The New Hampshire National Guard hosted a COVID-19 testing site at RiverMead in Peterborough on Saturday.
About 300 of the retirement facility’s employees and another 70 from Jaffrey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center were tested over the course of five hours, RiverMead CEO Bill James said Monday.
“Our health center administrator contacted the state and worked through the state,” James said. “We had enough employees on our rolls that they were willing to come here rather than sending our employees elsewhere.”
The National Guard set up tents for drive-up testing, and Rivermead employees lined their cars up at 10 a.m., stretching around the main facility and across Powersbridge Road into the Rivermead Village area.
Testing was mandatory for all RiverMead employees.
“We’re not just going to be selective and have a handful of people tested, we need everyone tested,” James said. He expects to see test results from the state in three to five days.
“We have a plan for what happens if we have any positive tests,” James said. Employees would be asked to self-isolate and would be taken off the schedule for 10 days.
James said his employees were anxious leading up to the testing, but overall happy to be tested and put their minds at ease despite the uncomfortable nasal swab procedure.
“It was uncomfortable, but it was okay,” said James, who lined up for his own test alongside Rivermead’s other employees.
James said that RiverMead would also be testing all residents of the Health Center assisted living portion of the retirement home, about 100 people, this week.
The Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield continues to successfully contain its initial COVID-19 outbreak which resulted in three residents and 11 staff testing positive and one resident dying of the disease at the end of March.
“We are pleased to report that there’s been no new infections amongst our residents in several weeks,” an email blast from CMRC stated over the weekend, “all thanks to our protocols and the commitment of our amazing staff…We have instituted strict illness prevention protocols to keep our campus as safe and healthy as possible. Even amidst such uncertainty the incredible amazing, life-changing work continues. As the sun begins to shine brighter and warmer, many of our staff and students are able to get out and about, going on walks and enjoying the gorgeous scenery of our campus.”