Coronavirus Information and Update from Community LIFE
January, 2022
Dear Participants and Family Caregivers,
COVID VACCINE INFORMATION: Community LIFE continues to comply with CMS mandated COVID-19 vaccination requirements for our staff. Community LIFE strongly supports vaccination and encourages everyone who can get vaccinated to do so to protect themselves, their co-workers, and our participants. All staff must be in compliance with the CMS COVID-19 mandates. Medical or Religious exemptions may be available to those who qualify.
Please remember that if you are feeling sick, especially if you have fever, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat please contact your Community LIFE nurse or physician at your center.
If you have questions or needs that are not medical, please contact your social worker and they will get an answer for you.
Respectfully Yours,
Richard DiTommaso, President
Randy Hebert, MD, Medical Director
Community LIFE Fraud, Waste, and Abuse – COVID -19 Response
To further Community LIFE’s goal of supporting its staff, participants, and the community it serves, Community LIFE will work with UPMC Fraud team who will be serving as a centralized location to report, monitor, and coordinate the investigation and/or response to fraudulent schemes being seen related to COVID-19 such as:
- Theft of Community LIFE critical supplies
- Treatment scams
- Supply scams and Black-Market products
- Provider scams
- Charity scams
- Investment scams & Price Gouging scams
We ask that all identified instances of the above schemes, as well as any others not specifically mentioned above, be immediately reported to Patty Stern, Community LIFE’s Compliance Officer: sternpa@upmc.edu or 412-436-1344 or your supervisor/manager who will notify Community LIFE’s Compliance Officer.
For immediate concerns or questions please reach out directly to: Patty Stern Community LIFE’s Compliance Officer at: sternpa@upmc.edu or 412-436-1344.
Community LIFE is committed to providing guidance related to FWA during the COVID -19 emergency.
March 24: Yesterday afternoon, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe announced a stay-at-home order as of 8:00 p.m. yesterday evening for a period of two weeks. We confirmed with the Office of Long Term Living that we are an essential, life-sustaining business and our staff are permitted to travel to you and other places they work to provide services. You will continue to receive your home care, supplies, nursing visits, and transport to necessary outside medical appointments. Only the day centers remain closed to participants until further notice. If you have any questions, please call your Community LIFE center.
March 23, 2020
Dear Participants and Family Caregivers,
This letter is to update you on the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the Community LIFE program. The PA Office of Long-Term Living, at the direction of the Governor, ordered all programs like ours to close the day care portion of their programs for an indefinite period. This may last for several weeks.
To assure that our participants stay as healthy and as functional as possible during this time, we have taken the following actions.
- We have adopted CDC and CMS guidelines for COVID19 including screening for participants and staff and precautions to prevent transmission;
- We will continue to provide care through out clinics and in the home, using recommended screening and precautions;
- We will make sure you continue to receive medications
- We will continue routine and non-routine assessments, including if you request new or increased services, unless you object;
- We will be modifying care plans on an individual basis for longer-term closure of the day centers, offering additional services where necessary to prevent decline;
- We have communication and coordinated with our network nursing homes regarding their screening, admissions and visitation policies and are reaching out to other providers (dental, behavioral health, etc.) to do the same
We have developed plans to handle suspected and confirmed cases and if you have fever, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat please contact your Community LIFE nurse or physician at your center.
If you have any questions or needs that are not medical, please contact your social worker and they will get an answer for you.
