News and Events

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

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

Dear GARCC Residents, Families and Staff:

I hope this letter finds you well, it’s been a long 6 weeks since we first restricted visitation of all visitors and non-essential health care personnel, except for certain compassionate care situations. I am extremely proud of our staff for their dedication and professionalism during this COVID pandemic. We continue to take steps to protect our residents, families, visitors and staff members. 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.

On April 13th we posted on our website a Covid-19 status report informing you that a staff member had tested positive for Covid 19, that they were asymptomatic(did not have symptoms) and were tested because a family member who lived in their household was positive. I am pleased to inform you that they have been cleared by their physician and have returned to work. However, I would like to inform you that a second GARCC staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. This person is a health care professional who is in a management position and was last in the Facility on Thursday April 16, 2020. This individual was NOT SYMPTOMATIC AND DID NOT HAVE A TEMPERATURE when entering the GARCC on that day. Please note that all staff members in the facility wear masks. This staff member is in quarantine and will not return to work until cleared.

To date, we have tested 10 residents for COVID 19 Stand ZERO RESIDENTS HAVE TESTED POSITIVE, we are continually taking steps to protect our residents and valued staff members, which remains our top priority.

This facility is taking an active, common sense approach to preventing the spread of COVID-19 by following prudent infection prevention strategies as well as all recommended actions and best practices set forth by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

GARCC has worked closely with the IDPH and has followed its most current recommended guidelines to assist with the prevention of the spread of this virus where possible. As noted, we are also following guidelines of the CDC, CMS and other local public health authorities for additional guidance.

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:

• Facilitating a deep-clean of the entire Facility, including all common areas. Use of hospital-grade disinfectants and cleaners on all surfaces throughout the Facility.
• 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 temperature taken at least daily with monitoring of 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 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 member to prevent spread within our Facility and community. We are currently working with a lab to coordinate house wide testing of staff and are taking every step as recommended by authorities to contain the spread of this virus. We want to make residents, their families and our dedicated staff aware of this situation and reassure everyone that we are on top of it.

A fast-changing, potential crisis situation such as this demands consistent communication. We are committed to providing you with information, updated regularly and are committed to providing you with a safe and healthy environment.

Please check the web site regularly for updates,

Dino Varnavas, Administrator