Dear Family and Friends,

Due to county positivity, our care center routinely tests unvaccinated staff monthly and when an employee or resident show signs or symptoms of COVID-19 or has had exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19. As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

On Wednesday of this week, President Biden announced that he has directed the CMS to develop emergency regulations requiring Nursing homes to mandate COVID-19 Vaccinations for staff members.  This new requirement is a key component of increasing vaccinations rates and protecting the health and safety of nursing home residents and staff. These vaccines have shown to help prevent COVID-19 and have proven to be effective against the Delta variant.

CMS is expected to release the new regulations in September. At this time we are uncertain of when the vaccine mandate will go into effect or details related to enforcement of the vaccination mandate.  We will honor exemptions for medical and religious reasons, required by law.

We are required to follow all CMS guidelines, but ask for your patience as we wait for more information regarding the key issues needed to move forward. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Chester Fishel, Administrator, at cfishel@hmhc.sfhs.org, or by phone at 218-274-7711.

Dear Family and Friends,

Due to county positivity, our care center routinely tests unvaccinated staff monthly and when an employee or resident show signs or symptoms of COVID-19 or has had exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19. As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Unfortunately, COVID-19 case numbers have recently spiked, bringing Minnesota’s positivity rate up to 3%.  Health officials are warning that the highly contagious Delta variant of the Coronavirus now accounts for more than 75% of the state’s new COVID-19 cases. The Delta variant is highly transmissible and is causing significant, quickly spreading increases in infections in some areas.

Our residents are the most at risk for severe and fatal symptoms. Becoming vaccinated is the best way to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus and it’s variants and we have strongly encouraged everyone in our communities to get a vaccine as soon as possible, however, we do not mandate that our staff get the COVID-19 vaccine at this time. Continued infection prevention and control strategies remain essential in our efforts to keep COVID-19 out of our settings. These include the continued screening of staff, visitors, and residents, good hand hygiene, appropriate and consistent use of PPE, efforts to increase vaccination percentages, and testing for early identification of COVID-19.

We are thankful for all those who stepped forward to receive the vaccine, helping to lower positivity rates in our communities and allowing visitors back into our care centers. We continue to educate those in our community about the COVID-19 vaccine to ensure the safety of our residents and our staff. 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.

Dear Family and Friends,

This week we had one staff member test positive for COVID-19. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Due to the positive case at Heritage Manor we must suspend all indoor visits, communal dining, and small group activities at this time. Essential Caregivers and Compassionate Care visits will continue as needed. We will be testing all residents and staff on 04/27/2021.

Unfortunately, while cases in long-term care centers remain relatively low due to vaccination efforts, case rates in our local communities have climbed dramatically again. County positivity rates continue to dictate testing frequency and visitation policies. Data published Tuesday show there were 193 people in Minnesota’s hospitals getting intensive care for COVID-19 complications the day before, a rise of 21% from last week.

You are a key partner in keeping our care center open for visiting and ending this pandemic. We encourage you to connect with your primary health care provider or use the Vaccine Locator map (Vaccine Locations / COVID-19 Updates and Information – State of Minnesota (mn.gov)) to find a vaccine appointment near you.

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.

Dear Family and Friends,

Due to our county prevelance we are testing staff weekly and when an employee or resident show signs or symptoms of COVID-19 or has had exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19. As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Health Department calculations on Friday show 49.8 percent of the state’s adult population has received at least one vaccine dose, with more than one-third completely vaccinated. However, active cases are now at levels not seen since December. Hospitalizations have climbed significantly in the past weeks and are hovering around levels not seen since early January. The age of those newly hospitalized is trending younger than earlier in the pandemic. The majority of people in the hospital now for COVID-19 are younger than 60.

We continue to work on vaccinating our residents and staff. You are a key partner in keeping our care center open for visiting and ending this pandemic. We encourage you to connect with your primary health care provider or use the Vaccine Locator map (Vaccine Locations / COVID-19 Updates and Information – State of Minnesota (mn.gov)) to find a vaccine appointment near you.

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.

Dear Family and Friends,

This week we had a suspected case of COVID-19 at our care center. For this reason, we conducted testing of all staff and residents on 03/23/2021.  All results were negative.  We will be testing all staff and residents again on 03/30/2021.  We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Unfortunately under the new CMS and MDH guidelines, we had to restrict all visitation except compassionate caregivers and essential caregivers.  Under the new guidelines; once we have gone 1 round of entire site testing with no new COVID cases, we can reopen to visitation and resume congregate dining/activities for residents in areas who were not exposed to the positive case of COVID-19.  Due to having all negative results from testing on 03/23/2021, we are able to resume general visitation.

This week marks a new milestone for Minnesota. Over 2 million vaccine doses have now been administered! Another milestone this week; Governor Walz announced Thursday morning that all Minnesotans ages 16 and up will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by March 30^th! We encourage you to connect with your primary health care provider or use the Vaccine Locator map (Vaccine Locations / COVID-19 Updates and Information – State of Minnesota (mn.gov)) to find a vaccine appointment near you. Your employer may also be reaching out with information about vaccination opportunities.

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.

Dear Family and Friends,

Our care center continues to routinely test staff monthly and when an employee or resident show signs or symptoms of COVID-19 or has had exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19. As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

We are very excited to share the news that state and federal agencies that previously limited visitation in our setting have now issued guidance on how we can relax visitation restrictions and continue to protect the health of our residents and staff. As a result, we can safely open our doors to visitors. Additionally, those residents who are fully vaccinated will be able to come and go without the need to quarantine upon return and may receive a visitor in their private room.

If a resident is fully vaccinated, they can now choose to have close contact (including touch) with their visitor while wearing a well-fitting face mask and performing proper hand-hygiene before and after. Visitors are still required to physically distance from other residents and staff throughout our care center and not socialize in hallways or common areas. Unvaccinated residents and residents in double rooms will be required to have their visits take place in a designated space.  All visits are still required to be scheduled in advance. Please contact Tina Janezich, Activity Director at 218-274-7715 to schedule your visit.

Please note that screening is still required of all visitors and employees but you will see changes in how this is performed.  We ask that you please complete the screening at the entrance to our building which will require a temperature check and attestation of 2-3 questions.

While visitation is continuing to expand under the federal and state changes, there are still a few distinct exceptions: 

• No indoor visits are allowed for unvaccinated residents if our county positivity rate is >10% or in the “red zone.”
• No indoor visits are allowed for residents with a confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met the criteria to discontinue transmission-based precautions.
• No indoor visits are allowed for residents in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met criteria for release from quarantine.

We deeply appreciate the sacrifices you made to limit the impact of COVID-19 on our community and your patience as we continue to navigate the altering guidelines imposed by the state and federal agencies. Our entire team looks forward to seeing you again! Family, friends and volunteers are core to what makes our community so special.

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.

Dear Family and Friends,

As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. Our care center is testing staff monthly. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

We are excited to begin indoor visitation on Monday March 22, 2021.

• Visiting hours will be 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• Visits will be 30 minutes long scheduled every 45 minutes to allow for sanitizing of visitation space. 
• Only 2 visitors will be allowed at one time.
• Visitors will be responsible for bringing and wearing a mask throughout the visit.
• Visitors must be actively screened for signs and symptoms of COVID-19, and must attest to COVID-19 status if known.
• No visitors, for any reason, will be allowed in any other area of the facility besides room 113 (visitation room).
• No pets allowed at this time.
• Per MDH and CDC guidelines, visits will be supervised by staff while allowing privacy.

All scheduling of visits must go through Tina in the Activities Department.  Her direct line is 218-274-7715.

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.

Dear Family and Friends,

As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. Our care center is testing staff monthly. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

This Saturday, March 6^th, marks one year since Minnesota confirmed its first case of COVID-19. The state has since recorded 485,230 total confirmed or probable cases. Now, more than 52% of Minnesotans 65 and older have received at least one dose of either COVID vaccine. This week, Governor Tim Walz stated Minnesota will expand vaccination eligibility when 70% of that population gets their first dose. Vaccine eligibility would expand to people with high-risk health conditions and targeted essential workers. Younger groups and the general public would follow in the late spring and summer.

Johnson & Johnson has now received an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 vaccine, the Janssen Ad-Vac. The J&J vaccine is different than its Moderna and Pfizer 2-dose vaccine counterparts in two ways. First, the J&J vaccine is a one-shot vaccine, not a two-dose vaccine. Second, the J&J vaccine uses a more common vaccine technology and does not utilize the mRNA vaccine delivery method. The vaccine is published as 85% effective 28 days post vaccination. Side effects listed for this vaccine are similar to those listed for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

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.