*UPDATED March 27, 2020 at 3 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. Specific precautions for managed Affordable Housing communities are detailed at the bottom of this page.

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. At this time, no resident or staff member at Phoebe Ministries has been diagnosed with COVID-19 (commonly referred to as coronavirus). 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 potential exposure among our communities.

As a preventive measure, Phoebe Ministries’ communities are restricting non-essential visits to our Health Care Centers, Personal Care Communities, and independent living communities to ensure the health and safety of our residents and employees:

• No visitors or non-essential vendors at Phoebe Wyncote Personal Care and Health Care Center 
• No visitors or non-essential vendors at Phoebe Allentown, Phoebe Berks, and Phoebe Richland Personal Care and Health Care Centers
• No visitors or non-essential vendors at Phoebe Allentown, Phoebe Berks, Phoebe Richland, and Phoebe Wyncote Independent Living communities 

We will allow any essential vendors or visitors 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. Additionally, we have asked any employee with signs or symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat, to not report to work. Phoebe has implemented processes to allow residents to connect with family members or loved ones virtually for the time being via phone and video calls. Learn more about Connecting Hearts with Zoom video calls. 

All levels of care at Phoebe will continue to accept admissions as usual, and will screen for signs and symptoms of respiratory illness prior to accepting new residents.

Should anyone test positive for COVID-19, we are prepared to follow the CDC’s recommendations and guidelines for identifying, housing, testing, and caring for residents and patients. Additionally, Phoebe’s infection control team and occupational health staff are participating in local and state briefings through the state health care coalitions, which are working closely with PEMA, the CDC, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to receive the most up to date information and guidelines to prepare for possible positive cases.

Residents in our Affordable housing communities live independently and have been provided with facts related to coronavirus, along with preventive resources and information on protecting themselves and others from respiratory illness.

Additionally, Phoebe management has suspended all Phoebe sponsored activities and events until further notice.