JGS Lifecare Updates Community on Response to COVID-19 in Nursing Home

LONGMEADOW — Adam Berman, president of JGS Lifecare, issued a statement to update the community regarding COVID-19, which has infected 29 residents of Leavitt Family Jewish Home.

“JGS Lifecare is committed to doing everything we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to our residents and staff,” he said. “We strictly maintain and follow effective infection control procedures as mandated by state and federal regulations and have made many additional changes, including institutng a no-visitor policy to reduce the risk of infection.

“Up until early this week, we had a few isolated cases in which residents and staff members tested positive for COVID-19 in the Jewish Nursing Home. In all cases, we took aggressive steps to quarantine anyone with close contact. Residents who tested positive were transferred to an isolation unit and cared for by a separate and dedicated care team. Staff members with symptoms were asked to remain at home and self-quarantine.

“Beginning this week, we proactively began the process of testing our residents throughout the facility. Late last night and early this morning, we were notified by the lab that we have 29 residents in our facility who tested positive with COVID-19. Some are experiencing only mild symptoms, and many more are stable and showing signs of recovery.

“We are working closely with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Longmeadow Fire Department, and other local authorities to take all possible actions to protect our residents, staff, and community. Any resident with a confirmed case of COVID-19 is being moved into our isolation unit and treated by a designated COVID care team. We will also continue to perform tests on all our residents until we feel confident we have firm control of the situation.

“To help our clinical staff remain focused on taking care of our residents, we have created a robust communications team. This team has been directly contacting the families of all our residents several times a week to keep them informed. To protect resident confidentiality, we are only able to speak to designated family members and have asked them to more broadly communicate with other interested parties if appropriate.

“We understand that this is a stressful time for everyone,” Berman concluded. “We will continue to work hard to serve our mission of providing the best-quality care for our residents and full support for all our families.”