April 27, 2020

Dear Extended Cobble Hill Health Center Family,

We want to address the concerns we have heard from some family members about the difficulty you may have experienced in getting timely information from us on the condition of your loved ones over the past month.

Back in March when we recognized the severity of the rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout Brooklyn and restricted visitors, our nursing and social work teams began reaching out to families with more frequent updates than the otherwise normal contact schedule. At the same time, the recreation team launched our video visits initiative to further maintain quality connection with your loved ones from a distance.

A couple of weeks after that, we instituted a more robust system where each family would be contacted twice a week with updates on their loved ones including video calls when possible. For those who were in isolation due to having COVID-19 symptoms, our nurses were also talking with families more frequently letting them know how their loved ones were faring. We knew how important it was for family members to keep in close contact with their loved ones during these stressful times.

Despite our best of intentions to communicate with you, we recognize that mistakes were likely made along the way. We strive to exceed your expectations and have always approached our work with a willingness to learn and improve. You are an integral part of our care team and we honor and respect you.

Going forward, our team remains committed to ensuring that every family will be contacted at least twice a week with updates on your loved ones. While we would love to be able to contact each and every family member, we hope you can understand that we will only be able to reach out to the primary next of kin. We understand that sometimes family dynamics are strained and complex and ask that you try your best to share these updates within your extended family yourselves.

We also pledge that all calls to our hotline (718) 247-1153, or emails sent to familyupdates@cobblehill.org will be answered in less than 24 hours. In addition, we will send out weekly updates on all the important news relative to COVID-19 at Cobble Hill Health Center through the mail and on our website.

And of course, any resident who is diagnosed with COVID-19 symptoms or the virus itself, their families will be contacted by the nurses taking care of them.

This is our promise to you. We value the trust and confidence you have placed in Cobble Hill Health Center, and we will do everything in our power to uphold your trust.

Sincerely,
Donny Tuchman, CEO