COVID-19

EPIPHANY ASSISTED LIVING COVID 19 UPDATES

Contact: Jeanette Delich jdelich@epseniors.org
Date: April 5, 2021

The safety of our residents, and staff members is our top priority at EPIPHANY ASSISTED LIVING. We continue to make changes in our community to follow MDH guidelines.

MDH and CDC Loosen Visitor Restrictions

The Minnesota Department of Health is now allowing residents who are fully vaccinated to leave their assisted living communities for family visits and other activities without having to quarantine for 14 days upon return. Previously, residents were only allowed to leave for medical appointments without having to quarantine.

While we all celebrate these developments, we continue to follow current guidelines to lower the risk of spreading COVID-19. Entrance screening will continue, and we will need to shut down visitation if a resident or staff person tests positive for COVID-19.

“Unvaccinated residents”

• Does your loved one really need to leave the facility? If so, under any circumstance, your unvaccinated loved one is required to quarantine for 14 days upon return.
• Unvaccinated residents will not be allowed to participate in activities, dining with others, and leaving their apartments if they leave the facility.
• There will also be additional charges for staff usage of PPE required to enter the resident’s home during the 14-day quarantine.

“Fully Vaccinated residents” (14 days after 2nd Moderna vaccination)

• Fully vaccinated residents may gather with others that are fully vaccinated.
• Residents who are fully vaccinated can visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who have not had a recent COVID-19 exposure. Screening is still required to enter the facility.
• If the resident and visitor are fully vaccinated, they can choose to have close contact with their visitors, but they must always remain masked.
• All visits must be conducted using infection control practices, such as wearing masks that cover the mouth and nose and practicing social distancing whenever possible.
• Hand sanitizer is provided throughout the building and using good hand hygiene reduces the risk of infection. If you touch your mask, hand hygiene must be performed.
• A fully vaccinated resident choosing to attend a place of worship or group event should continue to follow the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention.
• MDH encourages attending places of worship or other group events only when the 14-day county percent positivity rate is below 5%. The positivity rate for Epiphany Assisted Living is calculated using Anoka County statistics.

Outdoor visits are still the preferred method of visitation.

Indoor visits are now allowed for visitors beyond Essential and Compassionate Care visitors, under the following criteria.

• No COVID-19 cases have been present in our community for 14 days prior to visitation.
• Visitors must adhere to the following guidelines.
• Children must be monitored and follow the same guidelines. If children are not able to wear masks and stay in resident apartments they are not allowed to visit at this time.
• There is a limit of two indoor visitors at one time.
• We will limit the number of visitors in our building at one time by making appointments and screening.
• All visits are to be scheduled, and time is limited to one hour. This guidance is like how we schedule outdoor visits.
• To limit the amount of visitor movement within our community, each visitor should go directly to the resident’s apartment after screening.
• If our county has a positivity rate greater than 10%, visits will be limited to essential care and compassionate care visits.

Balancing safety and visitation restrictions is an urgent priority for Minnesota and our residential settings.

We continue to follow the guidelines and restrictions provided by CDC and the Minnesota Department of Health.

• The Office of Ombudsman for Long-term Care is available if advocacy services are needed. Contact them at 651-431-2555 or 800-657-3591.

 

News Release – COVID-19  Update

Contact: Jeanette Delich jdelich@epseniors.org
Date: March 3, 2021

NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROTECTING OUR RESIDENTS, FAMILIES, VENDORS, AND ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES.

Epiphany Assisted Living worked diligently to help protect residents, families, vendors, and staff throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This hard work began a little more than a year ago and continues today. Although the pandemic and additional infection control procedures are not over, we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

MDH SHARES FIRST LTC VACCINE REPORTING SUMMARY

At the end of February, MDH shared with us the first summary of the vaccination survey that providers have been submitting weekly. Participation rates in the survey have been good, particularly for nursing homes, and the summary shows that progress with vaccination clinics has also been good, with 63% of nursing homes having completed second clinics and 77% of assisted living sites having completed first clinics. The acceptance rates among staff show that second clinics are increasing those numbers, with 52% of nursing home staff and 40% of assisted living staff having received a first dose.

WE HAVE BEEN IMMUNIZED

Jeanette Delich, Executive Director, and Epiphany Senior Housing Board of Directors led the way. They rolled up their sleeves and vaccinated because nothing is more important than protecting the Epiphany Family.

At Epiphany Senior Housing we have completed two vaccine clinics. 99% of the Assisted Living residents participated and 64% of the staff participated and are now fully immunized with two vaccines of Moderna. We will be offering a third clinic next month for those that have only received one immunization. The MDH will be updating us soon with plans on immunizing new staff and residents once all long terms facilities have had the opportunity to be immunized. It is vital that all that can safely be immunized, do so as soon as possible. These immunizations are vital to opening all places of business.

SHOT OF HOPE

During the past year we have heard the fear of how we remain healthy, when will we be able to mingle with friends and family, back in the day we did not have to worry about pandemics, and we could have coffee with friends, go out to eat, have holidays together and simply worry less.

All these hopes and dreams are coming closer to a reality again. We are so thankful for our residents, the incredible families they have and all the staff that have never given up.

CONTEMPLATING A MOVE TO ASSISTED LIVING, MEMORY CARE OR INDEPENDENT LIVING DURING COVID-19

Epiphany Assisted Living and Memory Care continue to follow state guidelines. We want to welcome new residents and their families while minimizing all potential risks during your move into your new home.

Epiphany Assisted Living offers help with daily activities, medication administration, meal service and time with others. We screen all that walk through our doors, we offer enhanced infection control procedures and we have had a very low count of COVID infections in our building. Currently we are COVID free and immunized.

Please call 763-755-0320 to learn more about Epiphany Senior Housing.

 

 

News Release – Limiting Visitor Access to Setting

Contact: Jeanette Delich jdelich@epseniors.org
Date: March 3, 2020

EPIPHANY SENIOR HOUSING IS TAKING PRECAUTIONARY STEPS TO PREVENT CORONAVIRUS
(COVID-19)

EPIPHANY SENIOR HOUSING located in Coon Rapids is actively taking precautionary steps to prevent Coronavirus (COVID-19) in its setting. Much about the virus is still unknown, but we do know that the population we serve – older persons with underlying medical conditions – are at greater risk for the most serious forms of infection associated with this new disease.

“The health and wellness of our residents/tenants and the caregiving teams who support them is our number one priority,” said Jeanette Delich, Executive Director. “We are staying abreast of the latest information from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and we are working with state and local public health and emergency preparedness officials to strengthen our preparation for a possible outbreak of Coronavirus.”

Based upon revised recommendations of the CDC, Epiphany Senior Housing will limit visitors into the campus to combat the spread of the disease and protect the health and welfare of our residents.

“We encourage loved ones to communicate with our residents in ways, other than in-person visits, such as video chat, telephone, or social media.” “These precautions are vital to helping us avoid and minimize the possible spread of this virus. We also are committed to staying in contact with family members to update them on any news, emerging issues, or changes in our regular operations.”

Epiphany Senior Housing is also educating staff and residents and families on symptom awareness for COVID-19 and infection control best practices and have clear protocols for staff to stay home and not come to work if they are ill or symptomatic.

Detailed and specific plans are already in place for a wide range of emergencies and are being updated and evaluated as new information becomes available, and we are working closely with other health care providers in our community to help ensure the health and safety of all.

As we navigate this challenge, we remain focused on providing exceptional care and services for our residents/tenants.