COVID-19
July 2, 2020 COVID Update (PDF)
Update (6/24/20): Updated visitor guidelines for all of our communities are now available. Details can be found in the PDF documents linked below.
Indpendent Living Visitor Guidelines (PDF)
Asbury Villas Visitor Guidelines (PDF)
Asbury Place Visitor Guidelines (PDF)
Spring/Laurel Lane Visitor Guidelines (PDF)
Skilled Nursing Visitor Guidelines (PDF)
Update (6/18/20): This month's resident newsletter is now available and includes an update on a new Visitor Station for our skilled nursing communities. Read more here.
Update (6/9/20): Please join us on Friday, June 12 for a telephone question and answer session with a panel of doctors and administrative experts from UPMC Senior Communities who will provide the latest COVID-19 information and answer your questions. There are a number of updates since our last conversation on April 23.
Independent Living
Please call 855-962-0996 at 2:00 pm.
View the PDF flyer
Personal Care and Skilled Nursing
Please call 855-962-1209 at 3:30 pm.
View the PDF flyer
Update (6/2/20): All previous visitor restrictions remain in effect until further notice.
Update (5/15/20): This month's resident newsletter (The Asbury News) is now available. Click here to read it.
Update (5/11/20): We want to keep you updated on Asbury’s current visiting policy. We understand how very important visits are for our residents and their families. We will continue to offer ways for you to connect, while we also continue to follow all regulatory agencies guidelines.
As you may know, beginning on March 15, 2020, due to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare Services (CMS) guidelines, we restricted visitation except for certain compassionate care situations, such as end of life. We are sorry if you find your loved one in such a situation. To discuss a visit, please contact the administrator of your loved one's community. These visits must be pre-approved by the Administrator. To keep our residents and staff safe, visitors must wear a mask and gloves and must pass all screening steps.
Please note that all 67 Pennsylvania counties are under a “stay at home” order until May 8, 2020 and most will continue to stay under this order after May 8. When we heard this announcement, we had hoped that we would be able to change some of our visitation policies. However, after discussions with our medical leadership and our review of the current CMS and CDC guidelines, our visitation policies need to stay the same. The risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death are still a very real danger to residents due to their age and health status.
We will re-evaluate visitation guidelines regularly and will let you know as soon as any changes can be made. In the meantime, please continue to take advantage of the virtual visiting options available through our activities program. We are pleased to offer enhanced usage via Facetime Visits, Zoom an Duo applications, which allows multiple family members to join in on the same call.
To discuss virtual visits or other creative ideas for connecting with your loved one, please contact the community's Activities Staff. So that everyone has a chance to use them, we ask that virtual visits are scheduled in advance, and due to high demand, in some situations the number of Virtual Visits may need to be limited.
Thank you for your help and support in keeping our residents and staff healthy and safe.
Administrators
Marjie Doughton, Independent Living: 412-571-5374
Laura Ebel, Asbury Villas: 412-571-5380
Celeste Emrick, Skilled Nursing Center: 412-571-5035
Erica Gevaudan, Asbury Place, Spring Lane, Laurel Lane: 412-571-5015
Activities Staff
Linday Gallo, Independent Living: 412-571-5183
Linda Campbell, Asbury Villas: 412-571-5353
Teresa Valentino, Skilled Nursing Center: 412-571-5190
Andrea Eisaman, Spring Lane & Laurel Lane: 412-571-5174
Lori Miller, Asbury Place: 412-571-5667
Update (4/17/20): This month's resident newsletter (The Asbury News) is now available. Click here to read it.
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Update (4/13/20): Please join us for one of our upcoming telephone question and answer sessions on Thursday, April 23. A panel of doctors and administrative experts from UPMC Senior Communities will provide the latest updates and answer your questions. There will be a session for residents and families of Independent Living facilities and another for residents and families of our skilled nursing and personal care communities. Open the PDFs below for more information.
Independent Living (PDF)
Skilled Nursing and Personal Care (PDF)
We hope you will join us for this important discussion.
Update (4/8/20): Transportation is being temporarily discontinued except for essential medical trips and trips to/from The Embassy or around the Asbury campus. Due to visitor limitations, front door drop offs/pick ups are now occurring for resident items. Staff will work with residents individually regarding any grocery or other needs. To avoid possible cross-contamination, staff who had been working in multiple areas/facilities are now limited to working in one designated location.
Update (4/3/20): On Thursday, April 2, UPMC Senior Communities began to require universal masking for all staff. Staff will be provided a mask to wear throughout their shift to help reduce the potential exposure of the virus to residents. We are continuing to screen all of our staff at the beginning and end of their shift as well as all healthcare professionals coming into the buildings.
Another Tele-Town Hall is planned for Thursday, April 23. Look for more details soon.
We are creating a board for the staff to show appreciation for their hard work and dedication. If you have any inspiring words you’d like included please, email ebeljt@upmc.edu by Monday, April 6.
Video Chats
If you would like to have a video chat with your loved one, please email their Activities professional to schedule a time. FaceTime and Google Duo are both options. We ask for your flexibility with the timem of your video chat visit since the volume of requests are exceeding our capacity.
Independent Living (Main campus apartments, The Embassy, and Carriage Homes)
Lynn Gallo 412-571-5183
Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation (Evergreen, Redwood, and Willow Communities)
Teresa Valentino 412-571-5190
Spring Lane/Laurel Lane
Andrea Eisaman 412-571-5174
Asbury Villas
Linda Campbell 412-571-5353
Asbury Place
Lori Miller 412-571-5667
Update (3/20/20): Residents and staff are encouraged to practice social distancing (keeping at least six feet apart at all times) to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Congregate dining has been postponed. The nursing center and personal care areas will have tray service. Independent residents are receiving to-go packages to take to their rooms (or to be delivered).Common gathering areas such as our Social Room and Beauty Shops have been closed. Group activities have been eliminated campus wide.
Please join us for one of our upcoming telephone question and answer sessions on Friday, March 27. A panel of doctors and administrative experts from UPMC Senior Communities will provide the latest updates and answer your questions. There will be a session for residents and families of Independent Living facilities and another for residents and families of our skilled nursing and personal care communities. Open the PDFs below for more information.
Independent Living (PDF)
Skilled Nursing and Personal Care (PDF)
We hope you will join us for this important discussion.
Update (3/14/20): Visitor limitations are temporarily being enacted at all UPMC Senior Communities.
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Keys and fobs are not operational. Please go to the main entrance of your loved one's building or call 412-341-1030.
UPMC Senior Communities is temporarily limiting visitation at all long-term care facilities, including skilled nursing, personal care, and independent living. Visitors will only be permitted in special situations, approved by the facility administrator or designated manager. Special situations may include end-of-life visitation and when a visitor is essential for the resident’s emotional well-being and care.
Any approved visitors must be screened at the designated facility entrance by a staff member. The entrance screener will ask each approved visitor four questions, below, documenting their name and “yes” or “no” responses on a sign-in log:
- Signs or symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat.
- In the last 14 days, has had contact with someone with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, or under investigation for COVID-19, or are ill with respiratory illness.
- International travel within the last 14 days to countries with sustained community transmission.
- Residing in a community where community-based spread of COVID-19 is occurring.
If the visitor answers “yes” to any of the screening questions, and/or appears to be ill, they will not be allowed to enter the facility and will be directed to see their primary care physician.
We appreciate your cooperation in helping to keep our residents safe and healthy.
Asbury Visitor Restrictions (PDF)
Update (3/12/20): To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the following measures are effective immediately:
- Transportation outside of Asbury will be limited to scheduled grocery shopping trips, doctor visits, and pharmacies that do not deliver.
- Transportation will still be available within campus and to/from The Embassy.
- Asbury-organized group activities are on hold within and outside of Asbury. This includes SeniorFIT classes.
- In the Café and Main Dining Room, all condiments (including salt and pepper) will be available from the staff.
- The salad bar in the Main Dining Room will be served by staff from the cold buffet.
- An enhanced cleaning/sanitizing process has been implemented campus wide in food preparation areas.
As part of UPMC Senior Communities, Asbury Heights is also part of a world-class health system. We have many resources and supplies at a local and system level available. Although no COVID-19 cases have been identified in the Pittsburgh area, a multi-dimensional UPMC Team has been specifically designated to be involved in all aspects of the COVID-19 situation. And we have direct access to expert advice from Dr. David Nace, our Medical Director, who has been working closely with the CDC. We have already begun adding to our on-hand supplies, providing additional staff education and awareness training, reviewed and enhanced our cleaning protocols, and provided additional staff screenings for those that have traveled internationally.
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Dr. Nace, encourages those experiencing cold symptoms to not visit their loved ones residing in long-term care and skilled nursing communities. Read the full story here.
“This will help us avoid accidentally spreading not only COVID-19, but any of the many respiratory viruses currently circulating in our communities to our vulnerable elderly population," says Nace.
We will keep you updated as this situation unfolds. In the meantime, visit CDC.gov and UPMC’s HealthBeat blog at share.upmc.com for the latest updates regarding COVID-19.
Follow Asbury Heights on Facebook and Twitter.
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