Arlington and Tarrant County officials are calling the Texas Masonic Retirement Center a model for retirement and assisted living facilities to follow in the fight against respiratory disease COVID-19.
Following the death of a senior adult resident last month who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the prompt and consistent actions on the part of Texas Masonic Center staff and administrators, which included superintendent Gary Blair’s direction for adherence to strict isolation and security protocols, ensured that the staff and residents at the Arlington facility and also the local community were protected.
As of April 4, 2020, the Texas Masonic Retirement Center (TMRC) in Arlington has been released from the City of Arlington’s and the Tarrant County Public Health’s Control Order.
In all, 263 individuals at the Texas Masonic Retirement Center were tested for COVID-19, through a joint effort of the Arlington Fire Department, Texas Department of State Health Services, Tarrant County Public Health. In total, five individuals at TMRC tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
“We appreciate the cooperation and dedication of all our partners at DSHS and Clinical Pathology Labs (CPL); the public health team, the City of Arlington and Arlington Fire Department and the Texas Masonic Retirement staff. This was truly a team effort,” said Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja. “Thanks to the Joint Response Team, we were able to conduct all the necessary testing and help mitigate the potential spread of the virus among a very vulnerable population.”
