Managing COVID-19 Takes Center Stage at Morristown Post Acute Rehabilitation & Nursing Center
The recently renovated, five-story center, located just feet from Morristown Medical Center, is known for providing customized, cutting-edge care to ensure the best outcomes for patients. That commitment has never been more evident than during the past 10 months.
Chava Goldschmidt, chief nursing officer at Allaire Health Care, parent company of Morristown Post Acute, said she is proud of the organization’s pandemic response, noting that the team did a phenomenal job in March and April and had “excellent outcomes in terms of their COVID management” despite a very challenging landscape.
“The guidance (from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health (DOH)) was changing — sometimes more than once a day,” she said. “There were many fewer resources available — whether it was staffing availability, regulatory support, or just testing resources. So, it was just a very different environment whereas, this time around, we have all of those resources available.”
During the summer, all nursing home facilities in New Jersey were provided with multiple rapid antigen test kits, equipping the center with the ability to test residents as soon as they present with any COVID-19 symptoms. This allowed staff to quickly identify positive cases and isolate those individuals as well as identify any other potential cases or exposures. In addition to availability of testing, another key element that has changed during this second wave is the rapid turnaround by labs, Goldschmidt said.
“We have become more savvy in terms of operationalizing infection control efforts,” she said. “We’ve been very fortunate that since June when we concluded our first outbreak, we’ve had no new facility-acquired cases of COVID-19. None of our residents have tested positive for COVID-19. We’ve had a couple of staff members, but no residents.”