COVID-19 UPDATE

January 1. 2021

We have additional positive cases of COVID-19 - several staff members and 2 residents- at another group home duplex. All family members of the residents at this group home have been called and notified of the new cases.

We are very fortunate to have staff members that will work 12 hours shifts for 10 days to take care of our residents. We are in touch with the Dallas Health Department and continue to follow their guidance.

December 28, 2020

As of today, the group home that had a resident who tested positive for COVID-19 is no longer in quarantine. We are relieved that this resident is feeling fine and had no complications.

December 20, 2020

We have two staff members, who each work on one side of one of our group home duplexes, who have tested positive for COVID-19. All potentially exposed residents have been tested and unfortunately we also have one resident that has tested positive. So far, all who tested positive seem to be feeling okay. We will continue to monitor on a regular basis.

We are very fortunate to have staff members that have agreed to work 12 hours shifts for the next 10 days to take care of the resident. Both sides of the duplex are wearing full PPE for the next 14 days. As always, we are in touch with our Dallas Health Department and will adhere to any guidance they give us.

December 17, 2020

We have been notified of a staff member who has tested positive for COVID 19. Residents who may have been exposed are being tested.

November 25, 2020

As of today we do not have any positive COVID-19 cases in any of the group homes.

November 8, 2020

We currently have two group homes (a duplex) where most of the residents have tested positive for COVID 19. So far, several residents have a fever and minor aches. As soon as the fever was reported yesterday afternoon, our nurse tested all residents and staff on duty. Families who have loved ones in this duplex were notified this morning.

All staff that have worked in the homes will be tested tomorrow. We will monitor everyone very closely.

We have put in a plan that staff will be working 12 hour shifts and be in full PPE. We will be paying staff extra for working in the COVID positive homes. We will be organizing meals for the residents to help the staff. If you would like to help with this, please contact Patsy Goodman at pgoodman@chaidallas.org

The Dallas Health Department will be contacted today. They have been invaluable in providing advice and consultation.

October 26. 2020

As of today, we do not have any positive cases of COVID 19.

October 7. 2020

We have a third resident that has tested positive for Covid-19 at one of our group homes. As is the case with the other two residents who tested positive on September 30^th, fortunately they remain symptom free and are feeling fine.

The Dallas Health Department continues to provide guidance and we will be doing testing again on October 15^th.

Our amazing staff continues to provide exceptional care for all of our residents and are following strict protocols to make every effort to assure that the spread of the virus is contained.

September 30, 2020

Today we learned that two residents at one of our group home have tested positive for Covid-19. They are currently not symptomatic.

All family members of those residents have been contacted.

We have contacted Health and Human Services (our licensing body) and our contact at the Dallas County Health Department. The Health Department has given us guidelines and re-testing schedules to follow.

We are fortunate to have such amazing direct care staff that will take care of our residents.

September 29, 2020

On September 28, 2020 we learned that we have a direct care staff member that has tested positive for COVID 19. All guardians of the residents and staff that are effected have been contacted.

All staff and residents at the effected group home have been tested for COVID 19 by CHAI’s RN and LVN and these residents and staff are being monitored for symptoms while observing increased quarantine measures in the group home.

We have reported the case to the Health and Human Service Commission (HHSC) and have been in touch with the Dallas Health Department. They are providing us guidance on proper protocol.

As soon as we receive the additional test results, we will post an update.

July 10, 2020

This morning we were notified that one of our residents has tested positive for COVID-19. This resident has not exhibited any symptoms and is feeling well.

All other residents and staff who were tested on July 5^th have, so far, tested negative.

The guardians of all the residents who live in this group home have been contacted to inform them of the positive case.

Several staff members have agreed to work in the house with the COVID positive resident. All residents in this group home are wearing masks and isolating in their individual rooms. Staff in this group home will continue to wear full PPE for at least the next 14 days and until the residents and staff at this home are tested again, and results are negative.

We have contacted our licensing body, Health and Human Service Commission and the Dallas Health Department and are following their guidance.

July 4, 2020

Today we were notified that we have a direct care staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. All guardians of the residents and staff that are effected are being contacted this afternoon. At this point, the staff person is feeling good and we are hopeful that they will continue to do so.

This is our plan:

• All staff and residents at the effected group home will be tested for COVID 19 on Monday by CHAI’s RN and LVN and these residents and staff are being monitored for symptoms.
• We have reported the case to the Health and Human Service Commission (HHSC) and been in touch with the Dallas Health Department. They are providing us guidance on proper protocol.
• As soon as we receive the additional test results, we will post an update.

May 20, 2020

Yesterday afternoon we learned that one of our staff members has tested positive for COVID 19. The staff person, at this point, is asymptomatic and has not experienced any illness from the virus. All guardians and staff members for the group homes that are directly impacted were contacted last night.

This is our plan:

• A month ago, we partnered with two private lab companies. One of them will provide testing for the residents and staff today at the affected homes.

•Staff members that were on duty at the affected homes last night have agreed to stay in place for at least the next few days to take care of the residents. No other staff will enter these homes. We will provide any support that they may need.

• As required, the case has been reported to the Health and Human Service Commission (HHSC). We expect them to visit and/or contact us today and for them to likely give us additional guidelines to follow.

• If we do have additional positive tests results, we have a quarantine plan that we will implement.

April 1, 2020

We want to take this opportunity to check in with you. We hope that you and your family are well and making your way through these unusual times.

The past several weeks have been out of the ordinary for all of us, but we are pleased to let you know that at CHAI we are managing well and have been working from a plan that we first put in place at the end of February as news of the Coronavirus crisis was first known. We continue to update the plan on a regular basis under the guidance of Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) that regulates our license. They have been keeping us informed of regulations and CDC guidelines. We are monitoring and updating our procedures regularly and tapping into a variety of resources to stay informed.

Here are the steps we have taken:

•  Our group home residents have been staying in their homes with round-the clock staff supervision from our dedicated caregivers for the past several weeks.
• No visitors are allowed in the homes and residents have only left the homes for supervised walks in the neighborhood.
• Under the direction of our fulltime CHAI nurse, the staff has been trained in the necessary protocol for keeping the group homes, the residents and themselves as safe as possible.
•  The CHAI Central Office has been closed since March 16th and staff members are working remotely from home with the exception of some occasional work in the office being done by a very limited number of people with essential functions in accounting or case management.
•  So far, all of our residents and staff are well and we hope and pray that continues. We can’t say enough about how grateful we are to our staff that continues to care for our residents and are going above and beyond every day!
•  We have been keeping our residents connected with each other, their families and volunteers through “virtual” visits and activities via Zoom. They have had book club, played BINGO, held a sing-along and talked with their families using the webcams on the computers in the group homes.
•  Generous donors have sent games and puzzles through our Amazon Wish List and ordered meals to be delivered several evenings a week. Next week, thanks to more generous donors, a Seder meal will be delivered to the group homes and family members will be able to join by Zoom for a short Seder service. We know this will be a meaningful time for families who have not been able to be with the residents for several weeks.

Throughout these out of the ordinary days, CHAI is doing what we ordinarily do. We are fulfilling our mission of providing programs and services to enable adults with intellectual disabilities to live full, rich lives in a safe environment and to meaningfully participate in the community.