Author: despinao

25 July 2022

To all Whiddon Easton Park Care Teams,

We ask you to please watch the video via the link below to view an important announcement regarding an operational change we are proposing.

The announcement we make today via this video ensures that we have the opportunity to share this message with everyone at the same time and in a way that assists us keeping you all as safe as possible given the current circumstances with COVID. We wanted to ensure you heard this message from us directly.

We will also be sending an email shortly with additional information and documentation for you to read and digest over the coming days.

Additionally, we will be holding a number of Q&A sessions which, whilst capped at 50 attendees at a time, will ensure you will have the opportunity to meet with us and ask any questions you need to ensure full understanding of the proposed changes being announced.

Watch the video here

22 July 2022

Since our last update, we now have two residents who have tested positive to COVID-19. The families of the residents have been notified.

As a result, we have had to limit visitation to one nominated visitor in our Gardenia Wing. Visitors must book their visits prior to visiting our care home. All visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry, wear an N95 mask and may be asked to wear additional PPE at this time, such as a face shield. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

Visitation remains as normal in all other wings at Whiddon Laurieton.

We will provide a further update if anything changes.

22 July 2022

Since our last update earlier this week, we have had additional residents test positive to COVID. Families of these residents have been notified. We are continuing to work with the local Public Health Unit and will conduct further PCR tests in the next few days.

Visitation continues to be limited to one nominated partner-in-care across all Whiddon Redhead. Partners-in-care must book their visits prior to visiting our care home. All visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry, wear an N95 mask and may be asked to wear additional PPE at this time, such as a face shield. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

Our employees also continue to be monitored daily by conducting a Rapid Antigen Testing prior to the start of their shift.

We thank you for your patience and assistance during this time and will provide a further update if anything changes.

25 July 2022

Further to our update last week, we have had nine residents and 11 employees test positive to COVID this morning. Families of the residents have been notified.

All residents at Whiddon Casino have commenced a 10 day monitoring schedule from today, which involves Rapid Antigen Testing. This is upon advice from the Public Health Unit.

Visitation remains limited to one nominated partner-in-care. Partners-in-care must book their visits prior to visiting our care home. All visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry, wear an N95 mask and may be asked to wear additional PPE at this time, such as a face shield. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

Our employees also continue to be monitored daily by conducting a Rapid Antigen Testing prior to the start of their shift.

We will provide a further update if anything changes.

21 July 2022

We wanted to let you know that we are currently dealing with an exposure to COVID-19 after a resident tested positive shortly after attending an outing over the weekend. The family of this resident have been notified. Pleasingly, no other residents or employees have tested positive and we will be conducting further PCR testings to monitor residents who may have been in contact during the time of infection.

Currently, there are no changes to visitation however, we do want to remind you that COVID is very much in our communities, and to please refrain from visiting if unwell.

Please also ensure your visits must be pre-booked and the following applies:

• Whiddon strongly recommend all relevant vaccinations of both COVID-19 and influenza for all visitors.
• Non-vaccinated visitors are able to visit their loved ones in an outdoor area wearing N95 masks and face shields. Non-vaccinated visitors should not enter a home unless approval is given by the DCS/DDCS Team based on individual circumstances e.g. end of life, compassionate visits, resident wellbeing.
• Visitors must wear an N95 mask, face shield and complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry
• Up to 2 children under 12 years are permitted to visit provided they are accompanied by a fully vaccinated person
• Wherever possible, the visit should be in resident’s room or in an outdoor area. Visits should not be in any inside communal areas
• Visitors must check-in through our visitor check-in system
• Visitors must not visit if they have COVID-19 symptoms, have been exposed to COVID-19 (unless they have completed their self-isolation and testing requirements). People who have had high risk exposures should not enter high risk settings for at least 14 days since their exposure to a COVID-positive person
• Visitors must not visit if they are waiting for a COVID-19 test result, feel unwell or have been overseas in the previous 14 days, unless they are: fully vaccinated, it has been at least 7 days after arrival and they have received a negative antigen test 6 days or later after arriving in NSW

We will provide a further update if anything changes.

20 July 2022

Whiddon Beaudesert Star families are invited to attend the next consumer and representative meeting on Thursday, 21 July at 10.30am. This session is a great opportunity to:

• address any concerns you may have
• give you valuable updates on what is happening in our care home
• meet new members of our team

The meeting will be held in the Jasmine lounge area. We ask that you please advise us if you wish to attend the meeting as there are capacity limits in this area, in line with COVID-19 guidelines.

You can also find our next session dates below:

• 18th August
• 15th September
• 20th October
• 17th November
• 15th December

19 July 2022

Since our last update, we have had five residents test positive to COVID overnight in our Temora Greenstone care home. Families of the residents who have tested positive have been notified.

We are also conducting final Rapid Antigen Tests of residents in Temora Nurraburra, and hope to have an update to you later this week about the outcome of these results.

We are currently working with the Public Health Unit across both care homes to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our residents and staff.

For now, visitation is limited to one nominated partner-in-care across both sites. Partners-in-care must book their visits prior to visiting our care home. All visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry, wear an N95 mask and may be asked to wear additional PPE at this time such as a face shield. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

19 July 2022

Since our last update, we have now had residents test positive to COVID in Keppel House and further PCR testing is being conducted today.

Visitation is now limited to one nominated partner-in-care across all Whiddon Redherad. Partners-in-care must book their visits prior to visiting our care home. All visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry, wear an N95 mask and may be asked to wear additional PPE at this time, such as a face shield. Please refrain from visiting if you are unwell.

Our employees also continue to be monitored daily by conducting a Rapid Antigen Testing prior to the start of their shift.

We thank you for your patience and assistance during this time and will provide a further update if anything changes.

18 July 2022 

We wanted to provide you with an update. It is very pleasing to report that we have not had any further cases for both residents and employees over the past week,and many of our residents have completed their isolation.

However, we are erring on the side of caution and maintaining some restrictions for the time being.

Residents in Federation remain in isolation. Residents from Perry James and Nan Crane are now able to leave their area.

We are recommending that if anyone goes to public areas that they wear a mask as there is still a lot of infection within the general community.

We want to also remind you that all visits must be pre-booked. All visitors are required to complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry and wear an N95 mask.

We will provide a further update if anything changes.

19 July 2022

Since our last update we are pleased to advise that we’ve had no positive cases from residents or employees.

We do want to remind you to ensure your visits must are pre-booked and the following applies:

• Whiddon strongly recommend all relevant vaccinations of both COVID-19 and influenza for all visitors.
• Non-vaccinated visitors are able to visit their loved ones in an outdoor area wearing N95 masks and face shields. Non-vaccinated visitors should not enter a home unless approval is given by the DCS/DDCS Team based on individual circumstances e.g. end of life, compassionate visits, resident wellbeing.
• Visitors must wear an N95 mask, face shield and complete a rapid antigen test as a condition of entry
• Up to 2 children under 12 years are permitted to visit provided they are accompanied by a fully vaccinated person
• Wherever possible, the visit should be in resident’s room or in an outdoor area. Visits should not be in any inside communal areas
• Visitors must check-in through our visitor check-in system
• Visitors must not visit if they have COVID-19 symptoms, have been exposed to COVID-19 (unless they have completed their self-isolation and testing requirements). People who have had high risk exposures should not enter high risk settings for at least 14 days since their exposure to a COVID-positive person
• Visitors must not visit if they are waiting for a COVID-19 test result, feel unwell or have been overseas in the previous 14 days, unless they are: fully vaccinated, it has been at least 7 days after arrival and they have received a negative antigen test 6 days or later after arriving in NSW

We thank you for your patience and assistance during this time.