News

Brian Center is starting a covid care unit

By Lightning Reports, Published: May 1, 2020

Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation in Laurel Park has partnered with local health authorities to implement a new model of care for seniors who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Beginning Tuesday, the center on Pisgah Drive is accepting COVID-19 positive seniors from area hospitals and senior centers in a COVD-specific unit.

The center is accepting residents from other senior care facilities, as well as local hospitals, into the facility to receive specialized care with specially trained staff. Current residents who have not tested positive will be housed in a separate section of the Center and receive care from staff assigned specifically to their unit.

“Hickory East has decades of experience caring for the elderly population and we plan to put this experience to use in doing our part to help the community combat this terrible virus that is taking a particularly devastating toll on the vulnerable population in our care,” Darryl Ehlers, vice president of operations at Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation, said in a news release. “We are working very closely with health officials to ensure that all of our residents are safe and well cared for, and that we beat this virus together.”

That center will have dedicated staffing, where possible, and appropriate PPE, and will have support available from other health care professionals and partners and state and national health authorities. Hickory East will work closely with the hospital and in consultation with the local health department to receive and care for COVID-19 positive patients. Pharmacy services support will be available for administration of medications and treatments as well as necessary emergency care. A dedicated staff team will be on site and available to patients around the clock. Patients will be discharged or transferred to a non-COVID unit when they meet specified criteria for full recovery.

Following the guidance of the CDC, the Center is committed to cohorting residents who are positive for COVID-19 to control the spread of the disease in other areas.