MOULTRIE, Ga. – After last week’s tornado event in the Colquitt County area, Legacy Village has initiated facility-wide COVID-19 testing for all residents and staff.  

“Since late February when the coronavirus threat was made public, Legacy Village has been taking extraordinary and unprecedented precautions to protect residents, keep caregivers healthy, and limit unnecessary access to our facility, which we believe has significantly limited the opportunity for exposure at our facility,” said Allen Chambers, executive director of Legacy Village.

“During last week’s tornado warning, we enacted our standard emergency protocol which mandates residents to shelter in close quarters in the interior of the facility,” Chambers said. “Due to this event, three residents of Legacy Village’s memory care unit were believed to have had contact with an individual who was later determined to be positive for COVID-19. The residents were immediately transported to Colquitt Regional Medical Center for testing. Although the residents did test positive for COVID-19, I’m happy to report that all three memory care residents are doing well, and they have been under quarantine at Colquitt Regional Medical Center since the diagnosis.”  

As a precautionary step, on April 24 the Georgia National Guard completed a previously scheduled infection control sanitation visit to Legacy Village, part of a service being provided to senior living facilities across the state in an effort to control the spread of COVID-19.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Legacy Village has been diligent in its execution of proper infection control measures including: securing personal protective equipment, symptom monitoring, infection control audits, staff education and screening, and quarantine procedures, the company said in a press release Wednesday. Administrative staff regularly participate in calls with government and healthcare partners to understand the latest updates and current information related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are following all guidelines from the local and state health departments and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure the safety of our residents and team members. Based on these recommendations we want to be proactive in taking appropriate action out of an abundance of caution, and proceed with testing,” said Bryan Cook, chief operating officer of Legacy Senior Living.

Additional information will be posted at www.legacysl.net/coronavirus.