September 11, 2020
Dear Residents, Families and Staff,
On Wednesday 9/9/20, at approximately 2pm, Thompson House received a report from a staff member of a positive COVID test completed on Monday, 9/7/20. Neither Thompson House nor the Vermont Department of Health were able to verify this result. The employee did not respond to numerous requests for more information in order to confirm this. Upon notice of a potential positive test result, we enacted our infection prevention protocols, cancelled all non-essential visits to the facility, and restricted all but essential personnel from entering the building.
Suzanne Leavitt of the Division of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living began an investigation into this issue. In the course of that investigation, we learned that the employee sent a previous, positive, test result to the facility. There was no record at the CT Department of Health that a second test was ever conducted, and it became apparent that the information the employee presented to Thompson House was erroneous. At 4:25 last evening, we confirmed both with the employee, and with her physician, that there was no positive test result. A follow up test confirmed that the employee was negative for the presence of indicators of infection. At 4:30 p.m., The Vermont Department of Health confirmed that the case was negative, and that we were still in phase 3 of the re-opening process, and that we could resume normal operations.
In addressing this potential threat, we reacted quickly and decisively to ensure the continued well-being of our residents and staff. As a precautionary measure, all staff were been issued additional PPE as indicated by VDH, this included eye protection in addition to masks, and we closely monitored leading indicators of infection in our residents and staff. No indication of infection among residents or staff were identified. Thank you for understanding that these measures were necessary to protect your loved ones, and we apologize for any inconvenience the caused.
Facility – wide testing by the Vermont Department of Health, which was scheduled for 8:30am today, was cancelled.
Although difficult, this was a great opportunity for us to re-visit our infection control practices and have a test of our response to a potential threat. As always, the safety and well- being of our residents is our primary concern.
Sincerely,
Dane A. Rank, Administrator
