COVID-19 INFORMATION
Welcome to San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living Resident and Family COVID-19 Information page
Our Covid Mitigation Plan was developed to establish a range of operating protocols and procedures which detail consistent preparation and response to the challenges posed by this pandemic. It was recently reviewed by CDPH who approved the plan with no deficiencies. We are in the progress of preparing a summary and Q & A for the family members.
We have hosted zoom sessions at key points, set up a COVID Info email, sent out updates by letter and by email and updated our website daily with the latest COVID information for JHRC. We are always exploring additional measures to communicate with staff during the outbreak period that may include additional zoom town halls and a “live” hotline. We already have an email (covidinfo@sfcjl.org) for family members.
- We identify nursing units by green/yellow/red. Residents/patients who have tested positive are in the red zone; patients/residents who may have been exposed to someone who is positive, are in the yellow zone. Residents/patients with no exposure are in the green zone.
- There is no floating or movement of staff between units on a shift.
- Staff have been and continue to be tested weekly. Human Resources and department heads are notified of positive-tested staff and they are removed from the work schedule for the required number of days (per SFDPH protocol).
- Elevators are cleaned frequently and are limited to maximum 4 people at a time, indicated by the signage. There are decals on the floors of all elevators to mark safe physical distancing.
- Clinical, housekeeping and social services are considered essential staff for the residents and patients. Housekeepers do not move from floor to floor during the shift. Non-essential staff are generally working from home to limit travel to campus, and reduce the potential for staff to bring infection onto the Campus.
Depending on the unit and outbreak status and the need of the resident, residents are eating in their rooms, directly outside of their rooms or in the dining room. The dining rooms have been set up to maintain h proper social distancing, between residents.
We have and will continue to post various links to the AFLs and Health Orders on our website so that family members will be able to access them in the near future. These AFLs and Health Officer Orders may also be found on the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) websites.
Currently, the JHRC has temporarily paused visitation except for those that are “necessary”. When the visitation resumes, we will inform the families. This may also continue to change depending on changes in guidance and/or mandates from SFDPH and CDPH. We are sensitive to the importance of family visitations and have increased the facilitation and assistance of zoom/FaceTime calls to keep the residents/patients and families connected virtually during this time of no general visitations.
“Necessary” visitation, defined by San Francisco Department of Public Health, is “a visit or contact that is based on urgent health, legal, or other issues that cannot wait until later.”
Some examples include, but not limited to, a resident being at or near end of life, time-sensitive legal/financial documentation needing immediate attention with no reasonable alternative, or a resident requiring a family member’s presence in order to receive necessary care. “General” visitation can be defined as a visit or contact that is based on a reason/purpose that does NOT meet the criteria of “necessary visitation.” All visitation is restricted in the red zone.
San Francisco Department of Public Health does not provide any flexibility and/or exceptions to onsite visitation that is not considered “necessary.”
All residents have the right to request to be discharged from the JHRC or to request a transfer to another facility. We have a responsibility to ensure that all discharges and transfers are done in a safe and orderly manner. It is important to note that if a resident is voluntarily discharged from JHRC, we are not able to guarantee his/her return based upon availability at the time, and a new application process would most likely need to be completed again. We recommend that you make such a decision with thoughtful consideration.
Clinical (including physical therapy) and environmental services (including housekeeping) that are assigned there only work in a COVID positive unit and do not cross over with services to non-COVID patients/residents. Nursing staff who are working on a unit with Covid positive patients are delivering food trays to the residents.
We have adequate supply of PPE and continue to make the effort to acquire more for future use. Our supply of PPE includes but is not limited to, masks (N95, surgical), gloves, goggles and/or shields, and disposable gowns.
When a positive COVID test is reported, we notify San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and they guide the process by asking us to look back 48 hours and determine the internal contacts the COVID positive person had while at our facility. Patients/residents that had contact with a positive person are notified and placed on increased monitoring of vital signs and Covid symptoms. Patient/resident is tested for Covid at the time frame determined by SFDPH. . The resident’s physician and responsible person are also notified.
A staff member who develops symptoms while at work (they would already be masked) is immediately sent home and instructed to be tested for Covid. Human Resources follows up with the employee and the employee notifies us of the results of the COVID test.
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All staff are tested weekly. Residents who require care outside of JHRC (such as hemodialysis) are tested weekly. Other residents are tested if symptomatic or exposed to a person who is positive for Covid. During an outbreak, all residents are tested weekly under the guidance of SFDPH.
We continue to respect the Shelter-in-Place order and when this order changes, we will review the restrictions put in place by SFDPH, CDPH and CMS to ensure we remain in compliance. CDPH and SFDPH will provide new guidance on when and how to phase out the restrictions.
- N95 mask: for staff who are in contact with COVID patients
- Surgical mask: for staff who work with non-COVID residents and patients
- Cloth mask: for non-clinical staff who do not come in contact with residents or patients
We have adequate supply of PPE and continue to make the effort to acquire more for future use. Our supply of PPE includes but is not limited to, masks (N95, surgical), gloves, goggles and/or shields, and disposable gowns.
When a positive COVID test is reported, we notify San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and they guide the process by asking us to look back 48 hours and determine the internal contacts the COVID positive person had while at our facility. Patients/residents that had contact with a positive person are notified and placed on increased monitoring; staff are asked to self-monitor. The resident’s physician and responsible person are also notified. If a resident exhibits symptoms, the resident is immediately masked, isolated and tested for COVID. A staff member who develops symptoms while at work (they would already be masked) is immediately sent home and told to contact their physician. Human Resources follows up with the employee and the employee notifies us of the results of the COVID test. Employee must have clearance from their physician prior to returning to work.
All staff are tested weekly. Residents who require care outside of JHRC (such as hemodialysis) are tested weekly. Other residents are tested if symptomatic or exposed to a person who is positive for Covid. During an outbreak, all residents are tested weekly under the guidance of SFDPH.
We continue to respect the Shelter-in-Place order and when this order changes, we will review the restrictions put in place by SFDPH, CDPH and CMS to ensure we remain in compliance. CDPH and SFDPH will provide new guidance on when and how to phase out the restrictions.
You may contact SFDPH, CDPH or the Ombudman to express your concerns.
Vaccination Day
At last the first round of vacciations arrived on December 22 for the campus! We are excited to be among the first in the area to receive the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine. As our dedicated nurse, Bridget Conlon, said, "it's an injection of hope."
