April 10, 2020

Dear Extended Cobble Hill Health Center Family,
We know that you are concerned about the Coronavirus outbreak and we want you to
know that we are making every effort to protect the health and well-being of your loved one
and all of our residents and staff. We are closely monitoring for updates and following all of the
recommendations of the NYS Department of Health (DOH) and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC). We also wish to be transparent in sharing with you what we are doing,
how we are responding to the outbreak, and whether there are any individual cases of
coronavirus within the facility. It is in this spirit that we inform you that, as with most other
nursing facilities, we have confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the facility as well as resident deaths
due to COVID-19. Our hearts are heavy and with those families who have lost loved ones during
this difficult time. While we cannot disclose any information about the particular cases, we
want you to know that we are taking numerous steps to ensure the health and safety of all of
our residents and staff.
We are following isolation precautions recommended by the DOH and CDC for any
resident that is suspected to be positive for COVID-19 and as otherwise necessary. Among other
precautions, any residents that are suspected for COVID-19 will be isolated. We also are
following and reinforcing Infection Control Policies and Procedures recommended by the DOH
and CDC. Staff attending to a resident with COVID-19 will utilize personal protective equipment
(PPE) and will maintain social distancing when possible. Some of these policies and procedures
are further detailed below.

● Residents on an affected unit have been asked to remain in their rooms and
communal dining and group activities have been cancelled.
● All residents on an affected unit are being actively monitored and assessed for
symptoms at least once per shift.
● Residents are being asked to wear a facemask when a health care practitioner or
direct care staff member enters their room if they can tolerate it.

● All residents are confined to their units.
● All visitation has been suspended consistent with DOH guidance.
● All employees are undergoing a health screening at the beginning of each shift.
● All employees are wearing a facemask at all times.
● We have made staffing changes to attempt to minimize the potential for
exposure from one unit to another.
● We are following all guidelines on environmental cleaning and using EPA-
registered hospital-grade disinfectants to clean and sanitize the facility and
resident rooms.
We have notified and maintain ongoing communication with the local department of
health to ensure that we continue to follow the latest clinical and infection control
recommendations.  We will continue to closely monitor this situation and take additional steps
as needed to protect to the health and safety of all involved.
We have received questions about the donation of personal protective equipment (PPE)
to the facility and we are happy to accept additional supplies. Surgical masks, N95 masks,
impermeable gowns, and goggles/face shields will all be accepted.
Please feel free to reach out to us to discuss any concerns you may have about your
loved one. We have been attempting to keep all families up to date through phone calls and
when possible, video calls. We appreciate your patience as we have not been able to be in
contact as often as we would like. If you have any concerns you can always reach out to your
unit staff, call our hotline at 718 247-1153, or email us at familyupdates@cobblehill.org. We would
also encourage you to sign-up for our email alerts via https://bit.ly/chhcfamily for future
communication.
Lastly, we would like to take a minute to thank all of you who have sent very kind notes
to our staff. This has not been an easy situation for anyone to manage and our staff are
standing strong on the front lines for your loved ones. If you would like to send any words of
encouragement to the team, you can do so by emailing us at covid19letters@cobblehill.org and
we will distribute those kind notes.
Your loved one’s health is of paramount concern to us and we thank you for your
patience and understanding. We are a strong city and a strong organization and we will get
through this together.

Sincerely,
Donny Tuchman, CEO
Dr. Shoa Zaidi, Medical Director
Menucha Ackerman, Director of Nursing