continue testing all residents and staff and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

Update for 11/9/20:

We had 3 more residents and 4 more staff test positive for COVID since my last entry. Two have been sent to the hospital and the others have been isolated off the unit. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We also have two more staff members test positive and they have been isolated at home. We will continue testing all residents and staff, increase cleaning and sanitizing and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

Update for 11/6/20:

We had 8 residents on one unit and 1 resident on another unit test positive for COVID. Two have been sent to the hospital and the others have been isolated off the unit. We will continue to monitor all residents for signs/symptoms of COVID. We also have two more staff members test positive and they have been isolated at home. We will continue testing all residents and staff, increase cleaning and sanitizing and visitation remains on hold until further notice. The local and State Department of Health has been notified and we continue to follow all CDC and State guidelines for COVID. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support of Elcor.

11/4/20

Just another update:

We had one staff member’s COVID test come back positive today.  This employee tested last week and had a negative result.  This week we are testing all employees twice and all residents once.  We feel the risk of transmission is low however we continue to be on high alert in monitoring all staff and residents.  Elcor has been in contact with the local and state department of health and continuing to follow CDC and State guidelines for COVID.  Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns.  Thank you for your support as we continue to put up a united front to fight against COVID exposure in our facility.  Visitation remains on hold until further notice.

11/3/20

Just an update for you:

I’m saddened to announce that one of our former residents recently passed away at the hospital from complications of a COVID diagnosis. Prior to discharge from Elcor, the resident had tested negative and also tested negative upon admission to the hospital. Therefore, we believe there is little to no chance of transmission to anyone at Elcor. The resident’s family has been contacted and we wish to express our sincere condolences. Elcor has been in contact with the local and state Department of Health and continue to follow CDC and State guidelines for COVID. All staff and residents are being tested at least weekly. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your support as we continue to put up a united front to fight against COVID exposure in our facility. Visitation remains on hold until further notice.

10/26/20

We wanted to let families and residents know that we had one staff member’s COVID test come back positive yesterday. Elcor tested staff twice weekly last week and this employee’s test was negative earlier in the week and has not worked in the facility after their negative result. We feel the risk of transmission is low however we continue to be on high alert in monitoring all staff and residents.

We are saddened to announce that one of our residents who tested positive last week, passed away yesterday at the hospital as a result of a positive COVID diagnosis. The resident’s family has been contacted and we wish to express our sincere condolences. Elcor has been in contact with the local and state department of health and continuing to follow CDC and State guidelines for COVID. All staff and residents are being tested at least weekly. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. thank you for your support as We continue to put up a united front to fight against COVID exposure in our facility. Visitation remains on hold until further notice.

10/23/20

We wanted to let families and residents know that one resident has tested positive for COVID today, therefore visitation will remain suspended until further notice.  Our Elcor website is updated with current information in regards to COVID status at ELCOR.    The resident’s family has been contacted and appropriate precautions have been taken to avoid any exposure to our staff or residents at ELCOR.  We feel that the exposure should be minimal as the resident was already on Droplet precautions.    Elcor has been in contact with the local and state department of health and continuing to follow CDC and State guidelines for COVID.  We continue to test all staff and residents at least weekly. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns.  thank you for your support as We continue to put up a united front to fight against COVID exposure in our facility and our community.

10/16/20:

We wanted to let families and residents know that two residents have tested positive for COVID as of yesterday therefore visitation has been again suspended until further notice. Our Elcor website is updated with current information in regards to COVID status at ELCOR. The residents families have been contacted and appropriate precautions have been taken to avoid any exposure to our staff or residents at ELCOR. We feel that the exposure should be minimal as the residents were placed on Droplet precautions immediately. Elcor has been in contact with the local and state department of health and continuing to follow CDC and State guidelines for COVID. We have increased our testing for all staff and residents. Please feel free to call the nursing unit for your loved one with any questions or concerns. thank you for your support as We continue to put up a united front to fight against COVID exposure in our facility and our community.

10/5/20:

Dear Friends of Elcor,

Just an update:

We have two Elcor employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 during our routine weekly testing.  Take out next sentence that starts “We have Administered…. “  As required by law, the employee is on a 14 day quarantine.  We believe that the risk of exposure to other staff and residents is very low.  We are also taking all necessary precautions to protect all residents and staff and will follow all guidance from the CDC and the NYS Department of Health.  Unfortunately, one of the directives from the Department of Health is when an employee or resident tests positive, all visitation must be suspended for 14 days.  So at this point, we will not be having any in-person visitation, but will resume as soon as regulation allows.  As always, please feel free to call anytime with any questions.  Thank you.

9/22/20:

Just an update for you—we completed our second week of resident and employee testing last week and I’m happy to report that all results came back negative. This makes Elcor eligible to reopen family and friends visitation which will begin on Thursday, September 24 at our normal times and still located outside under the tents and requiring reservations. The one change is that all visitors will have to provide documentation of a COVID test within the last 7 days and obviously, with a negative result.

Thank you and as always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call anytime.

9/16/20—Update:

Since we had our employee test positive on September 4^th, we completed testing of all employees and all residents last week and I’m happy to report that all results were negative.  We’re working on another round of testing for everyone again this week.

As I’m sure you’ve heard, the NYS DOH has changed the number of days that visitation is suspended, after a facility has a positive employee, from 28 days to 14.  This will make Elcor eligible again for visitation sometime next week.  We have to have all our test results in, and all be negative, before we can begin.  We will begin taking reservations for visits beginning on Monday.  The other change in the visitation guidelines is that all visitors will have to produce documentation of a negative COVID-19 test result within the last 7 days prior to the date of visitation.  We will be requesting this at the screening table when you arrive.  All other screening processes will still be in place.  Thank you.

9/4/20
Dear Friends of Elcor,
Just an update:
We have an Elcor employee who has tested positive for COVID-19 during our routine weekly testing.
We have administered another test to rule out a false positive as the employee is asymptomatic and has
no known exposure. As required by law, the employee is on a 14 day quarantine. We believe that the
risk of exposure to other staff and residents is very low. We are also taking all necessary precautions to
protect all residents and staff and will follow all guidance from the CDC and the NYS Department of
Health. Unfortunately, one of the directives from the Department of Health is when an employee or
resident tests positive, all visitation must be suspended for 28 days. So at this point, we will not be
having any in-person visitation, but will resume as soon as regulation allows. As always, please feel free
to call anytime with any questions. Thank you.

July 12, 2020

Dear Friends of Elcor:

As I’m sure you have heard, the NYS Department of Health has issued guidelines to begin limited visitation for nursing home residents in NYS.  Due to Elcor’s COVID-free status throughout the pandemic, a deficiency-free NYS Infection Control Survey and our region’s status in Phase 3, we qualify to implement the visitation program.  We are currently working on the completion of all the requirements of the facility and will be submitting our plan to the Department of Health as soon as possible.  The implementation date is currently Wednesday, July 15 and we will do our best to be prepared for that date.  We will be issuing the specific guidelines on this website as soon as we have them completely established.  We do know at this time that visitation will be limited to outdoors, there will be a limit on the total number of visitors allowed per day, so therefore, all visits will need to be scheduled.

Thank you and we look forward to having all of you back at Elcor, and we appreciate your understanding and patience!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day!

We completed another COVID-19 testing of all employees on May 20th and 21st and the results that have come back to date are all negative. Beginning this week we will be testing all employees twice as required by the Governor’s Executive Order No. 202.30.

In response to ongoing requests to deliver items to residents, we will begin accepting boxed packages of non-perishable, non-refrigerated items for your loved ones. We will accept boxes at the Maple Creek entrance inside the first set of doors. Please make sure the boxes are clearly labeled with the resident’s name.

Thank you.

May 17, 2020

Update on our COVID-19 Testing:

As you know, we tested all employees last week and have been waiting for results. We did have an employee who has not been working at Elcor test positive. Over three weeks ago we removed this employee from work due to a suspicion of potential exposure in their personal contacts. As a precaution, we have not been allowing the employee to work, so the risk of exposure to residents and other staff was mitigated. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call anytime.

Thank you.

May 15, 2020

Hello Everyone,

It’s been a busy week testing residents and staff for COVID-19. All of the results returned thus far for residents are all negative and the minimal amount of staff results returned at this time are also negative. All great news. On Wednesday of next week, we plan to begin the mandatory testing of all staff again according to the Governor’s Executive Order from May 10, 2020. As I’m sure you are aware, this is a large undertaking and requires a tremendous amount of financial and human resources. I want to thank you for your patience and understanding during these difficult times and if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call anytime.

Thank you.

Just an update for Friday, May 8, 2020:

As we continue to progress through this COVID-19 pandemic, we are taking the next step to protect our residents and staff.  With the assistance of the Chemung County Health Department, we have been able to acquire enough of the COVID-19 PCR swab test kits to test all Elcor residents and staff, which we will begin on Monday May 11, 2020.

PCR testing involves nasopharyngeal swabbing and determines whether someone has an active infection and is shedding viral particles.  Persons with a positive or indeterminate PCR test are at risk of transmitting the disease.  Early identification and isolation of individuals affected with COVID 19 in high-risk settings (like Elcor) is the best means of preventing significant morbidity and mortality of vulnerable populations.

Thank you to everyone for your patience, understanding and cooperation during these difficult times.  As always, please call if you have any questions or concerns.

May 5, 2020

Dear Friends of Elcor:

We continue to be very happy and thankful that we have not had any positive cases of COVID-19 at Elcor to date. We are monitoring the local, regional and state-wide trends and are working closely with the local healthcare providers to assist each other during this pandemic. We are continuing all the safeguards that have been put in place and continuously monitor compliance.

In honor of, and with respect for the Mother’s Day holiday this week, we are going to allow flowers to be delivered to Elcor for this occasion. We ask that you only send flowers that are boxed so we can remove them from the box and discard the box before we deliver the flowers to the resident room. We will be having our Mother’s Day Tea in each building on a much smaller scale than normal. We are very sorry that you will not be able to spend quality time with your loved one inside the facility. If you have any “Happy Mother’s Day” videos or other types of communication, please send it to us and we’ll make sure your loved one receives/views it.

I again want to thank the Elcor Employees for their hard work, and dedication to the residents. These are very trying times and the level of stress in facilities like Elcor are at record highs. They have done a wonderful job handling the stress and keeping the routines for the resident as “normal” as possible. They have also taken on additional work that is inherent in an emergency like this.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day and as always, call if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you.

April 22, 2020

Dear Friends of Elcor:

As of the time that I write this letter, I am happy to report that Elcor does not have any confirmed cases of COVID-19.  I’m sure you are aware that that could change at any time, and if we have confirmed cases in our resident population, we will notify you as soon as possible.  If that does happen, we have a detailed plan in place to carefully care for them, while isolating them from the rest of the resident population.  At the current time, we have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for our staff and would use more extensive PPE for the staff caring for those positive cases.

I want you to know that our employees have done a wonderful job under these very stressful conditions.  Each day they leave their families and come to work at Elcor, which is also under very stressful conditions, to care for our residents without hesitation, to provide the necessary care and services.  Not only are they providing our normal care and services, they are also trying to fill the void created by our decision (and the Department of Health directive) to eliminate all visitation.  We know that we are not a replacement for our loving residents’ families, but the staff are doing their best to help with that void.

Thank you for your understanding and support through this Coronavirus crisis.  We will continue to do all we can to keep our residents and staff safe!  As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call anytime.

April 15, 2020

Just a mid-April update:
The most important news is that we still have not had any Elcor residents or staff with COVID-19. Every day that we can say that is an awesome accomplishment. We are continuing to make adjustments to our strategy as the situation progresses, and as the prevalence of the disease moves all around us. I’d like to thank all of the Elcor employees for their dedication to the care and services to the residents. Each day they leave their families and selflessly provide care to those entrusted to our care. Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support for our staff and residents.

April 1, 2020

Just an update: as the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to rise locally and in New York State, we continue to take all the necessary actions to keep our residents and staff safe. This week we will be implementing a “no-delivery to residents rule.” Effective Friday, April 3, 2020 at 8:00 AM, we will no longer allow food/groceries or clothing deliveries to the facility. If you currently launder your loved ones clothing, we will label it and begin to launder it at Elcor. Sorry for yet another inconvenience, but we believe it is necessary for the protection of the residents.

Thank you.

March 30, 2020

Dear Friends of Elcor:

As we continue our “no visitation” policy at Elcor, there are several confirmed COVID-19 cases in Chemung and Steuben County. This development has triggered a number of new precautions for us internally: all staff are now required to wear surgical masks any time they are in a resident care area or near a resident; all therapy will be done on the units except Hickory Knoll South will use the new gym; smaller numbers of residents will be eating in the Dining Rooms and; all residents are being asked to stay on their own units to prevent any co-mingling of residents from different units.

We are continuing to complete health screens on all employees as they report to work each day on each shift. The “no visitation rule” will obviously continue into the foreseeable future. We do not know when we will be able to allow resident visitation. I am so sorry about that, we know what an important role you play with our residents. I appreciate your understanding and support in these decisions.

We are committed to helping you stay in close contact with your loved ones. We have set up some technological communication capabilities and can, of course, still assist with phone conversations as well. If you believe a visit to Elcor is necessary, we request that you contact your loved one’s Social Worker.
Elcor is following the recommendations of the CDC on prevention steps, including following strict handwashing procedures, and in many circumstances, wearing gowns and gloves when interacting with residents who present symptoms. We also are staying up to date with the CDC recommendations as they may continue to change. In addition, we are in close contact with the local and state health department, and we are following their guidance.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please call anytime. Thank you.