COVID-19

Update 14th August 2020

Dear Residents Family and Friends,

Everyone was happy to welcome visitors back into our Sydney facilities this week and by now you should have received your monthly gazette detailing past activities and upcoming events.  All our teams are working so hard to keep life as normal as possible for the Residents at this incredibly challenging time.

With COVID-19 still circulating in the community across NSW we all have our part to play in helping keep Residents safe.  We ask that before you visit any Columbia facility – please check that you have NOT visited any of the venues listed by NSW Health (https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/latest-news-and-updates). On advice from Dr Kerry Chant visitors from these local government areas should be excluded from the facility for 14 days :

Hornsby Shire, Hills District, Newcastle, Merrylands (suburb), Guildford (suburb), Canterbury-Bankstown (Bankstown part), Waverley, Woollahra, Eastern part of City of Sydney (Sydney, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Woolloomooloo, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay, Elizabeth Bay, Centennial Park) Parramatta,  Fairfield, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Camden.

The exclusion list above now covers over 100 suburbs across Sydney!  If you fall into the above category – please arrange for your visitor booking to be via Zoom – our team are happy to arrange just email columbia@cnh.com.au or call the facility directly.

Visitor bookings can be made online at https://bookings.columbiaagedcare.com.au/.

We are being told to accept there will be ongoing community transmission.  To keep it low “a simple mask-wearing exercise for the next two weeks which is slightly more than two incubation periods, should be able to flush out more of the asymptomatic cases or yet undiagnosed” Professor McLaws said.

All Columbia staff that are on the floor interacting with Residents are required to wear a mask 24 x 7!

Prevention and Preparation

Over and above our daily tasks each facility has a dedicated “Outbreak Management Team”. All facilities have a designated Infection Control Lead, staff are receiving regular updates, reminders and ongoing training in infection prevention, control and use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Monitoring of PPE stock levels occurs daily. Each facility is working closely with their local Public Health Unit and of course is supported with additional resources  from the Columbia Executive.

Our priority is the safety of the Residents and our Staff.  As we care for your loved one help us manage the risk, please review the information provided by the health authorities and choose not to visit if you are feeling unwell or fall into the categories identified as high risk to our most vunerable.

Stay safe.

Tiffany Boys

CEO, Columbia Care Group