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Weekly Message from LHH CEO Michael T. Phillips September 12, 2020
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Dear Laguna Honda Residents and Families,
I want to take a moment to commemorate the lives lost and the lives forever changed on September 11th nineteen years ago. We honor their memories and keep their families and loved ones in our prayers. As healthcare workers, we also remember all those who responded with such courage and compassion amid chaos and tragedy.
National Healthcare Environmental Services Week begins next week. In recognition of this important week, I would like to express my deepest appreciation for the members of our EVS Department. Our EVS team members are the stewards of our campus and they are on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19. The team’s commitment to the LHH community has always been evident but since our first COVID-19 cases in March, they have risen to this challenge. This includes adding an additional shift and working to support our infection prevention and control efforts. It’s no surprise that EVS was selected as the August Team of the Month.
I was very excited to see one of our nurses highlighted in the San Francisco Chronicle on Labor Day. Pauline Tran, RN, serves on our Contact Investigations team and was profiled along with other essential workers throughout the Bay Area. Pauline shared what it means to her to be an essential worker:
“I’m doing my part to help out the hospital as well as the community, just decreasing the spread and preventing the disease. Other people can decide ‘I’m gonna be at home and hide away and prevent the spread,’ but as essential workers we have to go out there and do our job and get the tasks done for the people that need it. Daily work is still needed, and there are people that go out there to get the work done and that is their duty.”
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The article and the accompanying photography serve as a vivid reminder that true heroes often emerge during challenging times. These heroes can be found throughout the Bay Area and many are among us every day at Laguna Honda Hospital.
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Visitation Resuming Soon at Laguna Honda
Finally, I want to share an update on visitation at Laguna Honda. As you know, San Francisco has been extremely cautious regarding its most vulnerable populations, especially our LHH residents. We took aggressive action early and one of the most effective actions was restricting visitation at skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) like LHH. As a result, San Francisco has one of the lowest death rates among senior citizens in the country. We are proud of our response both citywide and at Laguna Honda. However, we know how challenging this has been for both residents and resident families and the sacrifices made to keep our community safe.
We are excited to share that the San Francisco Department of Public Health recently announced updates to the Health Orders that address rules for visitation at SNFs. Effective immediately, visits are now permitted within certain parameters and with discretion given to individual facilities regarding the timeline to implement.
LHH is hard at work to resume visitation later this month. We look forward to sharing more details with all staff, residents, and resident families in the coming week. The Health Order allows for vehicle visits, outdoor visits, and window visits. At LHH, we are planning to make available both outdoor visits and vehicle visits initially and are looking into the logistics of window visits as well. Our thoughtful planning ensures visitation resumes safely and equitably.
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Updated COVID-19 Numbers
At Laguna Honda, we have had 88 total COVID-19 cases since our first known case in March—25 resident cases, of which 23 have recovered, and 63 staff cases, of which 58 have recovered.
As a reminder, COVID-19 dashboards with LHH’s staff and resident case numbers are available online at LagunaHonda.org/COVID19
Please continue to help us fight this virus by social distancing, wearing a face covering, and washing your hands frequently.
If you have any questions about LHH’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic or the safety and wellness of our community, your resident care team is available.
Please keep healthy and safe.
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Sincerely,
Michael T. Phillips, MHA, FACHE
Chief Executive Officer
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