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Message from CEO - 27 March 2020

Written by Catherine Daley, Chief Executive Officer with integratedliving

Like you, we continue to monitor the changing world we are part of and take appropriate measures as advised by the Department of Health as this situation of COVID19 unfolds.

I want to reassure you, we have clear goals around our response and actions:

  1. Our goal is to preserve the provision of as many services as we can. This ensures the continuity of high-quality essential health care that is delivered to you all in a safe and sensible way. 
       
  2. The ongoing wellbeing of the integratedliving family – our clients, staff and their families is our priority. We want you all to be safe.
        
  3. To provide you with as much clarity and certainty as we can, as soon as we can. We will continue to provide updates on our website, social media and via letter as new information becomes available.

Our teams are working hard to keep our services to you safe. Our customer service centre is now operating remotely, and our office-based staff have moved online wherever possible. 

We want to assure you that team members delivering services to you, in your homes or a clinic are following the very best standards and guidelines for infection control. Team members will not come to work if they are sick and all staff have completed refresher infection prevention and control training, including hand washing.


What to expect with Personal Protection Equipment from our staff:


Clients who are well:

When you are well, we will continue to use standard precautions. Standard precautions are the measures our staff always take to prevent the spread of infection and protect you and themselves. These measures include hand washing, cough etiquette, cleaning and disposing of waste appropriately and using personal protective equipment when necessary.  

When you are well, we will use gloves as a precaution to protect our hands from being exposed to germs or anything that may be contaminated. We will practice physical distancing, which means we will stay at least 1.5 metres apart where possible and we will wash our hands before and after providing any support to you.  

We are following best practice advice from the Department of Health and World Health Organisation who have advised masks are not required when both the staff member and you are well. 

Clients who have symptoms of COVID-19 and are awaiting test results or are confirmed to have COVID-19:

We will use all the same standard precautions as we do with a well client but will add extra Personal Protection Equipment. As COVID-19 is spread mainly from people in close contact when an infected person coughs or sneezes or by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching our mouth or face, the PPE we wear will protect us from these modes of transmission. We will be wearing a mask, gloves, an apron or gown and eye protection. 

If you have a cold or other common ailment but are otherwise well, the Department of Health has advised that the use of Personal Protection Equipment is not necessary. The recommendation is that PPE is only necessary when providing care services to people who have COVID-19 symptoms and are awaiting test results or are confirmed to have COVID-19. 

I know this is a particularly stressful time and is exacerbated for many of you by the increased isolation you now find yourselves in while you self-isolate at home. We are all missing the physical and social contact with our family and friends that is so necessary for our happiness and positivity. People are finding new ways to connect in a meaningful way via the phone and internet and I hope you are speaking regularly with your friends and loved ones in these ways. We are working to extend the range of ‘no contact’ services we can offer, and we look forward to sharing more about these in coming weeks.

As always integratedliving is committed to doing everything we can to continue to make a positive difference to your health and wellbeing while following the guidelines of the Department of Health to keep everyone safe. Their contact details are:

Australian Government Department of Health website or you can call the Department’s special Coronavirus helpline on 1800 020 080.

Thank you for your understanding as we navigate through this difficult time together. Please take care. 

Chief Executive Officer