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Asbury Place is proud to be part of Asbury Communities, an aging services provider with a 90-plus year legacy of redefining the expectations of aging. Ensuring that we provide a safe and healthy environment for those who work and live at our communities is our highest priority. Please scroll down to see details regarding Asbury Place Kingsport’s operations.
Asbury serves approximately 4,300 residents at eight continuing care retirement communities and home care agencies in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. To learn about Asbury’s COVID-19 response, including vaccine updates and more, please click here.
Here’s how to: Sign up for Family Email Updates or Thank Our Associates
Across the system, we are committed to providing access to the COVID-19 vaccine for as many individuals as possible. Please view Asbury Communities President & CEO Doug Leidig’s update about these efforts in the video below.
Campus Visitation
In addition to continuously monitoring and abiding by the recommendations put forth by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), each Asbury community’s visitation availability will be determined by the local counties infection rate percentage. Current infection rate for Hawkins County: 10.5%; Sullivan County: 15.5%.
We have updated our screening process. Prior to your arrival, please go to this link, https://bit.ly/AsburyEntryPass, to answer our screening questions (Chrome or Safari are the preferred web browsers; there have been issues reported when using Internet Explorer). Click here for Asbury’s Travel Guide. This document is available for you to review to help you accurately answer any screening questions related to your travel.
If you pass the screening, please continue onto the campus. At our screening area please follow the signage to take your temperature at our temperature kiosk. All residents, associates, and visitors are required to wear a mask on campus and to practice physical distancing.
Health Care Center
Virtual Visits: To set up a virtual visit with your loved one, please contact Niccole Trimboli at 423-830-8510 or email ntrimboli@asbury.org
Residential Living
In-person visitation is currently suspended.
As many have seen recently, the Tennessee Department of Health announced that it is lifting state-specific visitation restrictions for long-term care communities. Asbury Place is still subject to all Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines, and we will continue to follow this criteria for any phased-in re-openings or visitation. CMS visitation guidance allows for the potential for in-person visitation only if there are 14 consecutive days of no new COVID-19 cases at the community. As we reach the necessary criteria, we will share updates here.
Residents who leave the community for errands or day trips are required to follow our screening process upon return.
Residents who leave the campus for more than 24 hours are required to self-quarantine upon return.
Self-quarantine: Residents who self-quarantine are required to remain in their home for 14 days. We are currently providing delivery service of packages and meals. For details about this process, contact Tuesday Kazukauskas at 423-830-8527 or TKazukauskas@asbury.org. For meal orders, contact Sallie West at 423-830-8507 or SWest@asbury.org
Community Services & Amenities
Dining Services
The Bistro and Dining Room are currently closed for dining in, but phased reopening plans are being developed. Daily menus continue to be provided for residents, offering a wide range of fresh meal options that are delivered contact-free, and free of charge, to their doors. For meal orders, contact Sallie West oat 423-830-8507 or SWest@asbury.org
Wellness Services
As part of a phased reopening, gyms are currently operating on a reservation-only basis. Walking trails are also open. Some fitness classes and programming as well as Resident Council meetings and special events are being offered in small-group formats with proper mask-wearing and physical distancing required. We are also scheduling one-on-one wellness consultations. For a current schedule, links to access our online offerings, and more information, call Rachael Santiago at 423-830-8519 or email rsantiago@asbury.org.
Residential Common Areas & Services
Courtyard is open with masking and physical distancing.
Pastoral care calls and visits are ongoing. Bible Study is being held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. with physical distancing and masking.
Housekeeping from external vendors for apartment and villa residents is allowed. Screening is required.
Library is open. Please follow sanitation, physical distancing, and masking protocols.
Movie Theater and Fireside Lounge are closed.
Transportation services on and off-campus are currently closed, but medical transports are available by appointment.
Mail, Deliveries, & Groceries
Mail and Packages: Residents of our apartments and cottages are receiving mail and packages as usual. Packages for residents of our Health Care Center are delivered contact-free by associates.
Online Groceries: Please address deliveries to resident’s address and deliveries will be made by associates.
On-Campus Grocery Services: Limited groceries are available on our campus through our dining partner Sodexo. They can be billed to residents and delivered contact-free to their home. Please contact Sallie West 423-830-8507, swest@asbury.org.
COVID-19 Testing Information
Testing is an important component of our COVID-19 prevention strategy. We are pleased to share some outstanding results for Asbury Place Kingsport and the Asbury system. To date, Asbury has conducted just over 86,200 COVID-19 tests at our communities with a positivity rate of just 0.9 percent. This compares to a national positivity rate of 8.5 percent. At Asbury Place Kingsport, we have conducted 5,391 tests with a positivity rate of just 0.5 percent.
Asbury Place Kingsport underwent universal testing at our Health Care Center in late May and employees of our Health Care Center are being tested weekly per Governor Lee’s mandate. Associates, vendors, and essential visitors entering our campus continue to undergo a rigorous screening process, and as necessary, self-quarantine. On our campus, we are practicing heightened cleaning processes, as well as masking and physical distancing.
Residential Living: A resident who believes they may have been exposed to COVID or is showing symptoms recognized by the CDC as being possible markers of COVID-19 should contact their physician for testing or visit a local testing center. Please also notify Norene Cochran at 423-220-0580 for assistance, and so that we may begin contact tracing on campus.
Assisted Living or Skilled Nursing: Residents are monitored daily for any signs identified as potentially symptomatic of COVID-19 per CDC guidelines. Additional measures are implemented in line with Asbury’s system-wide infection-control algorithm, including quarantine in a specially designed area of the building.
Vaccine Information
Please visit our Vaccine Updates page for additional details.
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has begun and we are administering the vaccine here at Asbury Place Kingsport in line with the priority groups laid out by the CDC and the availability in our area.
We are happy to report that the first group of residents and associates in our Health Care Center has had the opportunity to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. We have partnered with CVS to administer the vaccine, and the process is working well for those eligible to receive it at this time.
We know that many are eager and ready to get the vaccine! Our Asbury Place Kingsport leadership team, in conjunction with the Asbury Communities Clinical and Operations Team, is in regular contact with area health authorities on the next steps and opportunities to receive it. We must remember, however, that the CDC and state and local health departments determine the expansion of the vaccine rollout based on the priority groups and availability. We are committed to facilitating vaccinations for all residents and associates.
Update: Vaccines Available for Residential Living Residents
The county and state health departments, as well as your primary care physician, may have additional opportunities for you to receive the vaccine on your own should you meet the criteria. To learn more, you can go to the Hawkins County Health Department page here, the Sullivan County Health Department page here and the Tennessee Department of Health page here. If you receive your vaccine off-site, please make Norene Shipley aware (by email or phone, 423-830-8526) so that we can accurately track and document your information.
We have information, FAQs and more on our dedicated Vaccine Information page here.
Sanitation and COVID-19 Risk Reduction
Our associates are cleaning and sanitizing common and activity areas routinely and have been provided with the appropriate cleaning and disinfecting supplies that provide the shortest kill time for viruses such as COVID-19. These professional-grade products are being used as much as possible by our trained teams, and we store them away appropriately when not in use. If you see additional cleaning supplies around the community in common areas, rest assured they are safe to use and we encourage you to do your part in assisting us in keeping common areas clean.
Cleanliness has always been a priority at Asbury communities, with dedicated maintenance and housekeeping departments ensuring that common areas are kept in good repair and regularly sanitized. With the advent of COVID-19, we quickly enhanced cleaning protocols and time-frames, and continue to monitor the effectiveness of our cleaning products for infection-control. Hand sanitizer stations are available throughout campus common areas, as well as signage addressing infection-control, physical distancing, and mask requirements. Learn more about our prevention and infection-control measures.
Reopening Plans & Strategy
The Asbury Communities Operations Team is working with community leadership teams to develop safe, phased reopening plans in line with public health and state guidelines. At all times, we operate out of an abundance of caution with resident safety as our highest priority. Residents and family members can expect regular email updates as we slowly re-open community services and areas.
Please see the CDC Guidelines on Large Events and Gatherings, which is informing our re-opening strategy.
Asbury President & CEO Doug Leidig notes that “reopening is not like turning on a light switch. Think of it as slowly turning up a dimmer switch.” Senior communities such as ours lag for good reason behind these phased-in re-openings; we are guided by many different plans and requirements placed upon us by numerous federal, state and local agencies. We appreciate your continued understanding and patience as we work through this process safely together.
Important Contact Information
Here’s how to …
Contact…
Main Reception: 423-245-0360 or 423-830-8500
Assisted Living: 423-245-1067
Health Care Center Administrator Norene Cochran: 423-220-0580
Interim Executive Director Robin Stern: 301-250-2139
