May 27, 2020

Dear Tenants and family members,

We again want to reach out to update you on the status of our current state and what we are doing to protect you, your loved one and our staff.  We appreciate your continued support through this challenging time.  When we first started communications, we had no idea that we were going to be continuing to fight this battle through Easter, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day.

We want to remind you that we follow the guidelines put in place by the state and our restrictions will continue as long as it is in the best interest of our tenants.  We continue to get daily updates from our state, governing associations and our corporate office.   I’m sure you all hear and realize that there are some contradicting messages from our very own federal government and our state.   At least for now, we will continue these precautions.

• Restricting all visitors. (With exceptions for essential visitors & compassionate care, such as end-of-life situations)
• Securing our front entrances. Requiring essential visitors to call ahead.
• Monitoring our tenants’ vitals daily.
• Minimizing contact with all tenants. (Limiting groups for activities and accommodating activities for social distancing practices)
• Continue with adjusted dining protocol to establish social distancing, including an option to dine within their private apartment.
• Increase monitoring of Tenants and Employees, reinforcing staff to remain home if symptomatic or running a fever.
• Continue to actively screen all health care personnel for respiratory symptoms including actively checking temperatures for a fever at the beginning of each shift. (Anyone with these symptoms will not be permitted to enter the community at any time)
• Continuing education of appropriate prevention techniques, including hand washing, cough etiquette, proper PPE and disinfecting high traffic areas.

In the coming weeks, we hope to begin allowing some outside visiting with restrictions and safety precautions, including the use of masks by visitors and tenants, in a designated area, on scheduled days. As things develop, we will send out information.

In the meantime, we will continue to keep the safety of our tenants and staff our highest priority and continue offering different channels of communication you can use to stay in contact with your loved one, including FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, House Party, Facebook Messenger, etc. If you need assistance with technology, please let us know and we will try to assist.

Thank you all again!

April 24, 2020

Dear Tenants & Family Members,

The outpouring of support and donations from our families and community has been incredible. We cannot thank you enough for the donations of safety equipment, activity materials, food, letters, and more for our staff and tenants. These generous acts have helped increase spirits in our tenants and brought peace of mind to our staff.

Again, we appreciate your understanding and cooperation of the restrictions we have put in place to protect our families, staff, and tenants.

Along with our restrictions, we continue to educate and practice safety precautions to reduce risk, including:

• Restricting all visitors. (With exceptions for essential visitors & compassionate care, such as end-of-life situations)
• Securing our front entrances. Requiring essential visitors to call ahead.
• Monitoring our tenants’ vitals daily.
•  Minimizing contact with all tenants. (Limiting groups for activities and accommodating activities for social distancing practices)
• Continue with adjusted dining protocol to establish social distancing, including an option to dine within their private apartment.
• Increase monitoring of Tenants and Employees, reinforcing staff to remain home if symptomatic or running a fever.
• Continue to actively screen all health care personnel for respiratory symptoms including actively checking temperatures for a fever at the beginning of each shift. (Anyone with these symptoms will not be permitted to enter the community at any time)
• Continuing education of appropriate prevention techniques, including hand washing, cough etiquette, proper PPE and disinfecting high traffic areas.

We realize it’s a difficult time for families to not be able to visit with their loved one, but the platforms of communication we have been offering during the pandemic have been a saving grace. The different avenues of communication we can offer families include, Skype, FaceTime, Facebook Messenger/Video Chat, Zoom, and Facebook Video Messages.

We are isolating, but we don’t want our tenants to feel isolated, so along with offering these lines of communication, we continue to keep our tenants active with daily activities.

If you are not already, follow us on our Facebook page for daily updates, pictures and videos. We also include education articles for families on how to deal with “social distancing” from a loved one, how to support your loved one during “social distancing,” and more.

Please share this with other family members, as we are only sending these to the POA or the main contact of each tenant. Again, thank you for following the recommendations we have implemented so far. These guidelines put in place by the State for “social distancing” and restriction of visitors, are subject to change. As things progress, we will continue to keep families updated and prepared for further restrictions recommended by the CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health. As always, safety is our top priority.

Thank you,

Courtyard Communities

We cannot express enough our gratitude for your cooperation and understanding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our community appreciates the support we have received from family members during the progression of these restrictions and with the number of cases growing in the United States, we’re thankful for the restrictions we put in place prior to protect you and your loved ones. During these precautions, we want to assure you we are continuing to educate on social distancing, proper hand washing and cough etiquette, to our tenants and our staff.

We understand that due to these restrictions communication has been limited, but we have introduced other ways that you can interact with your loved ones, and still keep them safe. These communication tools include:

• Skype
• FaceTime
• Writing Letters
• Facebook Messenger
• Facebook Video Chat
• Facebook Video Messages

We’re here to help with any of these tools to keep you in touch with your loved ones. If you’re not already, follow us on Facebook for updates on the activities we’re doing daily to keep our tenants active and busy during this “Shelter in Place” initiative.

Due to the evolving situation with Covid-19 and under the guidance of the CDC, we are taking every effort to keep our community safe and healthy. The Coronavirus is being increasingly reported across the nation and the latest information received confirms that more cases in downstate IL have been reported.

At this time, we are asking that all visitors refrain from visiting. This is in effect as of noon on Friday, March 20, 2020.

We have implemented the following precautions to assist with the safety of our tenants and our employees:

• All essential healthcare employees will continue to be allowed following CDC guidelines for entry.
• Anyone entering will be required to check in to be screened and answer the questionnaire.
• We will continue to use social distancing guidelines for all activities and meals.
• Those who are ill or require special healthcare needs will dine in their apartments.
• The use of our entire Courtyard community including the dining room and all of our common areas are limited to Courtyard Estates tenants only- for meals, meetings, card games, social clubs, coffee & doughnuts etc.
• We have increased sanitizing efforts within the facility.
• All community sponsored outings have been postponed.
• In urgent situations where a visitor is required, we are asking that all visitors check in with our nursing staff upon entry.
• A screening tool has been provided to our Directors to use as a questionnaire if any person is showing any signs of illness.
• It is recommended that any routine doctor’s visits be postponed.
• No one under the age of 18 should be permitted into the facility.
• Please check with your local event sponsors before heading out — because many (most) public events and gatherings have been cancelled- i.e. sporting events, Peoria Diocese Catholic Masses, schools, fundraisers, etc.

We are prepared to implement additional restrictions as recommended by the CDC and Illinois Dept of Public Health. We are confident this will be only temporary, but the safety of everyone is our goal. As the situation changes, we will continue to keep families updated.

Due to the evolving situation with Covid-19 and under the guidance of the CDC, we are taking every effort to keep our community safe and healthy. The Coronavirus is being increasingly reported across the nation and the latest information received confirms that more cases in downstate IL have been reported.

We have implemented the following precautions to assist with the safety of our tenants and our employees:

• The use of our entire Courtyard community including the dining room and all of our common areas are limited to Courtyard Estates tenants only- for meals, meetings, card games, social clubs, coffee & doughnuts etc.
• We have increased sanitizing efforts within the facility.
• All community sponsored outings have been postponed.
• Healthy family visitors over the age of 18 are allowed & will be screened for signs of illness prior to entry. We are asking that all visitors check in with our nursing staff upon entry.
• Non-family visitors (friends, vendors, tours, etc) are being asked to postpone their visits at this time.
• A screening tool has been provided to our Directors to use as a questionnaire if any person is showing any signs of illness.
• All care and service related providers should check in with staff and will be screened upon entry.
• It is recommended that any routine doctor’s visits be postponed.
• No one under the age of 18 should be permitted into the facility.
• Please check with your local event sponsors before heading out — because many (most) public events and gatherings have been cancelled- i.e. sporting events, Peoria Diocese Catholic Masses, schools, fundraisers, etc.

We are prepared to implement additional restrictions as recommended by the CDC and Illinois Dept of Public Health. We are confident this will be only temporary, but the safety of everyone is our goal. As the situation changes, we will continue to keep families updated.

Thank you all for your continued support and patience during this unprecedented time.