Holbrook BlogScarborough, Maine
As the seasonal influenza virus reaches epidemic proportions in Maine, Holbrook Health Center at Piper Shores maintains no confirmed cases of the flu. Nursing homes and skilled nursing centers like Holbrook are required to report confirmed cases of influenza to the State of Maine Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Likewise, hospitals like Maine Medical Center are not allowed to discharge elderly patients to nursing homes with active cases of influenza.
Resident prevention education and readily available flu vaccines appear to be the key to keeping residents and staff healthy.
“A number of nursing facilities in Maine have experienced closures due to widespread influenza,” said Peggy Farrington, Piper Shores Administrator in charge of Holbrook Health Center. “We take the flu very seriously at Holbrook and Piper Shores, and we are thrilled that so far this year our efforts have really paid off.”
To combat this year’s flu, Piper Shores and Holbrook began administering vaccines communitywide in October. Ms. Farrington also points to the use of all private rooms at Holbrook and continuous prevention education as keys to success.
“The flu can be extremely dangerous for the elderly, and with multiple strains in circulation this year, it is possible for an individual to contract the flu more than once in the same season,” said Ms. Farrington. “For this reason we work very hard to keep both our independent living residents at Piper Shores and our nursing home residents at Holbrook educated about signs and symptoms of the flu, and methods of prevention.”
About Holbrook Health Center
Located on the beautiful Scarborough, Maine coast, Holbrook Health Center is the assisted living and nursing care component of Piper Shores. Holbrook and Piper Shores are owned and operated by Maine Life Care Retirement Community, Inc., a Maine nonprofit organization formed by a group of prominent Maine citizens with a shared vision. Together, these individuals created Maine’s first and only nonprofit lifecare retirement community at Piper Shores that promotes residents’ long-term wellbeing and health within a continuum of lifecare services.
For more information, visit https://www.theholbrook.org/ or call 207-883-8700.
