*UPDATED 10.27.2020, at 5:32 PM

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Precautions at Phoebe Ministries Communities

The following precautions apply to all Phoebe Ministries’ Independent Living, Personal Care, and Health Care Center communities. 

The well-being and comfort of our residents and staff is Phoebe’s top priority, and we maintain strict policies and procedures to help prevent the spread of illness throughout our communities. Our employees are trained in best practices to help prevent the spread of communicable illnesses, including COVID-19. We are following our infection-control policies, and will monitor this evolving situation. In response to the recent spread of coronavirus, Phoebe is taking proactive precautions to mitigate exposure among our communities.

Weekly Update for Phoebe Allentown as of 10.27
Weekly Update for Phoebe Berks as of 10.26
Weekly Update for Phoebe Richland as of 10.27
Weekly Update for Phoebe Wyncote as of 10.26

The Campus Update letters are posted at least weekly, and more often if cases are reported.

Phoebe’s COVID-19 Update phone line 610-794-6049

Sept. 17, 2020- Click here for a NEW message from Phoebe’s President & CEO on COVID-19

April 20, 2020– Click here for a message from Phoebe’s President & CEO on COVID-19. 

VISITOR POLICY AND DETAILS – Important updates

Reopening Phoebe’s Skilled Nursing Care and Personal Care Communities for Visitation

We are excited to announce we are in the process of reopening our personal care and skilled nursing communities.  We are following a step-by-step process put in place by the PA State Dept. of Health to reopen safely, protecting both our residents and employees.

To reopen for visitation, each community and level of care has to go 14 days with no new COVID cases. If a new case is found, the campus must restart the reopening process.

We will offer in-person visits with loved ones by reservation only. Visitations will be mostly indoors due to weather, but may still occur outdoors if possible. You can reserve a timeslot for your visit by clicking the links below. Scheduled visits will be prioritized for residents with cognitive or medical decline or those expressing/exhibiting signs of loneliness. Visits will be scheduled and spread out fairly to ensure that each resident is able to receive visitors and that the schedule is not monopolized by any party. You can also continue to utilize Connect Hearts Zoom virtual visits during this time period.

Phoebe Allentown
Health Care Center reopening plan: Phoebe Allentown HCC Reopening Plan
NO VISITATION AT THIS TIME
Miller Personal Care at 19^th and Chew: Phoebe Allentown PC Reopening Plan
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE AN IN-PERSON VISIT WITH MILLER PERSONAL CARE RESIDENT

Phoebe Berks
Health Care Center reopening plan: Phoebe Berks HCC Reopening Plan
NO VISITATION AT THIS TIME
Phoebe Berks Village Commons and Village Gardens: Phoebe Berks PC Reopening Plan
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE AN IN-PERSON VISIT IN VILLAGE GARDENS
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE AN IN-PERSON VISIT IN VILLAGE COMMONS

Phoebe Richland
Health Care Center reopening plan: Phoebe Richland HCC Reopening Plan
NO VISITATION AT THIS TIME

Meadow Glen Personal Care:Phoebe Richland PC Reopening Plan
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE AN IN-PERSON VISIT WITH A PHOEBE RICHLAND MEADOW GLEN PERSONAL CARE RESIDENT

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE AN IN-PERSON VISIT WITH A MEADOW GLEN PERSONAL CARE MEMORY SUPPORT RESIDENT

Phoebe Wyncote
Health Care Center reopening plan:  Phoebe Wyncote HCC Reopening Plan
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE AN IN-PERSON VISIT WITH A PHOEBE WYNCOTE HEALTH CARE CENTER RESIDENT
Personal Care: Phoebe Wyncote PC Reopening Plan
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE AN IN-PERSON VISIT WITH A PHOEBE WYNCOTE PERSONAL CARE RESIDENT

ZOOM CALLS

Click here to schedule a Zoom Call with a Phoebe resident!

Physician Appointments and Outings:
It is preferable that family members of residents in our Health Care Centers and Personal Care Communities do not take residents to doctors’ appointments or on other outings, or come in for in-person family training. Phoebe staff and local medical transportation services will facilitate safe transports for these appointments. If a family member prefers to take their loved one out for an appointment or other outing on their own, for the safety of others, the resident will have to isolate for 14 days upon returning from the appointment or outing.

All Independent Living communities and Affordable Housing communities:
Residents who live at Phoebe independently have been provided with facts related to coronavirus, along with preventive resources and information on protecting themselves and others from respiratory illness. We have communicated visitation guidelines to these residents.

Lastly, Phoebe will continue to restrict most visitation inside our buildings, but will allow essential visitors/vendors entry into our communities in certain circumstances on a case by case basis, and only after completing a coronavirus screening process aligned with the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) guidelines. Universal masking continues to be implemented and employees and residents have been provided with masks. Additionally, we have asked any employee with any possible COVID-19-related symptoms to not return to work until they have been cleared by Phoebe’s Occupational Health Department.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call our COVID-19 contact line at 610-794-6049.

Short Term Rehabilitation Patients 

For our short term rehabilitation patients, we will allow visitors once a 2^nd negative COVID test result is received. This typically occurs within a few days of admission.

Resident Property Drop-off from Family and Representatives

At Phoebe Allentown, we allow families, friends, and representatives to drop off or have items delivered for residents. The drop off table is located on the Trexler covered patio and there is signage at the table with a sheet to be filled out. Phoebe staff will take the following precautions to ensure safe delivery of any items dropped off:

1. Housekeeping and/or security will sanitize and deliver the items.
2. The housekeeper or the security guard will obtain the appropriate signature and will leave the top half of the form with the nurse in order to assure easy identification of items.
3. If the nursing staff deems the items safe for the resident, they will deliver them to the resident.

Please reach out to Phoebe Berks, Phoebe Richland, or Phoebe Wyncote directly for their drop-off procedure, or call the COVID line at 610-794-6049.

Admissions and Tours

At this time, we are conducting mostly virtual tours of our communities. In-person tours can only be accommodated for those needing immediate moves and are limited to the prospect and one guest. All individuals touring must meet specific screening protocols before being allowed in the building. Independent living, personal care, and skilled admissions/move-ins to our communities are only happening when certain pre-determined conditions are met. We will not accept any respite stays at any of our campuses at this time.

Testing Protocols

Phoebe will test the following residents:

• Residents who are symptomatic
• Residents on a neighborhood where another resident tests positive, at physician direction
• Residents who regularly leave the facility (dialysis, chemo, radiation, etc.); retest weekly
• All other Skilled Nursing and Personal Care residents as needed

Phoebe will test the following staff:

• Symptomatic staff, if not tested in community under physician direction
• Staff with known exposure without PPE (at work or in the community)
• Any other staff, as indicated by Occupational Health
• All other Skilled Nursing and Personal Care staff as needed

We have completed universal testing for our employees and residents in our Health Care Centers and Personal Care Communities, in line with the PA Department of Health and PA Department of Human Services mandates and deadlines.

Laundry

Effective April 1, 2020, no laundry is to be done by families. This is related to containing possible spread of infection through clothing, and is a temporary measure. On your next bill, please note that there will be no invoicing for laundry temporarily until further notice.