Dear Residents, Families, and Friends:

We hope this message finds you well. Throughout the past few months, the COVID-19 virus has posed new challenges to our community and forced us into a new reality. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to the health, safety and well-being of the entire New City Supportive Living community.

The resiliency and persistence of the New City Team is exhibited daily as we work tirelessly to provide the utmost level of care to our residents during this strenuous period. In every circumstance, we have acted with an abundance of caution, using recommendations from the CDC, local and state guidelines to reinforce and refine our policies and procedures.

With that said, we truly appreciate the patience of our residents, whom have stood strong in the fight against this pandemic as we have instituted new protocols to protect their well-being. Working together, and with a commitment to serve our residents, families and team members, we know that we will emerge from this crisis stronger than before.

As we continue to define our new normal, New City takes the pledge to be #strongertogether. Our updated protocols will PREVENT the spread of the virus and PROTECT our community members while providing safe, PERSONALIZED services to our residents. We have taken the pledge. We are #strongertogether

Please see below for an overview of New City’s COVID-19 protocols:

We will provide continuous and regular updates on this page, but please if you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact us at anytime.

Update: November 1, 2022

Hello Residents, Families, Staff, and our Ombudsman and Welcome to our Corona Virus 19 Notification Page Update November 1, 2022

New City Supportive Living has 28 Resident(s) with any newly confirmed positive test and 8 Employee(s) with newly confirmed positive tests today.

We continue to follow all of the guidance for long term care facilities set forth by the Illinois Department of Public Health, The Centers of Disease Control, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. There continue to be recommendations and guidance daily to help us manage through this pandemic. We take these recommendations and guidance and update our policies as frequently as needed. We keep our staff educated on any new interventions that may affect them.

Visitation can be conducted through different means based on a facility’s structure and residents’ needs, such as in resident rooms, dedicated visitation spaces, and outdoors. Regardless of how visits are conducted, certain core principles and best practices reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission:

Core Principles of COVID-19 Infection Prevention

• Visitors who have a positive viral test for COVID-19, symptoms of COVID-19, or currently meet the criteria for quarantine, should not enter the facility. Facilities should screen all who enter for these visitation exclusions.
• Hand hygiene (use of alcohol-based hand rub is preferred)
• Face covering or mask (covering mouth and nose) and physical distancing at least six feet between people, in accordance with CDC guidance
• Instructional signage throughout the facility and proper visitor education on COVID- 19 signs and symptoms, infection control precautions, other applicable facility practices (e.g., use of face covering or mask, specified entries, exits and routes to designated areas, hand hygiene)
• Cleaning and disinfecting high-frequency touched surfaces in the facility often, and designated visitation areas after each visit
• Appropriate staff use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Effective cohorting of residents (e.g., separate areas dedicated to COVID-19 care)
• Resident and staff testing conducted as required

These core principles are consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance for nursing homes, and should be adhered to at all times. Also, nursing homes should enable visits to be conducted with an adequate degree of privacy.

Visitors who are unable to adhere to the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention should not be permitted to visit or should be asked to leave. By following a person-centered approach and adhering to these core principles, visitation can occur safely while following the Core Principles of Covid 19 Infection Prevention listed above and information below.

While not recommended, residents who are on transmission-based precautions (TBP) or quarantine can still receive visitors. In these cases, visits should occur in the resident’s apartment and the resident should wear a well-fitting facemask (if tolerated). Before visiting residents, who are on TBP or quarantine, visitors should be made aware of the potential risk of visiting and precautions necessary in order to visit the resident. Visitors should adhere to the core principles of infection prevention. Facilities may offer well-fitting facemasks or other appropriate PPE, if available; however, facilities are not required to provide PPE for visitors.

NOTE: CMS and CDC continue to recommend facilities, residents, and families adhere to the core principles of COVID-19 infection. This continues to be the safest way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, particularly if either party has not been fully vaccinated. However, we acknowledge the toll that separation and isolation has taken. We also acknowledge that there is no substitute for physical contact, such as the warm embrace between a resident and their loved one. Therefore, if the resident is fully vaccinated, they can choose to have close contact (including touch) with their visitor in accordance with the CDC’s “Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.” Unvaccinated residents may also choose to have physical touch based on their preferences and needs, such as with support persons for individuals with disabilities and visitors participating in certain religious practices, including in end-of-life situations. In these situations, unvaccinated residents (or their representative) and their visitors should be advised of the risks of physical contact prior to the visit. Visitors should also physically distance from other residents and staff in the facility.

Indoor Visitation during an Outbreak Investigation

An outbreak investigation is initiated when a new onset of COVID-19 occurs (i.e., a new COVID-19 case among residents or staff). To swiftly detect cases, we adhere to CMS regulations and guidance for COVID-19 testing, including routine unvaccinated staff testing, testing of individuals with symptoms, and outbreak testing.

When a new case of COVID-19 among residents or staff is identified, a facility should immediately begin outbreak testing in accordance with CMS QSO NH REVISED and CDC guidelines.

While it is safer for visitors not to enter the facility during an outbreak investigation, visitors must still be allowed in the facility. Visitors should be made aware of the potential risk of visiting during an outbreak investigation and adhere to the core principles of infection prevention. If residents or their representative would like to have a visit during an outbreak investigation, they should wear face coverings or masks during visits, regardless of vaccination status, and visits should ideally occur in the resident’s room. Facilities may contact their local health authorities for guidance or direction on how to structure their visitation to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission during an outbreak investigation.

Visitor Testing and Vaccination

While not required, we encourage facilities in counties with substantial or high levels of community transmission to offer testing to visitors, if feasible. If facilities do not offer testing, they should encourage visitors to be tested on their own before coming to the facility (e.g., within 2–3 days).

CMS strongly encourages all visitors to become vaccinated and facilities should educate and also encourage visitors to become vaccinated. Visitor testing and vaccination can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and facilities may ask about a visitors’ vaccination status, however, visitors are not required to be tested or vaccinated (or show proof of such) as a condition of visitation. If the visitor declines to disclose their vaccination status, the visitor should wear a face covering or mask at all times. This also applies to representatives of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and protection and advocacy systems, as described below.