We are very excited to share the news that we will soon be able to resume indoor visits, and we warmly welcome you back.
The Minnesota Department of Health has issued guidance on how we our can safety re-open to visitors and continue to protect the health of our residents and staff. We have carefully developed a safe and comprehensive plan and expect visits to resume on Monday, October 19th, 2020. Indoor visit guidelines may be changed, modified, or discontinued based on guidelines provided to Minnesota Department of Health, County Case numbers, or other factors. Updates to this guidance will be provided to residents, families, and via our communities Facebook pages.
Our ability to resume visitation would not have been possible without the incredible commitment and dedication of our staff team, 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 thank you for your patience and understanding.
The guidance provided by Minnesota Department of Health is quite detailed, and we appreciate your patience as we take time to evaluate and implement the criteria so that we can safely resume visits. These requirements not only apply to our ability to resume visits but also identify when we may need to restrict visits if we experience a positive case of COVID-19 among our residents and staff, or if our broader community experiences a high rate of positive cases, or we encounter other factors that affect the safety of visitation.
It is our intention to resume visits on Monday, October 19th, 2020. In the meantime, we remind you to take advantage of outdoor visits, window visits, and the ability to connect residents and their loved ones through alternative communication, such as FaceTime, Zoom and Skype.
For your planning purposes, please know we will follow a similar procedure for inside visits as we do for outdoor visits. This will include:
- The organization will utilize county positivity rates and COVID-19 positive status of the community to determine if indoor visits can be facilitated each week.
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- If the county positivity rate is 10% or greater (red county), indoor visits will be suspended with the exception of compassionate care visits and essential caregiver visits.
- If there is a new onset COVID case in a resident or staff member within the last 14-days, indoor visits will be suspended.
- There may be rare circumstances where other factors would contribute to a hold on indoor visitors except compassionate care visits and essential caregiver visits.
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- Visitors will be required to adhere to infection prevention and control safety practices in order to enter the setting for indoor visitation.
- Visitors that choose not to follow the infection prevention and control safety practices may be asked not to visit.
- Entry Screening: Staff will actively screen all visitors entering the facility for signs and symptoms of COVID-19, including a temperature reading, at a screening station prior to the visitor walking through the facility.
- If the community you are visiting has the Filtr Pass System, staff will ensure that they check your sticker that will print out to ensure that you qualify to enter. At the time you leave, you will go back to the Filtr Pass System and sign out that you are leaving the community.
- Visitor Sign-in and Out: All visitors are asked to sign in upon arrival to the facility. Visitors are asked to leave contact information when they sign in.
- Hand Hygiene: Visitors will perform hand hygiene before walking through the building. Alcohol-based hand rub is available for persons visiting residents and signage is present throughout the facility for hand hygiene.
- Facemask Required: Residents will wear a mask as tolerated, and visitors will be required to wear a surgical face mask (these may be purchased at your local pharmacy). The visitor will be required to provide the face mask.
- Limited Visitor Movement in Building: The visitor must take a straight path to the resident room. Visitors will be asked to minimize restroom use in the facility.
- Visitation Schedule: Visitors must call, in advance, to schedule visitation times at the community you are visiting.
- Number of Visitors are Limited in the building at any given time to 10.
- Physical Contact is Not Permitted: Due to the risk of exposure, holding hands, kissing and other forms of physical contact is not allowed during visits. Physical contact standards may be different for compassionate care visitors or essential caregivers.
- Restrictions for Children & Pets:
- Visitors under age 12: are the responsibility of the adults who bring them, and children must comply with social distancing and face covering requirements.
- Pets are allowed during visiting. Any pets visiting must be under the control of the visitor. Residents may interact with pets brought for visiting.
- Social Distancing: All visitors must maintain 6 feet social distance.
- Taking Residents Outdoors: Residents may accompany their visitors outside for a walk, maintaining 6 feet of social distance. Pushing a wheelchair is an acceptable activity while wearing Personal Protective Equipment.
- Prospect Tours: Visitors are permitted for a final controlled walkthrough tour of the facility for prospective residents.
- If you are feeling ill, please refrain from visiting our community.
We deeply appreciate the sacrifices you made to limit the impact of COVID-19 on our community and your patience as we prepare to host safe visits and other activities. Our entire team looks forward to seeing you again—families, friends and volunteers are a core fabric of what makes our community so special.
Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Your messages of support, prayers, and caring will not be forgotten. There may be more challenges ahead, and we may need to make adjustments as we roll-out our plan. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at [insert phone and email] if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Jacob Work
Director of Health and Wellness