State College senior living community to test all residents and staff for the coronavirus
Juniper Village at Brookline plans to test all of its residents and staff for the new coronavirus to mitigate potential spread among the cohort that is most likely to be hospitalized, its parent company announced Thursday.
Testing started Thursday and is expected to be completed “as quickly as possible,” Juniper Communities wrote in a statement.
“We care for the most frail and susceptible population,” Juniper Communities’ Founder and CEO Lynne Katzmann said in a statement. “Senior living communities are the first line of defense for 3 million citizens most at-risk for complications and even death from this virus. They and their families rely on senior living to keep them healthy and safe.”
There have been 730 Pennsylvanians hospitalized because of COVID-19 since March 6, according to the state Department of Health. About 50% of inpatients have been 65 and older.
Eight out of 10 deaths reported in the United States have been those 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Juniper procured tests from private and commercial vendors after the Food and Drug Administration made testing more accessible, Katzmann said.
Results will likely be used to confirm symptomatic individuals for isolation, identify asymptomatic individuals for segregation and change staffing patterns to limit potential cross-contamination, Katzmann said.
“For the time being, we need to dramatically reduce the number of individuals who interface daily while maintaining our high-levels of care,” Katzmann said. “Testing data is absolutely critical for us to put additional precautions in place.”
All residents and staff are expected to be tested because the rate of infection within senior living communities is unknown. The data should allow Juniper to better manage the disease, Katzmann said.
Juniper, like other Centre County senior living communities, has already limited access to essential visitors only, screened and monitored temperatures of those in their communities, enhanced its cleaning procedures and limited dining service to in-room only.
The coronavirus pandemic is the “greatest challenge (Juniper) has ever faced,” Katzmann said.
“While we cannot predict the outcome of this pandemic, it is our hope that by extending our precautions beyond what is required we can limit exposure in our communities and continue to care for everyone at the high standard we have always maintained,” Katzmann said.