Dear Family and Friends,
We conducted point-prevalence (outbreak) testing on 10/13/2020. There were no new positive residents and no new positive staff. This means that RenVilla will now be able to transition into surveillance testing. Surveillance testing is conducted in correlation with Renville’s county transmission rate per CMS. Renville County is currently in the yellow. This means RenVilla will test employees weekly. We will be testing staff on 10/20/2020.
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 17th. 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 outbreaks 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.
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 will be asked to follow the same surveillance testing requirements as staff.
- 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 will 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 also 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. They have been working 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 from 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.
Please follow our website www.rhs.sfhs.org and/or Facebook page (@Renville Health Services) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have specific questions or concerns, please contact Casie Knoshal, Administrator at 320-329-4373 or by email at cknoshal@renvilla.sfhs.org.