Our COVID-19 Updates

December 23, 2022

We are happy to say that all previously negative Pali residents were tested today and no COVID new cases were found. Our Pali COVID positive resident is stable and making a good recovery. This is our last COVID update on staff and resident cases for 2022.

As we move into 2023, we are making some changes in our COVID reporting. We will continue to report resident COVID cases to our current Hale Ku’ike families at all locations. We will also continue to send updates to our current families on the outbreak status until it is cleared. In January we will be changing this public COVID page on our website to be a summary of our pandemic COVID history of precautions, cases, and an overview of our current COVID protocols. We will no longer be posting real-time updates on resident and staff COVID cases on our website.

December 16, 2022

We are very happy to say that our Nuuanu location is now officially cleared of COVID. Our Nuuanu residents that have thus far tested negative were tested again today and all are still negative. Our eight residents who were COVID positive have made good recoveries and are now out of isolation as of today.

We received confirmation that an employee at our Pali location tested positive for COVID-19. They last worked on December 11th and are currently self-isolating. We continue to monitor all our residents at all locations closely for symptoms.

December 10, 2022

We are very glad to say that all previously negative residents were tested again today and no COVID new cases were found. All of our Nuuanu COVID positive residents are stable and continue to make a recovery. We will continue to conduct surveillance testing every three days on all residents until all COVID cases are cleared. The next testing date will be Tuesday, December 13th.

We are sorry to say that we received confirmation that two employees at our Nuuanu location tested positive for COVID-19. They last worked on December 8th and 9th are currently self-isolating. All of our staff who have tested positive over the past weeks are also making good recoveries.

December 7, 2022

We are glad to have some good news to share about the resident COVID cases at our Nuuanu location. All previously negative residents were tested today and no COVID new cases were found. All of our Nuuanu COVID positive residents are stable and making a gradual recovery. We will continue to conduct surveillance testing every three days on all residents until all COVID cases are cleared. The next testing date will be Saturday, December 10th.

We are sorry to say that we received confirmation today that an employee at our Pali location tested positive for COVID-19. They last worked on December 4th and are currently self-isolating.

December 5, 2022

We are sorry to say we have had three more residents test positive over the weekend at our Nuuanu location. All other previously negative residents were tested yesterday and they are still negative. We currently have a total of eight residents who have tested positive for COVID. All are currently in isolation. We will continue to conduct surveillance testing every three days on all residents until all COVID cases are cleared. The next testing date will be Wednesday, December 7th.

We will continue to provide the highest quality of care to all our residents to bring this COVID outbreak to an end as quickly as possible. Thank you again for your support throughout this pandemic.

December 1, 2022

We are sorry to say we have had four more of our Nuuanu location residents test positive today. All other previously negative residents were tested today and they are still negative. We currently have a total of five residents who have tested positive for COVID at our Nuuanu location. All are currently in isolation. We will continue to conduct surveillance testing every three days on all Nuuanu residents until all COVID cases are cleared. All our staff are working extremely hard to care for all our residents and to try and minimize the spread of COVID as much as possible. COVID testing, quarantine and infection control protocols are our utmost priority.

In addition to today's new resident COVID cases, we received confirmation today that an employee at our Nuuanu location tested positive for COVID-19. They last worked on November 30th and are currently self-isolating.

We want to thank all of our families for all your kind words of support they have sent to our Nuuanu residents and staff. It really means a lot to all of us and lifts our spirits.

November 28, 2022

We are extremely sorry to say that one of our Nuuanu location residents tested positive for COVID-19 today. This resident is isolating in their room and receiving treatment. We tested all the other Nuuanu residents and all are negative. All residents who tested negative today will be tested again in three days. We will keep up this cycle of surveillance testing until the COVID case is cleared. We will continue to provide the highest quality of care to all our residents to bring this COVID outbreak to an end as quickly as possible.

July 25, 2022

We are overjoyed to let you know that our Bayside location is officially cleared of COVID. All Bayside residents were tested for a third and final time this morning, and all continued to test negative. We are relieved and grateful for this outcome. Scheduled family visits at our Bayside location will begin on Saturday, July 30th as planned. We are looking forward to seeing our Bayside families once again.

Thank you for all your kind messages and support for us as we navigated our way through Bayside's COVID outbreak. We put all your messages up on a poster for all the Bayside staff to see. We have said it before, but we can't say it enough, it really meant so much to us all to know that you supported us and were thinking of us. It lifted our hearts and helped us get through the toughest times.

July 23, 2022

We are sorry to share the very sad news that we have lost one of our beloved Bayside residents to COVID. Words cannot express how heartbroken we are. We extend our deepest condolences to their family and we are grieving with them.

Our Bayside residents that have tested negative so far will be tested again on Monday, July 25th. There are no other new resident or staff cases today at any of our locations today.

Thank you for the love and support you have shown all of us throughout this COVID outbreak. It means so much to us, especially today.

July 15, 2022

We are extremely sorry to say that one of our Bayside location residents tested positive for COVID-19 today. This resident is isolating in their room. We tested all the other Bayside residents and all are negative. All residents who tested negative today will be tested again in three days. We will keep up this cycle of surveillance testing until the outbreak is cleared. We will continue to monitor all our Bayside residents for symptoms.

This is the first time we have had a resident COVID case at our Bayside location during this long pandemic. While we have done all we can to keep COVID out of our homes for over two years, we have also been preparing and training to care for any residents who contract COVID. Our staff have the PPE they need to keep themselves safe as well. We will continue to provide the highest quality of care to all our residents to bring this COVID outbreak to an end as quickly as possible.

Thank you again for your support throughout this pandemic.

June 20, 2022

We are happy to say that no new resident COVID cases were detected at any location. Also very happily, Nuuanu's COVID positive resident is now cleared to come out of quarantine. We will be testing all of our Nuuanu location residents one more time at the end of this week. If all of our residents test negative at that time, we will then be officially clear of COVID. We are still on track to reopen for scheduled family visits at our Pali location starting Monday, June 27th. We look forward to seeing our Nuuanu family members in person once again.

We are sorry to say that we received confirmation that an employee at our Bayside location tested positive for COVID-19. They last worked on June 12th and are currently self-isolating. We wish them a speedy recovery. All other staff members at Nuuanu, Pali and Bayside have tested negative in this week's surveillance testing.

June 14, 2022

Here is a short update on our Nuuanu location's COVID cases. No new Nuuanu resident cases have been detected today. All residents who previously tested negative will be tested again on Thursday, June 16th.

We are sorry to say that we received confirmation that two employees at our Nuuanu location tested positive for COVID-19. Both employees are fully vaccinated and do not work at any of our other locations. One last worked on June 12th and the other on June 13th. Both are currently self-isolating. We wish them a speedy recovery. All other staff members at Nuuanu, Pali and Bayside have tested negative in this week's surveillance testing.

June 10, 2022

Today is a mixed emotions day for us at Hale Ku'ike. We are overjoyed that our Pali location has been cleared of COVID at last. Families will resume visiting starting on Monday, June 13th.

We are extremely sorry to say that a Nuuanu location resident tested positive for COVID-19 today. This resident had mild symptoms and was tested and found to be positive. We then tested all the residents and they all tested negative. All residents who tested negative today will be tested again in three days. We will keep up this cycle of surveillance testing until the outbreak is cleared.

While we have done all we can to keep COVID out of our homes for over two years, we have also been preparing and training to care for any residents who contract COVID. Our staff have the PPE they need to keep themselves safe as well. We will continue to provide the highest quality of care to all our residents to bring this COVID outbreak to an end as quickly as possible.

June 8, 2022

We are sorry to say that we received confirmation that two employees at our Bayside location tested positive for COVID-19. Both employees are fully vaccinated and do not work at any of our other locations. One last worked on June 5th and the other on June 7th. Both are currently self-isolating. We wish them a speedy recovery. At this time, no residents at any location are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. We will be monitoring all our residents closely for symptoms. All other staff members at Nuuanu, Pali and Bayside have tested negative in this week's surveillance testing.

June 5, 2022

We are very happy to say that no new Pali resident cases have been detected today. Our Pali residents that have thus far tested negative were tested today and all are still negative. They will be tested again on June 8th. We will keep up this cycle of surveillance testing for our negative residents until our home is officially cleared of COVID.

I am sorry to say that we received confirmation that an employee at our Bayside location tested positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They last worked on June 4th and are currently self-isolating.

June 3, 2022

We are happy to say that no new Pali resident COVID cases were detected today. We have just a few residents still completing their quarantines. We are looking forward to when all our residents are once again out and about.

We are very sorry to say that we received confirmation that another Nuuanu location employee tested positive for COVID-19. We wish them a speedy recovery. This Nuuanu staff member last worked on June 1st. At this time, no Nuuanu residents are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. We will be monitoring all our residents closely for symptoms. All other Nuuanu staff members have tested negative in this week's surveillance testing.

June 2, 2022

We are glad to say that no new Pali resident COVID cases were detected today. Our Pali residents that have thus far tested negative were tested today and all were still negative. They will be tested again on June 5th. We will keep up this cycle of surveillance testing for our negative residents until our home is officially cleared of COVID.

We are very sorry to say that we received confirmation that an employee tested positive for COVID-19 at our Nuuanu location. We wish them a speedy recovery. The Nuuanu staff member last worked on May 29th. At this time, no Nuuanu residents are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. We will be monitoring all our residents closely for symptoms. All other Nuuanu staff members have tested negative in this week's surveillance testing.

May 30, 2022

We are glad to say that no new Pali resident COVID cases were detected today. Each day more of our COVID positive residents are completing their quarantines and coming out of their rooms. Our Pali residents that had thus far tested negative were tested today and all were still negative. They will be tested again on June 1st. We will keep up this cycle of surveillance testing for our negative residents until our home is officially cleared of COVID.

We are very sorry to say that we received confirmation that we had two employees test positive for COVID-19, one at our Nuuanu location and one at our Bayside location. These employees are fully vaccinated and do not work at any of our other locations. The Nuuanu staff member last worked on May 26th. The Bayside staff member last worked on May 29th. Both are currently self-isolating. We wish them a speedy recovery. At this time, no Nuuanu or Bayside residents are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. We will be monitoring all our residents closely for symptoms. All other Nuuanu and Bayside staff members have tested negative in this week's surveillance testing.

May 27, 2022

Here is an update on our Pali location's COVID cases. No new Pali resident or staff cases have been detected today. To date we have had a total of 17 Pali residents who tested positive for COVID. Each of our COVID-positive residents quarantines for 10 days. On day 10 they are tested again, and if they are negative they come out of quarantine. If they still test positive they quarantine an additional four days before release. Our Pali residents that had thus far tested negative were tested today and all were still negative. They will be tested again on May 30th. We will keep up this cycle of surveillance testing for our negative residents until our home is officially cleared of COVID. We are very sorry to say that two of our COVID positive residents now have more serious symptoms. They are being very closely monitored by their physicians and our staff.

We are also very sorry to say that we received confirmation that we had an employee at our Bayside location test positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They last worked on May 25th and are currently self-isolating.

May 26, 2022

No new Pali location resident or staff cases have been detected today. To date we have had a total of 17 Pali residents who tested positive for COVID. Those that have thus far tested negative will be tested again tomorrow, Friday, May 27th.

I am very sorry to say that we received confirmation that we had an employee at our Nuuanu location test positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They last worked on May 22nd and are currently self-isolating. At this time, no residents or other staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at any of our Nuuanu or Bayside locations.

May 24, 2022

Today we conducted another round of surveillance testing on all residents that had previously tested negative. I'm very sorry to say we found four new positive cases. Our residents who tested negative today will be tested again in three days. We currently have a total of 17 residents who have tested positive for COVID. All are currently in isolation and those that are symptomatic have mild symptoms. We will continue to conduct surveillance testing on all Pali staff and residents as we go forward. Our nursing team is working closely with our COVID positive residents’ physicians for their treatments and monitoring their symptoms.

May 20, 2022

We currently have a total of 13 residents who are confirmed COVID positive since our first cases this past Sunday. Residents who have thus far tested negative, and are still not showing symptoms, will be retested on Saturday, 5/21/22. Our nursing team is working closely with our COVID positive residents’ physicians for their treatments and monitoring their symptoms. We are grateful that our residents who have tested positive have had mild symptoms, and the very first cases are starting to improve. Some of our residents who have tested positive are completely asymptomatic.

May 19, 2022

We currently have a total of 11 residents who are confirmed COVID positive since our first cases this past Sunday. All are currently in isolation and recovering. Residents who have so far tested negative, and are still not showing symptoms, will be retested again on Saturday, 5/21/22. All Pali staff have tested negative in this week's surveillance testing. We will continue to conduct surveillance testing on all Pali staff and residents as we go forward through this outbreak. Our nursing team is working closely with our COVID positive residents’ physicians for their treatments and monitoring their symptoms.

We will continue to give you updates on our cases and testing throughout this outbreak. Thank you to everyone for their kind words of support to our hardworking team. We share each of them all with our staff and are grateful to receive them during this difficult time.

May 18, 2022

Update on resident COVID cases at our Pali location:
Today we conducted surveillance testing on all residents that had previously tested negative on Sunday, but had not shown any symptoms so far. I'm very sorry to say we found four additional positive cases. We currently have a total of nine residents who are confirmed COVID positive since our first cases this past Sunday. All are currently in isolation. No Pali staff have tested positive in this week's surveillance testing. We will continue to conduct surveillance testing on all Pali staff and residents as we go forward through this outbreak.

Bayside Location Staff Member Test Positive:
We received confirmation today that an employee at our Bayside location tested positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They last worked on May 17th and are currently self-isolating. At this time, no Bayside residents or staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. We will be monitoring all our Bayside residents closely for symptoms. All other Bayside staff members have tested negative in this week's surveillance testing.

Thank you so much for your support during this difficult time.

May 17, 2022

Here is an update on the resident COVID cases at our Pali location. We currently have a total of five residents who have tested positive for COVID. All are currently in isolation. We are continuing to conduct surveillance testing on all staff and residents. Our nursing team is working closely with our COVID positive residents’ physicians for their treatments and monitoring their symptoms.

We have staff specifically dedicated to caring for our COVID positive residents who are in quarantine. All our staff are working extremely hard to care for all our residents and to try and minimize the spread of COVID as much as possible. COVID testing, quarantine and infection control protocols are our utmost priority.

We want to thank all our family members for all their kind words of support and prayers they have sent to our Pali residents and staff. It really means a lot to all of us and lifts our spirits.

May 15, 2022

We are extremely sorry to say that three of our Pali location residents tested positive for COVID-19 today. One resident had mild symptoms today and was tested and found to be positive. We then tested all the residents and found two more positive cases, both asymptomatic. These three positive residents are isolating in-room. All other residents tested negative at this time. We will continue to monitor all our Pali residents for symptoms. All residents at all locations received their second boosters last week.

No in-person visits will be allowed at our Pali location starting Sunday, May 15th.
Exceptions will be made for end-of-life visitation.
During this pause, we will be monitoring the situation to determine when we can safely resume family visits.
We will not be able to provide window visits at this time, but are happy to schedule additional FaceTime or phone visits for families.

This is the first time we have had residents with COVID-19 during this long pandemic. While we have done all we can to keep COVID out of our homes for over two years, we have also been preparing and training to care for any residents who contract COVID. Our staff have the PPE they need to keep themselves safe as well. We will continue to provide the highest quality of care to all our residents to bring this COVID outbreak to an end as quickly as possible.

May 8, 2022

We received confirmation that we had an employee at our Nuuanu location test positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They last worked on May 2nd and are currently self-isolating. At this time, no residents or other staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at any of our locations. We will be monitoring our residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, and 100% vaccination rates.

May 5, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had an employee at our Pali location test positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They last worked on May 4th and are currently self-isolating. At this time, no residents or other staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at any of our locations. We will be monitoring our residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, and 100% vaccination rates.

April 21, 2022

We received confirmation today that an employee at our Nuuanu location tested positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They last worked on 4/17 and are currently self-isolating. At this time, no residents or other staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at any of our locations. We will be monitoring our residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, and 100% vaccination rates.

March 23, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had an employee at our Pali location test positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They last worked on 3/23/22 and are currently self-isolating. At this time, no residents or other staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at any of our locations. We will be monitoring our residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, and 100% vaccination rates.

February 16, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had an employee at our Bayside location test positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They are asymptomatic and their case was discovered through our staff weekly surveillance COVID testing. They last worked on 2/11/22 and are currently self-isolating.

At this time, no residents or other staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at any of our locations. We will be monitoring our residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, and 100% vaccination rates. During this surge, our staff wear N95 masks at all times during their shifts.

February 6, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had an employee that works at both our Nuuanu and Pali locations test positive for COVID-19. This staff member has mild symptoms, is fully vaccinated and currently self-isolating. They last worked at Nuuanu on 2/1/22 and at Pali on 2/3/22.

January 26, 2022

January 23, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had two employees test positive for COVID-19 – one who works at our Nuuanu location, and one that works at both our Nuuanu and Bayside locations.

Nuuanu Location – Our staff member who works only at Nuuanu is asymptomatic. They last worked on 1/18/22, are vaccinated, and are currently self-isolating.

Nuuanu and Bayside Locations – Our staff member that works at both Nuuanu and Bayside has mild symptoms. They last worked at Nuuanu on 1/22/22 and at Bayside on 1/17/22. They are vaccinated and currently self-isolating.

January 18, 2022

January 17, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had an employee at our Nuuanu location test positive for COVID-19. This employee is fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. They are asymptomatic and their case was discovered through our staff weekly surveillance COVID testing. This employee last worked on 1/14/22 and is currently self-isolating.

January 16, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had two employees at our Pali location test positive for COVID-19. Both employees are fully vaccinated and do not work at any of our other locations. The first Pali staff member is asymptomatic and their case was discovered through our staff weekly surveillance COVID testing. They last worked on 1/13/22 and are currently self-isolating. The second Pali staff member has mild symptoms, last worked on 1/12/22 and is currently self-isolating. Because these two employees worked overlapping shifts, out of an abundance of caution, we tested all Pali residents today and they all came back negative.

January 14, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had an employee at our Bayside location test positive for COVID-19. This Bayside staff member is asymptomatic and their case was discovered through our staff weekly surveillance COVID testing. They last worked on 1/9/22 and are currently self-isolating. This employee was fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations.

January 6, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had two employees test positive for COVID-19 – one at our Bayside location and one at our Pali location.

Bayside Location – Our Bayside staff member has mild symptoms. They last worked on 1/4/22 and are currently self-isolating. This employee was vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations.

Pali Location – Our Pali staff member is asymptomatic and their case was discovered through our staff weekly surveillance COVID testing. They last worked on 1/9/22 and are currently self-isolating. This employee was vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations.

January 6, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had a Bayside location employee test positive for COVID-19. They last worked on 1/4/22 and are currently self-isolating. This employee has mild symptoms, was fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations.

January 5, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had a Bayside location employee test positive for COVID-19. They last worked on 12/22/21 and are currently self-isolating. This employee has mild symptoms, was fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations.

January 3, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had two more employees test positive for COVID-19 – one from our Bayside location and one from our Pali location.

Bayside Location – Our Bayside staff member has mild symptoms and their case was discovered through our staff weekly surveillance COVID testing. They last worked on 1/2/22 and are currently self-isolating. This employee was fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations.

Pali Location – Our Pali staff member is asymptomatic and their case was discovered through our staff weekly surveillance COVID testing. They last worked on 1/3/22 and are currently self-isolating. This employee was fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations.

January 2, 2022

We received confirmation today that we had two employees test positive for COVID-19 – one from our Pali location and one from our Nuuanu location.

Pali Location – Our Pali staff member is asymptomatic and their case was discovered through our staff weekly surveillance COVID testing. They last worked on 12/31/21 and are currently self-isolating. This employee was fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations.

Nuuanu Location – Our Nuuanu staff member has mild symptoms. They last worked on December 31st and are currently self-isolating. This employee was fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. The Nuuanu residents were antigen tested and we are glad to say they came back all negative.

The safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern. We will continue to do all we can to keep our residents and staff safe through this long surge.

December 31, 2021

We received confirmation today that a second employee at Hale Kūʻike's Nuuanu location has tested positive for COVID-19. This employee was fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. The staff member last worked on December 25th and is currently self-isolating.

At this time, no residents or staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at our Nuuanu location. We will be monitoring our residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, and 100% vaccination rates.

The safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern. Thank you again for your kind words of support throughout this pandemic.

December 30, 2021

We received confirmation today that an employee at Hale Kūʻike's Nuuanu location has tested positive for COVID-19. This employee was fully vaccinated, has mild symptoms, and does not work at any of our other locations. The staff member last worked on December 26th and is currently self-isolating.

The safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern. We will continue to work closely with the Hawai`i Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and current national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in determining future actions. We have been adhering to stringent infection controls since March 11, 2020, when we implemented best practices from the CDC, WHO, Department of Health, and Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

December 21, 2021

We received confirmation today that an employee at Hale Kūʻike's Pali location has tested positive for COVID-19. This employee was fully vaccinated, has mild symptoms, and does not work at any of our other locations. The staff member last worked on December 16th and is currently self-isolating.

We identified all close contacts and administered COVID tests this evening. Everyone tested negative. All staff were tested this week during our weekly interval testing and were also negative. At this time, no residents or staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at our Pali location. We will be monitoring our residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, and 100% vaccination rates.

September 27, 2021

I am very sorry to inform you that we received confirmation today that an employee at Hale Kūʻike's Nuuanu location has tested positive for COVID-19. This employee was fully vaccinated, is asymptomatic and does not work at any of our other locations. The staff member last worked on September 19th and is currently self-isolating.

At this time, no residents or staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at our Nuuanu location. We will be monitoring our Nuuanu residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, and high vaccination rates. We will continue to provide you with updates as they become available.

The safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern. We will continue to work closely with the Hawai`i Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and current national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in determining future actions. We have been adhering to stringent infection controls since March 11, 2020 when we implemented best practices from the CDC, WHO, Department of Health, and Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

September 12, 2021

I am happy to let you know that the results of the resident COVID tests conducted today at our Bayside location are all negative. All Bayside staff members will be tested over the next two days. Staff will also continue to be tested weekly as part of our current surge interval testing protocols. We will continue to provide you with updates as they become available. We are grateful for this good news. Thank you for all your messages of support as we go through these challenging times together.

September 11, 2021

I am very sorry to inform you that we received confirmation today that an employee at Hale Kūʻike's Bayside in Kaneohe has tested positive for COVID-19. This employee was fully vaccinated and does not work at any of our other locations. The staff member last worked on September 8th and is currently self-isolating.

At this time, no residents or staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at Bayside. We are so grateful that all of our Bayside residents are fully vaccinated. We will be monitoring our Bayside residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, high vaccination rates, and environmental hygiene measures. We will continue to provide you with updates as they become available.

The safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern. We will continue to work closely with the Hawai`i Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and current national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in determining future actions. As you know, we have been adhering to stringent infection controls since March 11, 2020 when we implemented best practices from the CDC, WHO, Department of Health, and Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

September 9, 2021

I am very excited to let you know about new layer of protection against COVID-19 at Hale Ku'ike. All three of our locations are having the REME HALO Air Purification System installed into the central air conditioning system and resident rooms. Proper ventilation and air purification for enclosed indoor congregate settings are critical to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses.

The REME HALO Air Purifier has been extensively tested on COVID-19 and found to be 99.9% effective at neutralizing it. This product has already been in use for years in hospitals and other commercial settings and had already been shown to neutralize many common flus and other diseases. The cost for equipment and installation was $30,000 for all three locations. It is a very worthwhile investment to help protect our elderly and immunocompromised residents, staff and visitors.

I would like to share two videos from RGF Environmental Group about the REME HALO system. Please click here to view an interview with Dr. James Marsden, PhD, RGF's Executive Director of Science and Technology. Click here for link to a video overview of the REME HALO system.

Our Oahu COVID positivity rate is still very high, 8% today. As another extra layer of precaution, we are currently testing all of our staff weekly, regardless of vaccination status. Family visits will also continue to be limited to one family at a time, scheduled in advance, and only on the lanai, or conference room if the weather does not allow use of the lanai. Until our Oahu positivity rate goes down to 4% for seven consecutive days, we will maintain this increased testing regimen and stringent visitation precautions.

August 27, 2021

As you all know, we are in the midst of yet another deadly COVID-19 surge here in Hawaii. Our community case numbers continue to rise and our hospitals are in crisis. Hale Ku'ike cares for some of the most vulnerable people in our community and we owe it to them to take every measure possible to ensure the safest care environment.

To protect our residents, staff and community, starting September 1st Hale Ku’ike is implementing a mandatory staff COVID-19 vaccination policy. With limited exception, all employees must be fully vaccinated by October 27th. The vaccine data has fully supported the safety and efficacy to prevent COVID-19 and reduce its severity. In addition, national data shows that 97 percent of hospitalizations and 99 percent of COVID-19 deaths are in the unvaccinated.

Hale Ku’ike is implementing this requirement for several reasons, including the rise of the Delta variant, the lifting of the Emergency Use Authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, the need to protect our residents and employees, and to prepare for the flu season.

August 24, 2021

At this time, no residents or staff are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 at Bayside. We are so grateful that all of our Bayside residents are fully vaccinated. We will be monitoring our Bayside residents closely for symptoms. The risk of transmission is extremely low because of our stringent infection control, masking protocols, and high vaccination rates. We will continue to provide you with updates as they become available.

The safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern. We will continue to work closely with the Hawai`i Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and current national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in determining future actions. We have been adhering to stringent infection controls since March 11, 2020 when we implemented best practices from the CDC, WHO, Department of Health, and Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

August 6, 2021

Our COVID Response Team has revised our safety measures in response to the increased threat posed by the extremely transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19, and our rising case numbers on Oahu. We are tracking our community numbers, especially our Oahu COVID positivity rate, very carefully. As today, August 6th, Oahu's COVID positivity rate is 7.46%.

We have consulted with the Healthcare Association of Hawaii and the Department of Health Disease Outbreak Control Division on these new protocols to make sure our revised response plan is in line with best practices and current medically recommended precautions. Starting on Monday, August 9th, we will begin implementing additions and changes to our response plan in the following areas:

COVID Testing and Vaccines

ALL partially or unvaccinated staff, residents, visitors, and contractors will be antigen tested weekly. This is not tied to any community positivity rate. This is a change from our previous testing policy of every two weeks, with weekly testing tied to a 5% COVID positivity rate.
All three facilities have been added to Walgreens list for booster vaccine for residents. Our residents will be given the booster vaccine as soon as it is recommended and available to be scheduled.

Family Visits

We will start scheduled lanai visits on Monday, August 9th. This is for all visitors, regardless of vaccination status.
Visits will be outdoors on the lanai, or in the conference room if the weather does not allow an outdoor visit.
We will maintain scheduled lanai visits until our Oahu community positivity rate is below 4% for seven consecutive days. Once the positivity rate is below 4% for seven days, we will allow unscheduled visits for vaccinated visitors. Unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated visitors will continue to have scheduled visits and weekly COVID antigen testing.
All visits must be scheduled through each location's Appointlet on-line scheduler. To accommodate as many families as possible, we ask that you limit your bookings to one per week. Click on your location link in the red box below to book a visit.
Visitors must keep masks on at all times, regardless of vaccination status, both indoors and outdoors.
We will no longer allow visitor and resident outdoor meals together. We had previously allowed distanced, outdoor, unmasked dining. Visitors are welcome to bring outside food for their loved one to enjoy, but they may not remove their mask to eat it with them, even at a distance.
Social outings for residents will continue to not be allowed.
Telehealth will be prioritized over in-person medical visits, unless an in-person appointment is deemed necessary by the medical provider.

Together we can bring these numbers down with vaccination, mask wearing, and physical distancing. If you haven't been vaccinated yet, please consider getting it now. We want each and every one of our family members to remain as healthy and safe as possible.

July 23, 2021

Dear Hale Ku'ike Family Members and Friends:

Unfortunately we have another day of triple-digit COVID cases today. Cases on Oahu increased to 151 cases with a positivity rate of 4.41%. We are extremely concerned about this continued climb, especially in conjunction with the new highly contagious Delta variant. This new variant is spreading fast through our state.

Even though our residents are vaccinated, they do not have 100% immunity from COVID-19. Our elderly residents have compromised immune systems and their immunity levels are lower than in younger vaccinated individuals. While the vast majority of new cases are among those not vaccinated, there have been many recent cases of vaccinated people contracting COVID, especially seniors. There has also already been a cluster of new COVID cases in another long-term care facility here on Oahu. Lt. Governor Josh Green has asked our Hawaii community to take a two-week pause in social gathering, get vaccinated and recommit to wearing masks to bring down these surge numbers down to safer levels.

I am very sorry to say that we have to put a pause on in-person social visits at all three of our Hale Ku'ike locations. It was something we had hoped to never have to do again. We are temporarily restricting visits from families and friends for two weeks to allow time for these numbers to go down to safer levels. This will also allow our leadership team to plan out how to reopen safely and as quickly as possible.

Our COVID Response Team has updated our response plan and we are implementing the following additional COVID safety measures immediately:

No in-person social visits will be allowed at any of our locations starting Saturday, 7/24 through Saturday, 8/7, regardless of vaccination status.
During this two week pause, the COVID Response Team will be crafting and sharing new guidelines on how and when to safely resume family visits.
We will not be able to provide window visits during these two weeks, but are happy to schedule additional FaceTime or phone visits for families.

Thank you again for your support throughout this pandemic.

March 25, 2021

Our third and final COVID vaccination clinics were held this week. I am proud to announce that we were able to raise our already high overall vaccination rates a bit more.

Company-wide we now have 95% of staff and 99% of residents vaccinated. These are still among the highest vaccination rates of any long-term care facility in our state or the US. Here are the vaccination rate summaries for each of our locations:

Nuuanu: 100% of staff and 96% of residents vaccinated
Bayside: 88% of staff and 100% of residents vaccinated
Pali: 100% of staff and 100% of residents vaccinated

Even though our on-site vaccinations clinics are done, we are still able to sign up any new staff get vaccinated as healthcare workers very quickly. New residents coming in are fully vaccinated before admission.

All of us at Hale Ku'ike are so grateful to have been able to vaccinate almost all of our residents and staff and give them real and lasting protection against serious illness from COVID-19. We will uphold all our COVID safety protocols as we continue through this pandemic together.

March 11, 2021

It has been exactly one year to the day since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and our lockdown. We are so grateful for all the support we received from our families and staff during what I have to say was the most challenging year we have ever been through, both personally and as a company. At long last, thanks to the vaccine and our high vaccination rates, we are able to begin to ease some of our COVID precautions and restrictions.

This week marks two full weeks since the completion of our 2nd vaccine clinic where company-wide, 99% of our residents and 94% of our staff received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccines. We are relieved and grateful to know that they are now considered fully immunized. The vast majority of our staff and residents have completed their vaccines and we are able to begin this week to make positive changes for the lives of our residents, families, and staff.

We have recently received new guidance from the CDC, Hawaii Dept. of Health and the Healthcare Association of Hawaii on post-vaccination changes for long term care settings for the elderly. Our hardworking COVID Response Team, which has been guiding us throughout this pandemic, met today and I would like to give you an overview of the changes we are implementing now and what is on the horizon.

Our third and final Walgreens COVID-19 vaccination clinic will be held on March 23rd for our Pali and Nu’uanu locations, and March 24th for our Bayside location. Even though our on-site vaccination clinics will be done, we will be able to help any staff or residents that need vaccinations in the future to be able to get them off-site.
We are closing our Pali location COVID Isolation Unit which stood ready since March 2020 to care for any COVID-positive resident from any location, and thankfully never had to be used. We are also closing each location's dedicated COVID Observation Room as well.
We are now able to begin offering in-person visits for family members to be reunited with their loved one at Hale Ku'ike. We look forward to be bringing all our family members back together to be able to hold hands and hug at long last. We have separate procedures for vaccinated and unvaccinated visitors.
- In-person visits will be scheduled in advance, just as our window and virtual visits have been throughout the pandemic.
- March window visits already scheduled have the option of being converted to an in-person visit.
- In-person visits are limited to 30 minutes and to a maximum of three visitors at one time.
- In-person visits will be held either on the lanai or in the conference room only.
- Fully-vaccinated visitors will be screened (temperature check and questionnaire) and issued a disposable procedure mask to wear during the the duration of the visit. We will need to see a copy of your COVID vaccine card.
- Unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated visitors (those who have received the first dose only or have not completed the required 2-week waiting period after the second dose) will be screened (temperature check and questionnaire), given a rapid antigen COVID test, and be required to wear an issued disposable procedure mask and face shield during the duration of the visit.
- We will continue to also offer window and virtual visits as an option for all family members regardless of vaccination status.
Because our wider Hawaii community is still largely not immunized, social outings are still not allowed at this time (such as to restaurants, parties, clubs). We look forward to the future when our Hawaii community reaches herd immunity levels and public outings become safe for our residents again.

We are very proud of all of our Hale Ku'ike team who worked so hard to keep our residents, themselves and their families safe during this long and dangerous pandemic. We are grateful for the vaccine to have come so quickly and at long last we can move forward to a better and safer future together.

Oct. 26, 2020 – Every single resident and employee of the Hale Kūʻike Pali adult residential care home has been found negative for COVID-19 after a staff member was diagnosed as positive on Oct. 22.

The positive individual last worked on Oct. 16 and has been self-isolating. The home has confirmed that this employee does not work at any of its other locations, nor does the individual work for any other employer.

Hale Kūʻike conducts weekly interval testing of staff in its three locations (Pali, Nuu‘anu and Bayside in Kaneohe) as part of its stringent and comprehensive infection prevention and control plan; every single employee is tested at least once per month.

The employee was asymptomatic, but was diagnosed as positive through this regularly scheduled testing. Management immediately identified those who might have been in close contact with this employee, as outlined in the Hale Kūʻike COVID-19 Crisis Response Plan. No matter the level of contact, all 17 residents and 38 staff in the Pali home received a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab test on Oct. 23, with the negative results arriving earlier today.

“We are grateful that all resident and staff tests came back negative as their health and safety is our highest priority,” explains David Fitzgerald, president. “We will continue to work closely with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and the national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in determining future actions for their care.”

The company implements best practices from the CDC, WHO, DOH and Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi. In early March, Hale Kūʻike’s COVID-19 Crisis Response Team updated plans and procedures to reduce risk and to guide response to positive cases. Since March 11, 2020, these stringent infection controls have included:

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
A moratorium on new admissions to a home if a case is diagnosed
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

Oct. 23, 2020 – An employee at the Hale Kūʻike Pali adult residential care home tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday.

The positive individual last worked on Oct. 16 and is currently self-isolating. The home has confirmed that this employee does not work at any of its other locations, nor does the individual work for any other employer.

Hale Kūʻike conducts weekly interval testing of all staff in its three locations (Pali, Nuu‘anu and Bayside in Kaneohe) as part of its stringent and comprehensive infection prevention and control plan; every single employee is tested at least once per month. This individual was asymptomatic, but was diagnosed as positive through this regularly scheduled testing.

Management has identified those who may have been in close contact with this employee, as outlined in the Hale Kūʻike COVID-19 Crisis Response Plan. No matter the level of contact, all 17 residents and 38 staff in the Pali home received a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab test earlier today.

“The health and safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern,” explains David Fitzgerald, president. “We will continue to work closely with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and the national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in determining future actions.”

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
A moratorium on new admissions to a home if a case is diagnosed
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

Oct. 21, 2020 – Every single resident and employee of the Hale Kūʻike Nuʻuanu adult residential care home has been found negative for COVID-19 through two rounds of testing after an employee was diagnosed as positive on Oct. 10.

The employee was asymptomatic, but was diagnosed as positive through this regularly scheduled testing and began self-isolating.

Management immediately identified those who might have been in close contact with this employee, as outlined in the Hale Kūʻike COVID-19 Crisis Response Plan. No matter the level of contact, all 23 residents and 35 staff in the Nuʻuanu home received a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab test on Oct. 12 and then were re-tested Oct. 19. All tests through both rounds came back negative, with the negative results of Monday’s test arriving today.

“We are thoroughly relieved and grateful that two rounds of resident and staff tests came back negative over the past week and a half,” explains David Fitzgerald, president. “We will continue to work closely with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and the national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in determining future actions for their care.”

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
A moratorium on new admissions to a home if a case is diagnosed
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

Oct. 11, 2020 – An employee at the Hale Kūʻike Nuʻuanu adult residential care home tested positive for COVID-19 late yesterday.

Hale Kūʻike conducts weekly interval testing of all staff in its three locations (Pali, Nuu‘anu and Bayside in Kaneohe) as part of its stringent and comprehensive infection prevention and control plan; every singleemployee is tested at least once per month. This individual was asymptomatic, but was diagnosed as positive through this regularly scheduled testing.

Management has identified those who may have been in close contact with this employee, as outlined in the Hale Kūʻike COVID-19 Crisis Response Plan. No matter the level of contact, all 23 residents and 35 staff in the Nuʻuanu home are receiving a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab test tomorrow morning; they will be re-tested one week later.

The positive individual is currently self-isolating. The home has confirmed that this employee does not work at any of its other locations, nor does the individual work for any other employer.

“The safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern,” explains David Fitzgerald, president. “We will continue to work closely with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and the national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in determining future actions.”

The company implements best practices from the CDC, WHO, DOH and Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi. In early March, Hale Kūʻike’sCOVID-19 Crisis Response Team updated plans and procedures to reduce risk and to guide response to positive cases. Since March 11, 2020, these stringent infection controls have included:

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
A moratorium on new admissions to a home if a case is diagnosed
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

Sept. 16, 2020 – All residents and employees of the Hale Kūʻike Pali adult residential care home have been found negative for COVID-19.

On Sept. 12, a single employee tested positive for COVID-19. That was the Pali home’s first case.

Management had immediately identified those who might have been in close contact with this employee, as outlined in the Hale Kūʻike COVID-19 Crisis Response Plan. No matter the level of contact, all 17 residents and 38 staff in the Pali home received a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab test on Monday; the negative results were received yesterday and this morning. All Pali residents and staff will be re-tested in one week.

The one positive employee at the Pali home was asymptomatic, but was diagnosed as positive through this regularly scheduled testing. The individual last worked on Sept. 10 and is currently self-isolating. The home has confirmed that this employee does not work at any of its other locations, nor does the individual work for any other employer.

“We are relieved and thankful that all tests came back negative – and that we learned the results so quickly,” explains David Fitzgerald, president. “We will continue to work closely with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and the national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the health and safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern.”

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
A moratorium on new admissions to a home if a case is diagnosed
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

Sept. 13, 2020 – An employee at the Hale Kūʻike Pali adult residential care home tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. This is the first case in the center.

Management has identified those who may have been in close contact with this employee, as outlined in the Hale Kūʻike COVID-19 Crisis Response Plan. No matter the level of contact, all 17 residents and 38 staff in the Pali home are receiving a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab test on Monday; they will be re-tested one week later.

The positive individual last worked on Sept. 10 and is currently self-isolating. The home has confirmed that this employee does not work at any of its other locations, nor does the individual work for any other employer.

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
A moratorium on new admissions to a home if a case is diagnosed
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

Sept. 1, 2020 – All residents and employees of the Hale Kūʻike Nuʻuanu adult residential care home have been found negative for COVID-19.

On Aug. 27, a single employee tested positive for COVID-19. That was the Nuʻuanu home’s first case.

The positive individual last worked on Aug. 18 and has been self-isolating. No residents or employees at the Nuʻuanu home have been symptomatic at any time.

“The health of the Hale Kūʻike ‘ohana is our greatest concern, so the negative test results are a huge relief to us all,” explains David Fitzgerald, president. “We are grateful for the understanding and cooperation of our residents, their families and our employees during these challenging times.”

The company implements best practices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, Hawaiʻi Department of Health and Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi. In early March, the Hale Kūʻike COVID-19 Crisis Response Team updated plans and procedures to reduce risk and to guide response to positive cases. Since March 11, 2020, these stringent infection controls have included:

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
A moratorium on new admissions to a home if a case is diagnosed
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

Aug. 28, 2020 – An employee at the Hale Kūʻike Nuʻuanu adult residential care home tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday.

The positive individual last worked on Aug. 18 and is currently self-isolating. The home has confirmed that this employee does not work at any of its other locations (Hale Kūʻike Pali and Hale Kūʻike Bayside), nor does the individual work for any other employer.

This is the first case of COVID in the Nuʻuanu facility.

In early March, Hale Kūʻike’s COVID-19 Crisis Response Team designed a comprehensive plan of action that could be immediately deployed in such an event.

Management has identified those who may have been in close contact with this employee prior to the onset of symptoms, as outlined in that response plan. No matter the level of contact, all 23 residents and 35 staff in the Nuʻuanu home are receiving a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab test today. No residents or employees are symptomatic at this time at the Nuʻuanu home.

“Our greatest concern is the safety of our residents and employees,” explains David Fitzgerald, president. “We will continue to work closely with the Hawai`i Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and the national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in determining future actions.”

The company implements best practices from the CDC, WHO, DOH and Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi. In early March, the COVID-19 Crisis Response Team updated plans and procedures to reduce risk and to guide response to positive cases. Since March 11, 2020, these stringent infection controls have included:

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
A moratorium on new admissions to a home if a case is diagnosed
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

August 18, 2020

All residents and employees of the three Hale Kūʻike adult residential care homes have been found negative for COVID-19 in a second round of tests.

On July 31, Hale Kūʻike announced that a single employee at the Hale Kūʻike Bayside location in Kaneohe tested positive for COVID-19 earlier that day. That was the first case of COVID in any of the organization’s three locations, which also include Nuʻuanu and Pali.

Immediately after the positive case was diagnosed, Hale Kūʻike management identified those who might have been in close contact with the employee prior to the onset of symptoms, as outlined in the comprehensive response plan designed in March. No matter the level of contact, the 24 residents and 42 staff at the Bayside home, as well as all residents and staff at the Nuʻuanu and Pali locations, received a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab test; all tested negative. All residents and employees were then re-tested after one week; yesterday, Hale Kūʻike management was notified that all tested in the second round were found to be negative as well.

“The safety of everyone who lives and works here is paramount, so the negative test results are a huge relief,” explains David Fitzgerald, president. “We appreciate the patience and cooperation of all our employees, our residents and their families over these past 2-1/2 weeks.”

Hale Kūʻike implements best practices from the CDC, WHO, DOH and Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi. In early March, its COVID-19 Crisis Response Team updated plans and procedures to reduce risk and to guide response to positive cases. Since March 11, 2020, these stringent infection controls have included:

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

July 31, 2020

A single employee at the adult residential care home Hale Kūʻike Bayside tested positive for COVID-19 today.

This is the first case of COVID in any of the organization’s three locations, including Bayside in Kaneohe.

In early March, the organization’s COVID-19 Crisis Response Team designed a comprehensive plan of action that could be immediately deployed in such an event.

Management has identified those who may have been in close contact with this employee prior to the onset of symptoms, as outlined in that response plan. No matter the level of contact, the 24 residents and 42 staff at the Bayside home are receiving a COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab test. All residents and employees will be re-tested in one week. There is also a moratorium on new admissions until the home is determined to be free of cases.

In addition, all residents and staff in the other two locations (Nu`uanu and Pali) are being tested tomorrow.

The positive individual last worked Wednesday and is currently self-isolating. The home has confirmed that this employee does not work at any of its other locations, nor does the individual work for any other employer.

“The safety of all who live and work here is our greatest concern,” explains David Fitzgerald, president. “We will continue to work closely with the Hawai`i Department of Health and follow our COVID emergency response protocols, based on guidance from DOH and current national standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in determining future actions.”

The company implements best practices from the CDC, WHO, DOH and Healthcare Association of Hawai`i. In early March, the COVID-19 Crisis Response Team updated plans and procedures to reduce risk and to guide response to positive cases. Since March 11, 2020, these stringent infection controls have included:

No visitors
No outside non-emergency outings for residents
Stringent health screenings for all staff
Increased disinfection of high-touch and high-traffic areas
Creation of a COVID Isolation Unit to care for residents, if needed

June 11, 2020

Aloha,

At Hale Ku’ike, we have always stood by our commitment to ensure the safety, security, health, and well-being of our residents and staff. The COVID-19 pandemic that started in March 2020 called for unprecedented measures that we had to implement to help safeguard our residents and staff at all of our facilities.

As the state of Hawaii continues to open up businesses and services, we will continue to keep our safety protocols in place. These include:

Monitoring the health of all residents daily
Screening all staff before the start of each shift
Requiring all staff to wear face masks and other protective equipment
Implementing stringent return-to-work policies for staff
Disinfecting high-touch and high-traffic areas regularly
Exercising physical distancing best practices, particularly while dining and doing activities
Suspending all non-essential visits
Facilitating virtual visits, phone calls and other non-physical connections between our residents and their families

We continue to closely monitor and implement COVID-19 prevention guidelines and recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) and other local, state, and federal agencies.

We all look forward to a time when we can once again open our doors to families and friends to connect with our residents. Until then, we will continue to exercise the highest precautions to keep our residents and staff safe and healthy.

Mahalo,

David Fitzgerald, President, and the Hale Ku'ike COVID-19 Crisis Response Team

Update from Hale Ku’ike President, David Fitzgerald

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All Hale Kuʻike Pali Residents, Employees Test Negative for COVID-19; One Asymptomatic Positive Employee Found Oct. 22 Through Weekly Interval Testing

Hale Kuʻike Pali Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19

All Hale Kuʻike Nuʻuanu Residents, Employees Re-Test Negative Again for COVID-19 After Two Rounds; One Asymptomatic Positive Employee Found Oct. 10 Through Weekly Interval Testing

Hale Kuʻike Nuʻuanu Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19

All Hale Kuʻike Pali Residents, Employees Test Negative for COVID-19 Today; One Asymptomatic Positive Employee Found Sept. 12 Through Weekly Interval Testing

Hale Kuʻike Pali Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19

All Hale Kuʻike Pali Residents, Employees Test Negative for COVID-19;
One Asymptomatic Positive Employee Found Oct. 22 Through Weekly Interval Testing

All Hale Kuʻike Nuʻuanu Residents, Employees Re-Test Negative Again for COVID-19 After Two Rounds;
One Asymptomatic Positive Employee Found Oct. 10 Through Weekly Interval Testing

All Hale Kuʻike Pali Residents, Employees Test Negative for COVID-19 Today;
One Asymptomatic Positive Employee Found Sept. 12 Through Weekly Interval Testing