GERRY – Heritage Ministries and Lutheran of Jamestown are working together to follow New York’s new nursing home testing mandates.
The two elderly care facilities will soon deploy new mobile testing booths created by Heritage’s Vice President of Facilities and local business D & S Glass.
The booths will be adaptable to allow staff members to adjust to the height of each person, accommodating those who are unable to actively sit up or stand easily.
They feature a plexiglass wall with a small access panel for test administration.
Officials say the wall will protect both residents and staff from exposure, and will also help preserve valuable, and sometimes difficult to obtain, personal protective equipment, which would normally have to be changed out after each test and potential exposure.
Heritage is also developing a plan to effectively clean and disinfect each station after use with the help of their certified infection control nurse.
“As we have been directed to move into mandated testing for all employees by Governor Cuomo’s office, we needed to determine how we could implement that efficiently, while complying with all regulations,” said Lisa Haglund, newly confirmed Heritage Ministries President and CEO. “At this difficult time in our industry, it is important that we work together to protect our most vulnerable population, our seniors.”
“Working with our fellow senior living communities is essential in order to provide the absolute best care for all of our residents,” she furthered.
Heritage Ministries was founded in 1886 and has grown from its original campus in Gerry, to six locations in New York with additional affiliations across the United States.
Leave a Reply