News and Events

UPDATE FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

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

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UPDATE FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

In our continuing effort to keep you informed, I wanted to let you know that on 6-3-20 and 6-9-20 we conducted house wide Covid testing for our residents and staff. No residents tested positive for Covid 19; however, two employees tested positive on 6-3-20. No employees tested positive on 6-9-20.

As of today’s, date, we have 1 staff members and 5 residents that tested positive and in isolation/ quarantine. The GARCC residents and staff that are affected are currently stable and are mostly asymptomatic, fortunately the cases so far have been mild. Since March 1st we have had 3 hospice residents with Covid who expired. We found out posthumously that 2 of the hospice residents had tested positive for Covid. We will continue to closely monitor all our residents and staff for symptoms and will isolate and test promptly per CDC and IDPH guidelines. Maintaining strict isolation protocols, clinical management and safety measures is essential to mitigating the spread of Covid.

The health and wellbeing of our GARCC residents and staff remain our highest priority and rest assured we are diligent and will stay the course until we can all resume normalcy in our lives. My sincerest appreciation for your understanding and support during this time, as 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

Warm Regards,

Dino Varnavas
Administrator

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THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

To Our Generous Donors:
JUNE 2020
Thank you
GARCC Administrator, Dino Varnavas with Avli Tarvena Co-owner, Lou Canellis
GARCC Board Chairman, Eleni Bousis, Board President, Peter G. Karahalios, Bus.l Development Directror,, Pat Gerbanas with Intrigue Yellow Foundation Founder, Mahtab Harini & board member, Kristina Ferra and daughter,

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Administration, staff and residents, we extend a heartfelt thank youto all who have generously donated to our Home for the benefit of our residents, and in appreciation of our very hard working, dedicated staff.

Covid-19 has dramatically affected our daily routine at our Nursing Home, which in turn has created unexpected added expenses, and many changes to our protocols of care to our residents. We thank everyone who has responded to our Easter Appeal, our Special Covid-19 Appeal, and our requests of packaged snacks for our residents afternoon refreshments.

Your acts of kindness during this unprecedented time in our lives boosts
the spirit and moral of our
residents and employees!

The following is a list of some of the donations we have received over the past two months:

• Ultimate Bride and Con Gaspas — Seamstresses made 100 face masks to n95 specifications.
• The Benavides Family — Two boxes of
disposable gloves
• Annunciation Cathedral Ladies — Handmade face masks
• Vincent Redlicz — Handmade face masks
• Dean Marousis and George Kolouris —
n95 face masks
• Vince Innocenzi and Chicago Marine Canvas — Protective shield masks for our nursing staff
• Manduka — 120 headbands with buttons to ease the use of face masks for our nursing staff
(this donation was organized by a resident’s family members: Denise Mason-Smith and
Kathleen Chmura)
• Monika Narain — Gifts for our nurses during Nurses Week
• St. Andrew Women’s Philoptochos Society —
Handmade face masks
• 24/7 at Home Care Services, Inc. — Face masks
• Panos Foods — Assortment of fresh fruit for all our residents to enjoy for several days
• Hellenic Foundation — Complete lunch for all our staff (prepared and delivered by Dengeos)
• Ascension of Our Lord Women’s Philoptochos Society and the Bear Family — Milkshakes for all our residents and staff
• Equilibrium IT Solutions, Inc. a Ntiva Co. —
Sandwich wraps for all our staff (prepared and delivered by Prairie House Tavern)
• The Intrigue Yellow Foundation and Founder, Maltab Harini — Gourmet meal for residents and staff - Curated gift bag of select Candies - Yellow Roses in honor of Mother’s Day for all residents. (with the help of Etta Restaurant and Rocket Fizz Soda Pop & Candy, Winter Park, FL.)
• Ascension of Our Lord Women’s Philoptochos Society — Individual sized packaged cookies and bags of chips for our residents
• Avli Taverna: Lou Canellis, Louie Alexakis and William V. Glastris, Jr. — Complete Lunch and extras for all entire staff
• Susan and Gary Eimerman — Individual packages of cookies for the residents
• St. Haralambos Philoptochos Society —
Homemade cookies

We are very grateful for all your donations of PPE, treats for our residents and staff and monetary assistance.

Our apologies for any omissions

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UPDATE FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Dear Family Members,

As Illinois is preparing to enter Phase 3 of reopening, we remain cautiously optimistic that CMS and IDPH will begin easing some of our restrictions in the near future. It has been a long and very challenging two and a half months for all of us, I am certain you miss visiting your loved ones but hope you have taken advantage of the virtual means to stay connected.

Dating back to mid-March 2020, we have maintained a relatively minimal number of positive COVID-19 cases among our staff and residents. To date, we have had a total of 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 16 staff members and 14 residents. Many of the employees have been cleared to return to work and residents are recovered and have been taken off isolation. As of today’s, date, we have 5 staff members and 7 residents that are positive and in isolation/ quarantine. Although the numbers may seem alarming, please be advised with approximately 320 staff and residents working and living in our care centre , our positive COVID-19 cases are less than 10%. The GARCC residents and staff that are affected are currently stable and are mostly asymptomatic, fortunately the cases so far have been mild, and we have had no deaths attributed to COVID at this time. We continue to closely monitor all our residents and staff for symptoms and will isolate and test promptly per CDC and IDPH guidelines. The Memory Care Unit -4th floor, is where we currently have new positive resident cases. We will continue to maintain strict isolation protocols, clinical management and safety measures in our COVID unit as well as the entire facility.

The health and wellbeing of our GARCC residents and staff remain our highest priority and rest assured we are diligent and will stay the course until we can all resume normalcy in our lives. My sincerest appreciation for your understanding and support during this time, as 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

Warm Regards,

Dino Varnavas
Administrator

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UPDATE FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR

Friday, May 1, 2020

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

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