November 13, 2020

Dear Family and Friends of Franciscan Health Center,

Although not unexpected, today we have a staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19.  This event triggers a planned process of quarantining residents in their rooms and using personal protective equipment (PPE) including face masks, eye protection, gowns, and gloves, to aggressively minimize transmission to others. Our top priority is to keep everyone safe and healthy. We are collaborating with our Medical Director and the Minnesota Department of Health and are following all recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ensure we are taking all appropriate steps at this time.

With the confirmed positive case of COVID-19 in our care center, we will move forward with entire site testing for both residents and staff. We understand that this decision may result in increased confirmed cases, but the results will allow us to accurately isolate the virus and prevent the spread in our community. We believe this is the best way to protect residents, staff and our community and track the path of the virus. If you have verbally consented to your loved one receiving the COVID-19 test and have a consent form attached, please complete this form and return in the self-addressed stamped envelope enclosed.

In the event we have any residents test positive, we would activate our COVID unit. The unit is segregated from the rest of our community. The designated staff that care for residents in this unit remain within the area and do not have physical contact with other non-segregated residents. Any staff who test positive will be self-quarantined at home and will not be allowed to return to work until they recover from the virus; 10 days following positive test and 72 hours from last fever without using medication. Our staff are equipped with specific training and PPE to continue to provide safe, quality care, services and support to the residents of our community.

As we’ve shared several times, in early March, we initiated proactive infection control practices, screening procedures and visitor restrictions that will help us manage this situation as effectively as possible and protect the safety and health of all who live and work here. We will continue to update you on any news, emerging issues, or additional changes in our operations via Bright Arrow, email, website, and our Facebook page.

We know that this news may concern you or that you may have questions about what we are doing to keep everyone safe and healthy. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at (952) 239-6638. 

Brittany Loosbrock

Administrator

Dear Family and Friends,

As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We routinely test staff weekly. We continue to work with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and are following COVID-19 recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Our top priority is to support and protect our residents and dedicated caregivers. We have equipped our staff with the training and supplies needed to provide safe, quality care, services and support to our residents. We continue to urge everyone to practice proper hand hygiene and safe physical distancing.

We are committed to ensuring that physical distancing does not mean isolation. We are working to have a variety of small group activities that engage our residents such as crafts, active games & exercise, hangman, hallway bingo, cover all, cribbage, discussion groups, karaoke, trivia, name that tune, bible study and church with Tammy. We know that you too are making sacrifices and we appreciate your patience as we continue to navigate through this Pandemic. To schedule a visit with your loved one, please contact Linda Fellman at 218-302-6994.

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.

Don’t forget to get your flu shot this season to help protect our community. Please follow our Facebook page (@Franciscan 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 Brittany Loosbrock, Administrator, at 952-239-6638 if you have any questions or concerns.

Dear Family and Friends,

As of 10/29/20, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We routinely test staff weekly. We follow all recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

While we welcome the new indoor visitation guidelines, we continue to monitor the COVID outbreak in our community and nearby counties. Our care center may ask visitors to get tested for COVID-19 prior to visiting with your loved one. Even when not experiencing symptoms, you may test positive for COVID-19 and spread the virus without knowing. To schedule your visit or for more information on our visitation policy, please contact Linda Fellman at 218-302-6994.

COVID continues to change the way we celebrate holidays. This year our Halloween celebrations include a costume contest and games throughout our care center with prizes, snacks and Halloween candy for all. 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.

Don’t forget to get your flu shot this season to help protect our community. Please follow our Facebook page (@Franciscan 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 Brittany Loosbrock, Administrator, at 952-239-6638 if you have any questions or concerns.

Dear Family and Friends,

As of 10/22/2020, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We continue to routinely test staff weekly. We follow all recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Our care center has started indoor visitation on 10/17/2020. As a reminder, we will follow state and federal guidance for visitation, which includes following the core infection control protocols, including screening of all visitors for signs & symptoms of COVID, proper hand hygiene, face coverings, and social distancing. Please recognize that this virus is still spreading throughout our state and that we may need to restrict visitation if we experience positive cases of COVID-19 in our setting, identify a broader risk of exposure both in our setting and/or the broader community, or encounter other factors that affect the safety of visitation.

Due to high demand and the safety of our residents, all visits must be scheduled 24 hours in advance. As a reminder only two people may visit at one time. To schedule your visit or for more information on our visitation policy, please contact Linda Fellman at 218-302-6994.

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 (@Franciscan 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 Brittany Loosbrock, Administrator, at 952-239-6638 if you have any questions or concerns.

Dear Family and Friends,

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 17^th.  In the meantime, we remind you to take advantage of outdoor visits, window 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. As of 10/15/2020, we have no positive cases of COVID-19 in our care center and are not conducting outbreak testing. 

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.

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 (@Franciscan 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 Brittany Loosbrock, Administrator, at 952-239-6638 if you have any questions or concerns.

10/09/2020

As of 10/09/2020, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We continue to routinely test staff weekly. We follow all recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

MDH is developing guidelines based on the recently issued CMS guidance on how we our can safety re-open our setting to visitors and continue to protect the health of our residents and staff.  We plan to revise our current visitation policies to accommodate the MDH and CMS changes as soon as possible and distribute to residents and families.   

We appreciate your patience as we take time to evaluate and implement the guidance so that we can safely resume indoor visitation. These requirements not only apply to our ability to resume indoor visitation but also identify triggers for when we may need to restrict visitation. Restricting visitation may happen if we experience a positive case of COVID-19 among our residents and staff or if our broader community falls into a higher risk category.

We deeply appreciate the sacrifices you made to limit the impact of COVID-19 on our community and your patience as we prepare our setting to host safe indoor visitation. Our entire team looks forward to seeing you again. Families, friends and volunteers are a core fabric of what makes our community so special. 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.

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.

Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Your messages of support, prayers, and caring is important to those working to keep our residents healthy and safe. Without a doubt, there will be more challenges ahead, and we continue to ask for your patience as we make adjustments and implement this next phase in our visitation. Please follow our Facebook page (@Franciscan 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 Brittany Loosbrock, Administrator, at 952-239-6638 if you have any questions or concerns.

10/02/2020

As of 10/02/2020, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. Our staff were tested on 09/28/2020 and are being routinely tested weekly, according to CMS guidelines. Our next round of testing will take place on 10/05/2020.

Please know we continue to offer outdoor visitation, window visits and virtual visits in an on-going effort to decrease the impact the virus may have on residents. Please contact our care center to schedule your visit in advance.

The coming cooler months will continue to challenge us in limiting the impact of COVID-19 on our community. It is important for each of us to think about how our actions affect others we come in contact with. We must protect one another. You are a key partner in the safe reopening of our care center, please remember to social distance, wear a mask, and practice proper hand hygiene. Remember to stay home if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have had close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

If you or someone you know may be interested in working side by side with us as we truly make a difference in the lives of our residents, please contact our care center or visit www.jobswithus.org for more information.

We truly appreciate your patience as we prepare to expand visits and other activities. We all look forward to the days ahead when we’re able to enjoy the simple pleasures of hugs, handshakes, and warm in-person greetings again.

Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Please follow our Facebook page (@Franciscan Health Center) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Brittany Loosbrock, Administrator, at 952-239-6638.

September 25, 2020

As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. 

We continue to routinely test facility staff according to CMS guidelines.  “Facility Staff” is broadly defined to include employees, consultants, contractors, volunteers, and caregivers who provide care and services to residents on behalf of the facility, and students in the facility’s nurse aide training programs or from affiliated academic institutions.  Our care center is in a medium county positivity rate. The requirements outline routine testing depending on our county positivity rate:

• Low: Monthly testing in counties with less than 5% positivity
• Medium: Weekly testing in counties with 5-10% positivity
• High: Bi-weekly testing in counties with greater than 10% positivity

We continue to follow the recommended guidance from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), and take all appropriate measures possible to protect the health and wellness of all who live and work here. We test symptomatic residents and staff as symptoms arise and perform entire-site testing during an outbreak (1 or more positive cases of either a resident or staff in our care center). Should a confirmed case come from any of these tests, we would promptly notify our residents, their families and staff.

On September 17, 2020, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released Memorandum QSO-20-39-NH Nursing Home Visitation – COVID 19 which provides updated visitation guidelines for skilled nursing facilities; https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-20-39-nh.pdf. We are currently waiting for the MN Department of Health direction on this Memo before we begin working on a policy & implementation plan.

Please follow our Facebook page (@Franciscan Health Center) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Brittany Loosbrock, Administrator, at 952-239-6638.

As of 9/18/2020, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We are scheduled for routine staff testing on 9/22/2020. We are required to review the county positivity every two weeks. This coming week, we will review the rate and adjust the routine staff testing frequency accordingly. Any changes to this testing frequency will be communicated through our weekly updates and our Facebook page.

We continue to follow the recommended guidance from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), and take all appropriate measures possible to protect the health and wellness of all who live and work here. We test symptomatic residents and staff as symptoms arise and perform entire-site testing during an outbreak (positive case in our care center). Should a confirmed case come from any of these tests, we would promptly notify our residents, staff and their families.

The COVID Pandemic has created new employment opportunities in our care center for people wanting to help our most at-risk population combat this virus. If you or someone you know may be interested in working side by side with us as we truly make a difference in the lives of our residents, please contact our care center or visit www.jobswithus.org for more information.

Residents continue to enjoy one on one activities with staff as well as small group activities while socially distancing and wearing surgical face masks. Visiting with your loved one can be done virtually, open or closed window, and outdoor patio visits. We ask that you schedule your visits ahead of time due to high demand, staffing and the safety of our residents.

Please follow our Facebook page (@Franciscan Health Center) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Brittany Loosbrock, Administrator, at 952-239-6638.

Last week we learned about the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) testing requirements that include routine staff testing. Based on our current county positivity rate provided by CMS, our care center is in the low category.  CMS recalculates the county positivity rate weekly and we will keep you updated if our category changes. This category requires us to routinely test staff monthly. Our first round of routine testing for staff will be 9/28/2020. We continue to test symptomatic residents and staff as symptoms arise and perform entire-site testing during an outbreak (positive case in our care center). Should a confirmed case come from any of these tests, we would promptly notify our residents, staff and their families.

The threat of this devastating and deadly virus is still with us. Minnesota is experiencing an increase in the number of positive cases in areas across our state, which can pose a greater risk of exposure to both our residents and our staff. As of 9/11/2020, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. We continue to follow all recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

We continue to offer outdoor visits, window visits and virtual visits. As a reminder, all visitors must comply with our screening protocols and other infection control measures when they visit their loved one. Please contact our activities department to schedule your visit in advance.

Looking for ways to help? We have a variety of positions available with flexible scheduling and on the job training. Please contact our care center for more information or visit www.jobswithus.org to apply.

Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Brittany Loosbrock, Administrator, at 952-239-6638 you have any questions or concerns. Updated information on our planning and preparedness for Coronavirus and our activities within our care center can be found by visiting our website (www.sfhs.org) or our Facebook page.