June 15, 2021
Dear Seacrest Residents and Family Members,
Many of you have reached out regarding the updated COVID-19 guidance effective today from the State of California Governor’s office. We at Seacrest are slowly re-opening campus and this letter states our philosophy behind it. We have come far in this pandemic and respectfully ask for your continued patience with restrictions. Currently in San Diego County, up to 150 people contract COVID-19 each day and we want to continue to keep this virus out of our community.
Please read the following for an overview of our existing policies. In time, we hope to modify; however, these are our requirements at this time:
- All visitors and volunteers on campus must be vaccinated.
- Visitors are not allowed in common areas (including dining rooms).
- Visitors, employees, and residents must wear a mask when around others, unless they are in a resident room or are resident eating in a dining room.
- Visitors to the Dorothy & Joseph Goldberg Health Care Center (our skilled nursing building) must make an appointment for visits and only visit in courtyards or in designated rooms off of the unit. Only in certain circumstances would a visitor be allowed on the unit.
- All visitors must check in at the main reception desk located off of Saxony Lane (or the skilled nursing center off Seacrest Way if visiting there with an appointment) to be screened for symptoms and vaccination status.
- While all residents are permitted to leave the campus, we ask that when in public areas, masks continue to be worn for one’s own safety.
We are all weary from the last 18 months of restrictions, and we ask that you please be patient with respect to our precautions to best protect our residents. Even though 99.5% of our residents are fully vaccinated, no one wants to take a chance that a breakthrough infection could seriously impact anyone in our Seacrest Family.
The CDC has stated the following for your consideration: “Adults 65 years old and older who were fully vaccinated with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) had a 94% reduction in risk of COVID-19 hospitalizations.” At Seacrest, we are concerned about the 6% who have not reduced the risk. To put that into context, if all our residents were exposed to coronavirus, at least 12 of them would be at high risk for hospitalization. Please consider that when you are asked to protect yourself and others while at Seacrest.
Lastly, as we reflect on the pandemic, we are grateful to our incredible staff, lay leaders, and supportive Seacrest community for helping us get through this difficult time. We also understand the desire to no longer view COVID-19 as a threat, yet as a healthcare community that serves vulnerable seniors, we must remain vigilant in our effort to keep everyone safe. We request your help and cooperation.
Please stay safe and enjoy your summer.
Sincerely,
Pam Ferris
President and CEO
The Melvin Garb Foundation Presidential Chair