Recent reports on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the news have many caregivers asking questions about the illness and measures they can take to protect themselves and their clients. We have compiled the following information to address these concerns.

What is MERS?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MERS is an illness affecting the respiratory system (lungs and breathing tubes) caused by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). While no one knows the exact origin of MERS, researchers suspect it came from an animal source in the Middle East.

What are the symptoms of MERS?

Cases of MERS have been reported in patients as young as two and as old as 94. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Some people have had gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea and nausea/vomiting. Some more severe complications, such as pneumonia and kidney failure, have been reported and of those patients who exhibited these complications about 30% have died.

Per the CDC, MERS is generally spread from those affected by the illness to others through close contact, such as that which occurs while caring for or living with an infected person. Infected people have also spread MERS to others in healthcare settings, such as in hospitals, but researchers studying MERS-CoV have not seen any ongoing spreading in the community.

How can I protect myself and those I care for?

Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent MERS-CoV infection. However, the CDC recommends the following preventative actions on their website:

• Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds.
• Cover nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid personal contact such as kissing or sharing cups or eating utensils with sick people.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as toys and doorknobs.

Where can I get more information?

Visit the CDC's MERS Frequently Asked Questions and Answers page for more information or download the CDC's Healthcare Provider Preparedness Checklist for MERS-CoV.

Some franchisees have reported occasional voice delays occurring during calls coming through the CallSource^® routing tree. These delays can create a situation where one of the parties on the phone call inadvertently talks over the other. If you experience a delay such as this, please report it using the CallSource Error Form located on the Member's site so we can work to resolve it. Please fill out all mandatory fields and use the "Comments" field to describe the issue.  

If you have any questions, please contact Kimberly Epple, Senior Director Marketing and Advertising, at KimberlyEpple@ComfortKeepers.com.

SafetyChoice^® by Comfort Keepers^® offers a full line of medical alert systems, medication management products, and home-monitoring devices that you can offer clients and potential clients as an integral part of their care services. CKFI is now pleased to announce that all SafetyChoice sell sheets will be available for order from SMARTworks^® by Standard Register beginning Monday, June 2 (see below for the full list of available sell sheets).

These sell sheets describe the benefits and features of the SafetyChoice products and can be used on sales calls and client visits, at senior health fairs, and with referral sources. Order yours today by visiting SMARTworks.

The Quest for Excellence trip is designed to incentivize and reward franchisees for exceptional business performance. To ensure the competition is more robust, CKFI has revised the revenue range categories. 

We want to encourage as many franchisees as possible to strive to qualify for this incentive trip. For a full list of qualifying criteria, please download the new 2014 Quest for Excellence criteria document. Good luck to all!

The June issue of News You Can Use (NYCU) is now published. This month we discuss facts about aphasias (Don't know what an aphasia is? Read the article to learn more.), physical factors to senior safety, and the benefits of art therapy for recovery at home after a hospital stay. 

Constant Contact subscribers should check the email drafts folder in their accounts for the newsletter draft. If it is not in your drafts folder today, it should be there by Monday. 

The articles are also available in plain Word format on CKBrand.com > PR > 2014 News You Can Use (NYCU). 

Join us for an engaging MasterMind webinar focused on developing your time management skills. This session will provide you with best practices for planning your day, week, month, and year, as well as tips and techniques for understanding what is a priority,  what can wait, and why.  

Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 11 a.m. EDT  (10 a.m. CDT, 9 a.m. MDT, 8 a.m. PDT)

Click here to join the MasterMind webinar.

For audio, enter your phone number when prompted after you log into the webinar, or you can dial...   

Phone:                         (800) 591-2259
Participant Code:         886411