March 16, 2020
To: Pate patients and family members
From: Kent Hayden, President and CEO
Dear Pate patients and family members,
We wanted to update you on several operational and policy changes designed to enhance the safety of our patients, families, and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patient and staff safety are a top priority at Pate, and we are following the most up to date recommendations from the state and federal health agencies.
• In addition to our normal infection control policies we are increasing the frequency of cleaning and sanitizing our facilities and vehicles.
• Texas Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) are now requiring licensed facilities to prevent non-essential visitors from entering facilities given the significant health risk to residents posed by COVID-19. This means that we are no longer allowing visitors, tours and non-essential personnel to enter the Pate facilities.
• In order to mitigate the spread of this contagious virus, all patients will be screened for fever and symptoms prior to getting on the vans for transport to Pate each day. This includes both residential and day neuro patients. This screening process may take a little extra time in the mornings. Our transporters will do their best to update you on the pick-up schedule to minimize your inconvenience.
• We are continuing to reinforce the same infection prevention procedures used during flu season: frequent handwashing, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, covering coughs, and frequent disinfecting of the environment.
• We are utilizing additional patient treatment areas to keep the patients spread out on the treatment floor as much as possible and to minimize the number of people in each room.
• For the time being, we will not be taking patients on outings in the community in order to limit exposure from outside sources.
Thank you for your patience during this challenging time. Our goal is to keep COVID-19 out of our facilities, and if it is found, to minimize the spread to anyone else. We will continue to keep you updated on any additional changes that may occur. If you have any questions about our response to this pandemic or would like to speak to someone at Pate, please feel free to contact me or your assigned Case Manager.
Sincerely,
Kent Hayden CEO
Pate Rehabilitation