Dear Family and Friends,
Last week we learned that a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. We conducted entire-site testing (outbreak testing) on October 13th. We are awaiting results. We will be testing again on October 20th.
We are very excited to share the news that we will soon be able to resume indoor visits, and warmly welcome you back into our care center. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has issued guidance on how we can safely re-open to visitors while continuing to protect the health of our residents and staff. This guidance takes effect on October 17th. In the meantime, we remind you to take advantage of outdoor visits and virtual visits.
Even though we are excited to open up our care center for indoor visits, it is tempered by the fact that rural communities are seeing more outbreak in recent weeks which has the potential to impact our care center’s ability to offer visitation. There can be no new onset of COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days and facility cannot currently be conducting outbreak testing. COVID-19 county positivity rates will determine how our care center will facilitate indoor visits.
For your planning purposes, please know we expect to accommodate indoor visitation very soon, following these strict guidelines:
- All indoor visits MUST be scheduled in advance.
- Visitors must be screened prior to entering the care center for signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
- All visits must be conducted using social distancing.
- Visitors must wear a mask covering both nose and mouth while in the care center. Residents must wear a surgical mask during the visit.
- Proper hand hygiene must occur (use of alcohol-based hand rub) throughout visit.
- Visits may be restricted to a designated area within the building.
- Physical contact (hugs, kisses, handshakes, etc.) continues to be restricted to protect everyone from potential virus transmission.
- Visitors will be limited to two visitors per resident; the total number of visitors in the building will be limited; and the duration of visits will be limited.
- Visitors must adhere to all infection control policies (ICP) and staff should provide monitoring for those who may have difficulty adhering to ICP
- Cleaning/disinfecting high frequency touched surfaces and designated visitation areas must occur after each visit.
- All items brought to the visit must be left with staff for disinfection and not passed to the resident during the visit.
Our ability to resume visitation would not have been possible without the incredible commitment and dedication of our staff, who have worked tirelessly to manage the risks of COVID-19 and providing compassionate care and support to our residents at a time when they are physically separated by their loved ones. We know that you too, have made sacrifices during this incredibly difficult time and we thank you for your patience and understanding.
We would like to clear up some confusion from recent articles that have been published in our local papers. We have had 5 staff members test positive since our first case on August 31, 2020. To date we have had no residents test positive. Fortunately, the 5 staff had very little resident contact, if any, before they were quarantined after testing positive.
Looking for ways to help? We have a variety of positions available with flexible scheduling and on the job training. For more information or to apply, visit www.jobswithus.org.
Please follow our Facebook page (@Heritage Manor Health Center) or our website (www.sfhs.org) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Chester Fishel, Administrator, at cfishel@hmhc.sfhs.org, or by phone at 218-274-7711 if you have any questions or concerns.