Community Living Center at C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center Adjusts Posture to Address Uptick in COVID-19-Positive Cases

“The health and safety of employees, Veterans, and visitors remains our top priority,” said Bay Pines VA Healthcare System Director/CEO Paul M. Russo. “This change in our posture allows us to address the sudden increase in COVID-19 positive cases at our CLC and provides an opportunity for us to be proactive in mitigating transmission rates.”

Residents in the organization’s CLC are classified as vulnerable patients, and therefore, more susceptible to COVID-19 infections.

Recommendations were presented Monday and approved by leadership to address the increase in cases and work toward prevention of the virus from spreading across the facility and into other areas throughout the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center.

Beginning Tuesday, August 1, 2023, Bay Pines VA Medical Center began implementing the following actions:

• Universal masking for all CLC staff and visitors
• Installing signage throughout the facility to raise awareness about COVID-19 precautions and safety measures across the campus
• Reviews of CLC resident’s vaccine status and posture to support boosters, where applicable
• Temporarily pausing congregations in the dining room, with a plan to re-evaluate status for this location after testing
• Temporarily ceasing gatherings in one location for activities, with a plan to re-evaluate status for this location after testing
• Limiting visitors to two personnel, per resident, per visit
• Reinforcing suggestions that visits with residents occur outside in the patio area or garden, pending resident’s status and weather.
• Limiting in-room visitation to private rooms, only if necessary
• Co-locating COVID-19 positive residents to the same unit
• Providing dedicated equipment and staff to care for COVID-19 positive residents
• Increasing frequency of cleaning for all high-touch surfaces within the CLC

“Although the official end to the federal pandemic was announced in May, we monitor transmissions throughout our communities where we operate and across our facilities,” added Russo. “We have three-plus years of battling this virus, and I’m proud of the proactive work we have done to seamlessly pivot our actions and communications to address this increase quickly and professionally.”

Robert Frazier, Public Affairs Officer

Medina Ayala-Lo, Public Affairs Officer