Here at Fairwinds Treatment Center, our goal remains the same: to help people who are affected by substance abuse, eating disorders, and mental health issues to heal, recover, and live healthy lives. We do this by making patient (and family) care our top priority.
However, as information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads, we are taking the necessary precautions to ensure that our patients and their families are safe. We are doing what we can to minimize the risk to our patients and their families. We are also starting to prepare for what is to come with this disease. While doing this, we don’t want to cause unnecessary panic or anxiety in anyone.
Here are the steps that we are taking to make sure that our facility remains safe during the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Visitation Screening Tool
Fairwinds Treatment Center has been following the guidelines that were set by the Agency for Healthcare Administration. All residential healthcare facilities must use precautions in order to limit the potential introduction of the coronavirus into their facilities.
We have implemented a Visitation Screening Tool in accordance with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to make sure that our facility stays as safe as possible. Every patient and visitor will be required to fill out this questionnaire prior to a stay or visit to our facility.
That being said, we still believe that family is essential for recovery so we will work around any illnesses to ensure that you or your loved one gets the treatment needed. We recommend phone calls and we can even provide family therapy over the phone or computer if necessary.
Monitoring Patients
We have put into place new protocols to monitor our patients for any signs of the coronavirus. Our healthcare professionals are dedicated to watching our patients for any signs of illness, such as fever or flu-like symptoms. We have an emergency protocol for anyone that is showing these signs.
Any patients who are being treated on an outpatient basis are told to stay home and seek medical treatment if they are showing any signs of illness. The same goes for all staff.
Mandatory Training
Our entire staff has been trained on correct handwashing and hand sanitizing methods to prevent the spread of illnesses. We continue to enforce strict hand washing and sanitizing guidelines.
They have also been given prevention information about the coronavirus (COVID-19), including prevention and treatment so that they are prepared to monitor patients for the disease. They are told to do what they can to ensure that all possible precautions are being used.
Increased Cleanliness
Even though cleanliness is essential at Fairwinds Treatment Center, we have increased it over the last few weeks. We are sanitizing and sterilizing equipment and even common areas to ensure that our facility is as clean as possible. This will keep our patients (and families) as healthy as possible by decreasing the risk of the disease.
Conducted a Readiness Assessment
We have also conducted a readiness assessment to make sure that our facility is fully prepared.
Though this can be a scary time for our patients and their families, please be assured that we are doing everything that we can through this time. We want our patients to get healthy, without having to worry about the risk of the coronavirus so we will follow through with our visitation screening tool and work hard to ensure that our facility is as clean and sterile as possible. If a family member has to be in a therapy session, we will try to conduct it over the phone or the computer so that nobody is at risk for the disease.
