As the summer months began, we realized we needed to plan for what we believed would be an eventuality: caring for the acute needs of COVID-19-positive
hospice patients. We had PPE and supplies, thanks to the generosity of our donors, but what we needed was a designated center for caring for our COVID-19- positive patients. Our nursing and facilities teams began the hard work of creating a safe, secure, negative-pressure environment at our Acosta-Rua Center for Caring in Jacksonville. We were able to open this innovative 24/7 facility in May 2020, thereby affording our COVID-19-positive patients the type of care they deserve when experiencing acute symptoms. This around-the-clock care afforded family members a welcome respite from caregiving responsibilities. The Acosta-Rua family’s namesake facility was the first—and it remains the only—center of its kind in our service area for COVID-19-positive hospice patients. What is even more remarkable is that every person on the center’s staff volunteered to be on the care team, knowingly putting themselves in harm’s way to care for the most vulnerable patients.
A S A F E S P A C E Acosta-Rua Center for Caring in Jacksonville (above) has become a one-of-a-kind facility to provide hospice services to COVID-19 patients during this unprecedented pandemic.
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