The following is a summary of the changes and precautions Sheboygan Senior Community has taken in response to COVID-19.
Visitor Restrictions
In accordance with recommendations from the CDC and CMS, we are continuing with full visitor restrictions until further notice. This means no resident family members, outside vendors, volunteers, or any non-staff personnel are permitted in our building at this time. This has extended to outside groups who use our Gallery for meeting space. These groups have all been notified of this change. The only exception is if a resident is at end of life stages. In this case, we will immediately reach out to their family members.
Infection Control
- We are checking our residents 3 times a day for signs and symptoms of the virus
- Our residents are eating in shifts in the dining room to remain 6 feet apart and no more than 10 people congregated at a time
- We are still hosting activities, but they are being modified so residents are 6 feet apart and no more than 10 residents per activity
- Our staff is being temp checked and answering symptom-related questions every time they enter the building
- Infection control education is continuous with staff and residents
- Mail and newspapers are being held for 24 hours
- MD visits are being done virtually
- As of today, we are still symptom free in our building!
- Last- wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands
Staff Preparation
We are actively cross-training our leadership team and other staff members to fill in various departments should the need arise. We are looking to increase the number of staff who are able to do transfers, help with feeding, assist with dining services, back-up the admission process, and more. While we’re hopeful we will not need these backups, we’d much rather be prepared to have the help and not need it.
Virtual Visits
We are working with various staff members and Life Enrichment to offer FaceTime and other video calls for family members who wish to see their loved ones. This is an option Monday through Friday from 9:30am-4:30pm, and on the weekends between 9am-3:30pm. If you’re interested in setting up a time to video call with a resident, please call Dana.
Outside “Visits”
With warmer weather on the horizon, we anticipate many family members and friends wanting to visit with residents through their windows. We have come up with a few guidelines to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors. All visits need to be scheduled*, so staff can assist the resident to the therapy gym. The therapy gym is the only place we’re allowing these visits to occur at this time. Visitors can come up to the window and give the resident a call on their personal cell phone, or the nurse supervisor cell. These visits cannot occur in the resident rooms due to some residents not having an outward facing room, and all resident windows are able to be opened. We want to keep an even playing field for everyone. We will revisit these guidelines as circumstances change, but we are not allowing in person visits (even 6ft apart) outside right now. We are bringing residents outside to get fresh air, and our courtyards are open for their enjoyment.
*To schedule a visit, please reply to this email, or call Dana.
Resident Laundry
All resident laundry in the facility will be washed by our staff. No laundry is allowed to be washed outside of the building at this time.
Resident Packages
If family members would like to drop off care packages or other items for residents, they may do so during normal business hours of 8am-4:30pm Monday through Friday, and between the hours of 8am-4pm Saturday and Sunday. Packages must be left in the main entrance vestibule on the metal cart labeled Resident Care Packages. Please press the call button so we are aware a package has been left. Packages should be labeled with the resident’s name and room number if known. All packages will be held for 24 hours before being distributed to residents.
Resident Compliance Visits
We are currently canceling all in-person compliance visits (doctor appointments in the community). The only in-person doctor visits permitted at this time are surgical follow-ups and other specialists. Health care providers like Nurse Practitioners and Primary Care Physicians will continue to be allowed in our building after they complete our self-administered health assessment. We have expanded use of telehealth options during this time and have had great success with the platform.
Resident Appointments
All outside, non-emergent appointments have been canceled at this time. This is to avoid these residents going through the mandatory 14-day isolation period, which is in place to protect other residents from potential community exposure.
Supplies
We recently received PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) supplies from the State of Wisconsin including face masks, face shields, and isolation gowns. This was a much welcomed supply delivery. With this addition, we feel confident with our stock of supplies. Our current vendors are doing their best to ensure we receive what we need, but there are some back ordered supplies like alcohol prep pads and disinfecting wipes. While our stock is sufficient right now, we have looked into other vendors such as Amazon and eBay.