14 October 2020

Dear Resident

I am writing to advise you that today, Doutta Galla received advice that a staff member from the Harmony Village aged care home was notified that they visited a location in Shepparton on the same day as a person who tested positive to COVID-19.  This staff member and a further two staff members and a resident have undertaken precautionary testing.

As you may be aware, COVID-19 is currently circulating in the Shepparton community, and there are a number of high-risk locations within the community have been identified, including the Market Place Medical Centre and Bunnings Warehouse.  I strongly urge you and any family members or friends displaying symptoms of COVID-19, however mild to get tested.

I want to reinforce that there is currently NOT a COVID-19 outbreak at Harmony Village, and no residents or staff have tested positive to COVID-19.

As we are determined to do all we can to keep the virus out of our Home, Doutta Galla is taking strong precautionary measures and has already activated its emergency response plan for the Home.  This will stay in place until we can be totally confident the Home is not affected by COVID-19, and that there is no evidence of the virus in our independent living unit residents.

We have arranged for testing to be undertaken for staff and residents of the aged care Home which will occur this Friday.  We have requested the inclusion of ILU residents in the testing, however this has yet to be confirmed.  We will advise you tomorrow if we are able to include ILU residents in Friday’s testing.

Our Manager, Sandy Paily, and the staff at Harmony Village, are already well prepared if this virus enters the Home.  Staff have been trained to ensure the highest standard of infection control practices are in place.  In addition, senior infection control staff from Doutta Galla are already on their way from Melbourne to provide extra support to the staff.  A precautionary deep clean of the Home will take place and we will continue with the existing enhanced cleaning protocols.

If you or your family would like independent support during this time, I encourage you to reach out to OPAN (Older Persons Advisory Network) on 1800 237 981.  They are available 6am-10pm, 7 days a week.  The other organisation that can assist you is Elder Rights Advocacy Victoria who can be reached on 1800 171 866 for support and advice.

We will keep you informed of any changes to the current situation, you are welcome to call Harmony Village on 5831 7921 to get further information.  We have set up an email address where we are able to answer any questions, comments or concerns related to COVID-19 that you may have. The email address is: covid19questions@dgas.org.au.

Thank you for your support during this challenging time.

Yours sincerely

Vanda Iaconese

CEO