Seniors Helping Seniors San Diego and Orange County In-Home Services COVID-19 Safety and Preparedness

Seniors Helping Seniors is actively monitoring the progression of the coronavirus, COVID-19, to ensure that we have the most accurate and latest information on the threat of the virus. As you know, this situation continues to develop rapidly as new cases are identified in our communities and our protocols will be adjusted as needed.

We are following updates and procedures from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) State Department of Health, local and county authorities, the Home Care Association of America and other agencies and resources. Our response and plans may adjust according to the recommendations from these organizations.

As a standard practice, we have an emergency preparedness plan in place that evolves as COVID-19 does.

· All caregivers follow established protocol regarding staying home when sick. This practice is not new to our staff.

· Communication with caregivers to assess any known risk factors, contact in areas known to have reported cases is ongoing. We will advise staff not to report to work if they are deemed high-risk.

· We believe that home remains the safest place for you or your loved one, as indications show that the virus is spread more quickly in facilities and larger groups or public settings. Possible exposure will remain the lowest for those who are able to stay in their homes with limited outside contact. For this reason, we feel fortunate to be able to provide care that can keep people at home or limited exposure in group settings through personalized care.

· For clients we serve who reside in facilities or other group-type living situations, we will work closely with the facility on any protocols, exchange of information, or other guidelines as necessary.

· Many of our clients are especially at risk, given they are older adults or have underlying health issues. We are vigilant about our need to help protect these individuals from illness be it the flu, COVID-19, or any other communicable disease. These measures are not new to us as we seek to minimize risk regularly for our clients, regardless of an outbreak such as this new coronavirus.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me. I want to assure you that we are following all the necessary protocols to protect our clients and your loved ones. I will continue to update you as more information becomes available.

The health and safety of our caregivers and care receivers are our highest priority.

We are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization guidelines in addition to monitoring and implementing local and state recommendations.

We have instructed our team to be extra diligent in washing their hands, avoiding touching their face, and cleaning and disinfecting to remove germs and the spread of germs.

We would like to stress that at this time no cases have been reported, but that we still want to take all appropriate precautions. We would also like to remind everyone of the CDC’s official recommendations below:

 

We encourage you to stay informed by visiting the CDC’s website for daily updates. The link is here.

We will continue to take the necessary precautions in order to ensure the safety of our caregivers and receivers.