March 27

Our Special Tree team is working each day to keep our clients safe and healthy.

We want to start by sharing with you how much we appreciate our incredible frontline care staff. Their dedication to our clients and continued efforts to provide fabulous care in the midst of this crisis has been truly amazing. Each day brings a new set of circumstances to deal with and they continue to show up with a positive attitude, flexibility, and dedication.

Here are some of the latest developments and what we’re doing to manage COVID-19 at Special Tree:

As communicated earlier today, a client who had recently resided at our Romulus NeuroCare Center later tested positive for COVID-19 after being transferred to the hospital. Due to the severity of his injuries, this client rarely left his private room at the NeuroCare Center and had little to no interaction with other clients. The client was stable and there were no symptoms to suggest he...

March 27

NeuroCare Center Update

Last night, Special Tree was notified by Beaumont Hospital Wayne that a client who had recently resided at our Romulus NeuroCare Center had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Due to a separate health incident, he had been transferred to the hospital where he later died. The client had been asymptomatic for the virus while at Special Tree. Although his overall condition had been serious, he had been stable and there was no reason to suspect he had contracted the illness.

Our deepest condolences go to his guardian and family. The loss of a client is always difficult for our Special Tree team.

As we grieve, the safety of our clients, staff, and community remain our focus. Upon hearing this news, Special Tree immediately activated our COVID-19 emergency protocols. Staff at all of our facilities are following the latest CDC guidelines and established infection control...

March 20

Special Tree helps clients stay connected and avoid social isolation

As COVID-19 continues to spread, we want to assure you that Special Tree is taking the appropriate measures to keep our clients, staff, and families safe.

Our most important goal is to mitigate the effects of this crisis and manage the situation as best as we can. We are making decisions and, if necessary, modifying current practices to align with that goal. Each day, our COVID-19 Watch Team connects to monitor symptom and illness status, review updates from the CDC, WHO, and the Michigan Department of Health, discuss staffing and communication needs, and make real time decisions to actively manage the latest developments.

Per Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order on March 14, 2020, visitor restrictions are in effect at all Special Tree locations which includes family, friends, deliveries, vendors, and others. We have reduced traffic in our buildings by temporarily...

March 15

Visitor restrictions effective immediately

Now through April 5th

Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered late Friday night that entry to Michigan health care facilities be restricted to personnel who are essential for medical and daily care. For this reason we are moving our timeline up for visitor restrictions to begin today, effective immediately.

The executive order bars anyone not necessary for medical care, support of activities of daily living like bathing or eating or not visiting under exigent circumstances from visiting facilities. The ban on visitors began at 9 a.m. today, Saturday, March 14, and runs through 5 p.m. Sunday, April 5, 2020.

March 13

New Procedures and Restrictions

This week, it was announced that the coronavirus (COVID-19) has arrived in Michigan. Special Tree is closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and is continuing to do everything possible to keep our clients, staff, and visitors safe. Our leadership and infection prevention teams are meeting regularly to assess the latest developments, to prepare our staff, and to diligently review the latest CDC guidelines to monitor symptoms across all of our facilities. Please see the attached document which outlines our efforts.

The general strategies the CDC recommends to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in care facilities like Special Tree are the same strategies we use every day to detect and prevent the spread of viruses like inﬂuenza and other seasonal illnesses. Special Tree is also taking multiple steps to strengthen our coronavirus-related restrictions and guidelines to...

At Special Tree, we are always on guard.

The general strategies the CDC recommends to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in care facilities like Special Tree are the same strategies we have always had in place and continue to use every day to detect and prevent the spread of respiratory viruses like influenza. Some of the ways we do this include:

Using best practices for monitoring infection control
Training staff on universal precautions and contagious illness prevention
Providing flu shots
Tracking client and staff illness
Enforcing illness related return to work guidelines for staff
Encouraging hand hygiene and cough etiquette
Asking visitors to stay away if they have symptoms or illness
Conducting emergency preparedness drills
Keeping our facilities clean and sanitized
and more

Here’s what we’re doing about COVID-19:

The true impact of a COVID-19 outbreak in a U.S. community cannot be predicted. However, we have been taking steps to protect our clients and staff in as many ways as we possibly can. At Special Tree we:

Have a Watch Team carefully monitoring COVID-19 who are making decisions daily to protect our clients and staff
Are following the recommendations from the CDC, WHO, and local authorities
Ramped up our screening protocols for clients and team members, with a higher alert to respiratory symptoms
Consult frequently with our Respiratory Team, on-site 24/7 at the NeuroCare Campus, for their professional expertise relating to clients who may exhibit respiratory concerns or COVID-19 related symptoms
Have examined our current policies and procedures around infection control to ensure we are properly prepared should an outbreak occur
Have carefully reviewed our emergency preparedness and outbreak response plans
Continue to enforce standard precautions and prevention techniques we already have in place to prevent the spread of illness and disease

What you can do:

Frequent hand hygiene with hand sanitizer or soap and water, washing for at least 20 seconds.
Keep work surfaces, linens, dishes, eating utensils and shared equipment clean and disinfected daily.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, or use your shoulder if you do not have a tissue.
Follow the guidelines to stay at home and reduce your interactions in the community as much as possible.
Refrain from visiting Special Tree locations while we have visitor restrictions in place.
Get information from reliable sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), the Michigan Department of Health and governing bodies in your city of residence.

Helpful links for COVID-19 Information
State of Michigan Executive Order CDC Website Michiagn Department of Health
Everyone has a role to play to reduce & slow transmission of #COVID19. Physical or social distancing is one way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This means avoiding crowded places and maintaining distance from others. More prevention tips: https://t.co/bUyobRpOe4. #StayAtHome pic.twitter.com/UMbF3UG7vU — CDC (@CDCgov) March 21, 2020	STOP THE SPREAD OF GERMS
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At Special Tree, we are always on guard.

Here’s what we’re doing about COVID-19:

What you can do:

Helpful links for COVID-19 Information