Dear Loved One,

I’m writing to provide a brief overview of Onondaga Center’s preparedness and response to COVID-19 and the measures we’ve taken to protect the safety, health and welfare of your loved one and all residents at the Center. We have been following all federal, state and local guidelines for infection control policies and procedures. We have implemented precautions to include instituting measures to limit access to the nursing facility, monitoring our workforce, and vigorously pursuing infection control practices throughout the Center.

This letter serves as your weekly update regarding the current suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the center. As of 3/27/2021 we have 3 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19. We have 3 confirmed cases of COVID-19 from Staff members who had tested positive on 3/16/21, 3/23/21 and 3/26/2021. The Staff members have been furloughed. We are continuing to manage this exposure and have taken all necessary precautions to protect your loved one and other residents at our facility. Our staff is well trained and continues to be educated in the most current standards and best practices to ensure your loved one is safely cared for. Our staff has received appropriate protective masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment. Our clinical team continues to perform frequent assessments of the residents at the Center to monitor their status and condition. At this time
all window visitations and indoor/outdoor visitations are cancelled at this time. To schedule a facetime or skype call please contact the front reception desk or our Directory of Therapeutic Recreation, Sue Donofrio at 315-656-7277 ext. 14008.

We want to assure you that we take the safety, health and welfare of your loved one very seriously. We will continue to provide services, treatments and interventions as outlined in their plan of care. You can always reach out to Yudi Polatoff, Administrator and / or Suzanne Reid, RN, Director of Nursing at the Center should you have any questions about your loved one or any questions about the Center’s current COVID-19 practices, policies and procedures. The Department of Health has also encouraged family members who have more specific COVID-19 questions to submit them directly to your local Department of Health. For daily updates please check frequently on our website at “onondaga-center.facilities.centershealthcare.org”.

In order to speed up any COVID-19 updates, I am requesting 1 cell phone number per family and/or 1 email address per family so that the facility may send updates via text or email which will enable us to get the information to you ASAP as opposed to sending via USPS which takes a few days. Please send the cell number or email address to me at: ypolatoff@onondagacenter.net and I will add the information to the distribution lists. Please join the Weekly COVID Update call every Tuesday at 3:00 pm by dialing:
(605) 313-4411; code 758733.

Please note some recent personnel changes at Onondaga Center:
Megan Lachut – Social Work Director
Dr. William Richardson, MD – Provider
Judy Diliberto, P.A. – Provider

Thank you,
Yudi Polatoff
Administrator