News and Events

Kalo Mina,

We hope you are all well and that you have a good 4th of July Holiday celebration. I am sending you this update as part of our efforts to continue to keep you current as to the COVID status at the Greek American Rehabilitation and Care Centre. As of today’s, date, we have 1 staff member and two residents with Covid 19. That staff member tested positive on 6-22-20 and did not have any direct patient care duties. Our 2 residents have been in the COVID unit since May 23, 2020. Both residents are asymptomatic and doing well. We have not had any new resident cases of COVID 19 since May 23rd.

We have tested our employees weekly for 4 weeks and still closely monitor residents and staff for symptoms. We continue to maintain strict isolation protocols, clinical management and safety measures in our COVID unit as well as the entire facility.

We have opened our courtyard to our residents and have begun bringing residents to the courtyard for fresh air and sunlight vitamin D. Unfortunately, per the Illinois department of Public Health we are not allowed to have families visit inside the courtyard. However, we can bring your loved one to the courtyard and you can visit them while they are in the courtyard. In other words, residents may be in the courtyard but family members must remain outside the courtyard. These visits must be scheduled and you need to wear a mask and maintain social distance. Please contact the social worker on the floor your loved one lives on to coordinate a visit and to get more details. The health and well-being of our GARCC residents and staff remain our highest priorities. While our numbers are good right now we are by no means out of the woods.

My sincerest appreciation for your understanding and support during this time. Because this situation is fluid and ongoing, please visit our website www.greekamericancare.org for regular updates and as always feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at 847-459-8700 x 1017. Please know that my door and phone are always open and available to you.

Warm Regards,

Dino Varnavas
Administrator

Dear GARCC Residents, Families and Staff:

Kalo Mina,

As was posted on our web site on 4-27-20, we implemented a house wide testing of almost 160 employees and 145 Residents. We have just received the results of this testing and have identified two additional staff members and four Residents who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Neither of these Residents present the symptoms associated with COVID 19 and they have been placed in isolation per CDC guidelines. The staff members are in quarantine and will return to work when CDC criteria is met. The health and safety of the GARCC community is our highest priority, and we recognize the uncertainty and concern regarding the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Over the last 6 weeks we have had a total of 7 staff members and 4 Residents test positive for COVID 19. To date, WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY RESIDENTS HOSPITALIZED NOR ANY DEATHS RELATED TO COVID-19.

As a long-term skilled nursing facility, the following are examples of some of the steps we have taken to address the outbreak, prevent the spread of the disease and keep our Residents, staff and visitors safe from infectious pathogens:

• The facility has contracted with Pure Maintenance, an advanced, professional sterilization company. They were here Wednesday the 29th and Thursday the 30th of April and professionally applied a Patented dry fog process which kills pathogens including COVID and applied an antimicrobial Coating which hinders the reintroduction of harmful pathogens back into the treated environment. They treated the dining and TV rooms on all 4 floors and we our residents’ wheelchairs and lift equipment.
• We are still screening all visitors and staff members for symptoms such as fever or respiratory symptoms daily before entering the building. All employees and Residents are screened with a questionnaire daily and their temperature is taken at least daily with monitoring and documentation of shortness of breath, new or change in cough or sore throat.
• Supporting hand and respiratory hygiene, as well as cough etiquette by Residents, visitors and employees.
• Reminding all Residents and staff to practice social distancing.

The GARCC will continue to coordinate its efforts with the Cook County Health Department to promptly identify and monitor individuals who have had recent contact with our COVID-19 positive staff or Residents in order to prevent the spread of COVID within our Facility and community. We want to make our Residents, their families and our dedicated staff aware of this situation and reassure everyone that we are doing everything we can to mitigate the spread of this virus.

A fast-changing, potential crisis such as this demands consistent communication. We are committed to providing you with this information, updated regularly and are committed to doing the best we can to provide our Residents, staff and you with a safe and healthy environment.

Please check the website regularly for updates.

Stay Safe,

Dino Varnavas, Administrator

Dear GARCC Residents, Families and Staff:

I hope everyone had a good weekend. It’s hard to believe that May is right around the corner.

As we are entering week 7 of no visitation, we wanted to let you know that we are working hard to take care of your loved ones and wanted to update you on the current status of our building.

We currently have 0 RESIDENTS WITH COVID 19 but have had 3 employees over the past month who have tested positive. We continue to follow CDC and IDPH guidelines for screening of staff and residents and are taking the necessary steps to address the outbreak, prevent the spread of the disease and keep our residents, staff and visitors safe from infectious pathogens. However, we feel that we need to do even more. The facility will test its employees and residents for COVID 19. This process began Sunday, April 26th and will continue Monday, April 27th. These results will be available in 5 business days, and we will be transparent and communicate the results to residents, families and staff.

Mother’s Day is May 10th, and we have been getting questions about what our procedure will be. As the COVID 19 situation is fluid, the facility is not ready to make a commitment to a course of action. We will assess the situation as we get closer and let you know what we can do.

Thank you for your many kind words and encouragement--it means a lot.

Stay Safe!

Dino Varnavas, Administrator