Weeks before the Governor of Pennsylvania issued his shelter-in-place directive, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network had already assembled its COVID-19 Task Force with the sole purpose of putting policies, procedures and protocols in place to prevent the disease from infecting its residents and staff.

With locations in 10 counties in western Pennsylvania that include skilled nursing, assisted living, personal care, independent living and low-income housing communities, the faith-based non-profit aging services provider serves more than 6,500 residents and patients annually and employs approximately 2,000 team members.

Communication was a critical component of the Network’s effectiveness with employees and vendors as well as residents and patients and their family members. Pipitone acted quickly to support Presbyterian SeniorCare Network in:

• Family member communication: development of a COVID-19 Family resources web page
• Hiring communication: development of a web page for interviewing information and protocol during COVID-19
• Outreach to the community: print ad campaign in the beginning of COVID-19 letting the community and families know we would be restricting visitation to get the message out broadly and quickly
• Earned PR coverage about the in-depth protocol to keep our residents and staff safe
• Internal Communications to keep the internal team connected during a time of crisis
• Morale Boosting to bring light to an unprecedented, difficult situation for team members and residents alike.

Staying Connected – Weekly Video Messages for Team Members

The Pipitone Group, together with staff from Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, developed a weekly video series, Staying Connected, that featured updates from the Network’s CEO along with one or two members of the COVID-19 Task Force. Information was shared each week covering a wide range of subjects from infection control to recruitment to strategic operations.

Igniting Rays of Sunshine

During a time of quarantine, individuals were looking for ways to help. We developed Rays of Sunshine. The community was invited to help brighten the lives of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network’s residents, patients and team members by delivering some Rays of Sunshine during the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the community were invited to send a note or a card, long or short, big or small, homemade or store-bought. We promoted Rays of Sunshine on social media, the Network’s website and to family members of residents.

Greetings then were shared with residents, patients and team members in several ways. A link to the videos was provided in the weekly Team Member Update e-newlsetter and also featured on hallway flat screens, running on an endless loop.

Recognizing Heroes with Heart

Heroes with Heart is an employee appreciation project to salute and recognize the commitment and dedication of team members during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic. Through a series of small acts of gratitude, Heroes with Heart was designed to maintain positive employee morale. From thank-you signs on all campuses, to gift cards, to pizza deliveries, to tasty sweets, these small acts of kinds made a big difference.