Charlottesville senior living facility confirms case of COVID-19

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The Colonnades, a senior living facility in Charlottesville, has confirmed the presence of COVID-19 in its community.

The facility said its closely monitoring the pandemic and has implemented new protocols including: limiting non-essential visitors, syptom screening among residents and team members and restricting new move-ins.

During this time, the facility emphasized it’s trying to “maintain normalcy.”

Statement from Sunrise Senior Living Regarding the Presence of COVID-19 at The Colonnades in Charlottesville, VA

Attribute to Denise Falco, Regional Vice President of Operations, Sunrise Senior Living

We can confirm the presence of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) at The Colonnades.

Sunrise is closely monitoring the pandemic and has implemented extensive precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protect the health and safety of our communities, in line with evolving guidance from the CDC and other local, state and federal officials. In addition to following Sunrise’s existing infection control and emergency preparedness programs, changes to The Colonnades community operations include limiting non-essential visitors, deploying rigorous screening protocols to identify potential symptoms among residents and team members, restricting new resident move-ins, and shifting to individual resident engagement activities. We have also ceased communal dining and are serving meals in each resident’s suite to promote social distancing.

Sunrise has nearly 40 years of experience caring for seniors, and infection control has always been part of our everyday operations, given seniors’ increased susceptibility to many communicable illnesses. The community has completed a deep cleaning by a professional service and we continue closely tracking our team members’ interaction with residents, documenting which individuals they serve. Our team members are providing all necessary care to our residents at this time with no limitations or changes. Additionally, the community is employing personal protective equipment for resident and team member use when needed to minimize the spread of infection.

We are working to maintain normalcy in our communities despite this situation, and our teams are arranging opportunities for families to stay connected with residents via phone and virtually.

We want to thank our residents, families and team members for their understanding, cooperation and words of support in recent days. We appreciate the trust you place in us every day, and it is our honor and privilege to serve Charlottesville families.