From the desk of Tiffany Rubin, owner of Silver Lining Home Healthcare, Re: COVID-19

We need and want to keep you up to date on all the information we have regarding the Coronavirus, or COVID-19. On March 12th, we had a meeting with the State of Delaware, and we are staying apprised of all updates through the Delaware Home Care and Hospice Association, the trade associations, the Delaware Office of Health Care Quality, and the Delaware Office of Health and Human Services. 

The Coronavirus (or COVID-19) can have far-reaching impacts, health included. We know that uncertainty causes stress, and that you may have concerns about the virus. Our goal with this blog post is to ensure you are up to date on all the steps we’re taking to keep our team and community safe.

We’re going to cover 5 things: 

1. Preparation in the case of the need for self-monitoring or an active virus situation
2. What to do if you have symptoms
3. What Silver Lining Home Healthcare is doing for our staff and team, how we’re limiting exposure to you
4. How to ask questions
5. Planning for the what is next

Preparation in case of the need for self-monitoring or if you get the virus

We recommend preparing just like you already do for an emergency: Purchase and store two weeks worth of medications, food, water and basic supplies. We have included a list of items to make an EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS KIT for your convenience. Ideally, you won’t need to use all your supplies but it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

We are working on having a solution for those individuals that can’t/don’t want to go out to get the basics (like toiletries, paper towels and food) and will communicate that out to you in the coming weeks, should the need for it arise. 

What to do if you have symptoms:

Symptoms are very similar to the seasonal flu and include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

If you have mild symptoms: 

1. Call your Primary Care Doctor and make them aware; they’ll direct next steps. Be aware that in Delaware, your doctor is NOT allowed to have you come into the office if you have symptoms of COVID-19 and will ask you to remain in your car so as to not contaminate or expose others.
2. Limit your exposure to others. Do not go anywhere with large crowds and in fact, don’t go out of the home unless you absolutely need to.
3. Wash your hands frequently.
4. Use treatment as prescribed. Do not panic
5. Tell Silver Lining. We need to ensure our staff are ready!

If you have severe symptoms (difficulty breathing, no ability to catch your breath): 

1. Call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room

Our focus on well-being for our team and for you: 

Here are a few ways that we’re limiting exposure. 

• We are educating our team with up-to-date and timely information multiple times per week and holding Q&A sessions so that constant communication and education is a reality. 
• We have set up weekly ongoing scheduled Q&A sessions via Google Hangouts that you can join (more information below).
• We are preparing for a variety of contingencies. We want this virus to simply go away. Since a chance of that happening is minimal, we are being sure to proactively consider the best ways to continue delivering services.

The guidelines currently show that treatment for COVID-19 is still administered at home and is mostly symptom management, unless signs and symptoms worsen. And like with any sickness, avoiding large crowds (including hospitals, where more sick people are) is advisable. We can and will still care for you at home if you are diagnosed with COVID-19. We will only stop caring for clients if the State of Delaware mandates it or our staff are unable to physically be present to provide care due to unavailability. Why might unavailability become an issue when we have a stellar record of no missed visits? 

Anyone that exhibits any symptoms has to be tested quickly in order to rule out COVID. In the instance that tests are unavailable to confirm COVID-19, precautions have to exist as if COVID-19 is there, to ensure minimal risk of exposure to others. If we don’t have that practice in place, then we could put you more at risk. We also acknowledge that staff availability may be limited by situations out of our control, such as school and daycare closures, which result in our staff being unable to go to work since they have to care for their family. Additionally, the personal protective equipment that staff need in order to care for our clients in the case of you having the virus is in limited supply, so should the COVID-19 spread in our community, we’ll have to ensure the protective equipment is used for the most urgent of cases. 

Again, please know that we’re having this discussion early to set the expectation of what may happen; at this point, NONE of these hypothetical situations have occured. We’ll continue to plan for the worst and hope for the best. 

How to ask questions:

• Call us!  302.359.5661
• Email elite.nursing@silverlininghealthcare.com
• Visit our website: silverlininghealthcare.com

Planning for what is next:

In the instance that services need to be reduced to protect you, consider what hours can be reduced temporarily. We will keep you up to date if and when the time comes to have this discussion. Because we are constantly aware of the most current recommendations, you do not need to proactively cancel services. If you are an essential services client, we will be actively working on a plan to ensure services go uninterrupted. We’ll continue to send out information as it becomes available to us; you can head to our website and click the “View Information Regarding COVID-19” to for the most up to date information. 

We are in uncharted waters; I can tell you that Allison, Amy, Dorrina, and I are working around the clock (literally) to handle and channel all the information that is coming in and deal with any specific situation that arises. You will ALWAYS get a response to a question, no matter how big or how small. We are here to Make Lives Better through it all. 

For More Information: 

COVID-19: What Does This Mean for You as a Client?

World Health Organization: Q&A on coronaviruses (COVID-19)

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