Feb. 19, 2021 – Letter to Parents & Guardians Visitation Update

February 19, 2021

Dear Bridgewell family members and guardians,

I am pleased to let you know that as of today, 97% of the individuals residing in our residential programs and 45% of our residential staff have received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Additionally, we have seen a drop in the “red zone” cities across the state of Massachusetts. While this is hopeful news, we remain vigilant in our COVID-19 protocols and continue to operate with an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of those we serve and the staff who work with them.

For our residential programs, the positivity rate in Essex and Middlesex counties is now under 5%, so we have adjusted our visitation guidelines to reflect this new data. We will now allow two off site day visits per month in our non-red zone cities and towns. However, we still encourage you to visit at the program to ensure the highest level of safety at this time.

Bridgewell’s visitation guideline are as follows:

1. Any residential program in a red zone as determined by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is restricted from all visitation. Currently those cities and towns that impact Bridgewell are: Dracut, Haverhill, Littleton, Lowell, Lynn, Peabody, and Saugus.
2. Any residential program not currently in a red zone but experiencing a COVID positive case at the residence, is restricted from all visitation for the duration of the quarantine period.
3. For all other Bridgewell programs, or once a program is no longer in the red zone, visitation may be held on site at the residential program – and two off site day visits per month may be scheduled with the Residential Manager. Our guidelines will remain in place for the onsite visits – there will be no sharing of food during these visits, and visitation will take place in the designated areas, limited to two visitors at a time. Masks must be worn at all times, and all other screening measures will be in place.
4. If there are extraordinary circumstances, please contact your Residential Manager.
5. Bridgewell will regularly reevaluate this visitation policy.

We are encouraged by the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and continued decline in overall COVID-19 infection rates across the state. Our efforts to keep Bridgewell programs as free from COVID-19 risk as possible must continue. We will continue following strict protocols around wearing masks, hand washing, social distancing, and cleaning of our homes.

Thank you for your understanding and your cooperation in ensuring the health and safety of all at Bridgewell.

Sincerely,

Elaine M. White

Chief Operating Officer

Cc:  Kelly Lawless, Jennifer Killeen, Bonnie Hungler, Tom Marshall, Michelle Vercellone, LynnLee Jordan