Good Morning –

Please see the results from this week’s Surveillance Testing below. You will be notified if any additional tests return positive.

• RenVilla – 0 residents and 0 staff tested positive. Testing staff weekly due to county positivity.
• Meadows on Main – 0 tenants and 0 staff tested positive. We will pause testing at MOM due to no new positives in over 5 weeks.
• Prairie View – 0 tenants and 0 staff tested positive. We will pause testing at PV due to no new positives in over 3 weeks.

We continue to follow recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

We are bringing in the New Year with new hope and excitement. We will administer our first doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in our buildings. RenVilla’s 1^st vaccination clinic for RenVilla staff and residents through Thrifty White Pharmacy is today, 1/7/2020. MOM and PV staff have already started receiving the vaccine through Olivia Hospital and Clinic, and MOM and PV tenants will be vaccinated in house through Renville County Public Health soon. When a date is received for vaccination clinics at MOM and PV, we will inform tenants and families. Our next vaccination clinic for RenVilla will be approximately 28 days after the 1^st clinic. Staff member, Robin Feldman, who has been eagerly awaiting the COVID-19 vaccine says, “I’m getting the vaccine, and there is a reason behind it. I’ve seen what it [C-19] can do. I sat on pins and needles for 30 days not knowing if he was going to make it, and he is still in the hospital.”

We have prepared a Frequently Asked Questions to help you understand why the vaccine is so important in defeating COVID-19. You can find this along with the Moderna Fact Sheet, on our website at sfhs.org/resources/covid-19/. If you have any other concerns or questions, please contact Kayla Fitzner, ADON/Infection Control Specialist at (320) 329-4386.

We will continue following our infection prevention and control practices along with the latest guidance from MDH and CDC regarding safe visiting for our residents. As of today, RenVilla, MOM, and PV plan to open for indoor visits on 1/18/2020. Please read the attached documents for further information regarding indoor visitation. When sharing information with friends/family regarding visitation, please provide them the attached documents as well. We will continue regular communication with our residents, friends and family on our COVID response, visitation guidelines and testing results.

We continue to work with Cami Peterson-DeVries, AGNP on our infection control practices, policies, and emergency management. If you have any questions on this, she can be reached at CPeterson-DeVries@sfhs.org or 320.287.0313.

Good Afternoon –

Please see the results from this week’s testing below. You will be notified if any additional tests return positive.

• RenVilla – 0 residents and 0 staff tested positive. No indoor visitation at this time. Testing staff twice weekly due to county positivity rate.
• Meadows on Main – Testing is on pause. No new positives in over 30 days.
• Prairie View – 0 tenant and 0 staff tested positive. Staff and tenants are testing weekly.

We continue to follow recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

We continue to prepare for vaccinations in all 3 building. Staff will be reaching out to residents, tenants, and representatives regarding vaccinations as this becomes available on a per building basis.

We continue to work with Cami Paterson-Devries, AGNP on our infection control practices, policies, and emergency management. If you have any questions on this, she can be reached at CPeterson-DeVries@sfhs.org or 320.287.0313.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Have a Safe and Happy New Year,

Casie Knoshal

  Administrator

  Renville Health Services

   Phone: (320) 329-4373

   Fax: (320) 329-3678

Good Afternoon –

Please see the results from this week’s point prevalence testing (PPT) below. You will be notified if any additional tests return positive.

• RenVilla – 0 residents and 1 staff tested positive. No indoor visitation at this time. Testing residents weekly. Testing staff twice weekly due to county positivity.
• Meadows on Main – 0 tenant and 0 staff tested positive. No indoor visitation at this time. Weekly testing for tenants and staff.
• Prairie View – 1 tenant and 3 staff tested positive. Weekly testing for tenants and staff.

We continue to follow recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines pending approval by the FDA. We anticipate this will occur before the end of December.  We appreciate and support the decision made by the federal government to prioritize long-term care residents and staff in the distributions of the COVID-19 vaccine. Our vaccination process for staff and residents will be based on guidance from MDH as well as official CDC recommendations that have yet to be released and we will share this with you very soon! 

The beginning of December brought a surge of cases throughout Minnesota.  Please help us protect our staff and residents by wearing a mask and social distancing.  We again ask that you refrain from taking your loved one home over the Christmas holiday and schedule video visits with Deb Vizecky, Amy Klawitter, or Deb Wertish respectively.

We continue to work with Cami Paterson-Devries, AGNP on our infection control practices, policies, and emergency management. If you have any questions on this, she can be reached at CPeterson-DeVries@sfhs.org or 320.287.0313.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Casie Knoshal

  Administrator

  Renville Health Services

   Phone: (320) 329-4373

   Fax: (320) 329-3678

Good Afternoon –

Please see the results from this week’s point prevalence testing (PPT) below. You will be notified if any additional tests return positive.

• RenVilla – 0 residents and 0 staff tested positive. No indoor visitation at this time. Testing residents weekly. Testing staff twice weekly due to county positivity.
• Meadows on Main – 1 tenant and 0 staff tested positive. No indoor visitation at this time. Weekly testing for tenants and staff.
• Prairie View – 8 tenants and 2 staff tested positive. Weekly testing for tenants and staff.

We continue to follow recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The CDC held an emergency meeting this week to review allocation recommendations for vaccines in phase 1 distribution. The advisory committee voted to include residents of long-term care communities in Phase 1A of the vaccination program. We anticipate a vaccine being available in the coming weeks and will keep you informed.

With the increase in cases at PV, we have brought in additional assistance to the building to help support tenants and staff through this incredibly difficult time. Also, we are continuing to work with Cami Paterson-Devries, AGNP on our infection control practices, policies, and emergency management. If you have any questions on this she can be reached at CPeterson-DeVries@sfhs.org or 320.287.0313.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Casie Knoshal

  Administrator

  Renville Health Services

   Phone: (320) 329-4373

   Fax: (320) 329-3678

Good Afternoon –

I want to provide an update from testing conducted 11/24 in all 3 RHS buildings.

• PV – All results are back. 2 tenants tested positive. No employees tested positive.
• MOM – All results are back. No tenants or staff tested positive.
• RenVilla – 50% of results are back. There are no new positives that were not already reported.

An update will go out if there are any further positives. We will continue PPT/Outbreak testing in all 3 building.

In attempts to try and reduce any confusion, any updates that are not specifically Covid related (i.e. activities) will be made by the Housing Manager or Home Care Director for MOM and PV tenants/families. The 3 buildings are different from one another in some of the services provided.

Thank you,

Casie Knoshal

  Administrator

  Renville Health Services

   Phone: (320) 329-4373

   Fax: (320) 329-3678

Good Afternoon –

Today, we were notified of an employee from Prairie View who has tested positive. Prairie View will continue PPT/Outbreak testing along with Meadows on Main and RenVilla. There have been no other changes for RHS.

In addition, please see this message from Renville County Public Health regarding Covid-19. The link is below:

Message from Renville County Public Health – YouTube A message from your Renville County Public Health Director. www.youtube.com

For Thanksgiving, we will be dearly missing some of our RHS traditions, but we have a day packed with festivities and ideas to make this as special for residents and tenants as we can. During the day, we will be having Turkey Bingo and games. We are having movie(s) and making popcorn in the evening. Room service trays will be decorated with festive placemats, decorative turkeys, and handmade nametags. The silverware will be wrapped in linen napkins, and the residents/tenants planned the dinner and dessert menus of their choosing. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Casie Knoshal

  Administrator

  Renville Health Services

   Phone: (320) 329-4373

   Fax: (320) 329-367

Dear Family and Friends,

RHS completed outbreak testing on 11/17/2020 at RenVilla, Prairie View, and Meadows on Main. The results are as follows:

• RenVilla – a therapy provider and an essential caregiver tested positive. No staff or residents tested positive. These 2 cases count as new cases. Therefore, RenVilla will need to continue PPT/Outbreak testing for 2 more full rounds. Residents will next be tested 11/24. In addition, Renville County has moved into the red requiring SNF staff, providers, compassionate care, and essential care givers to be tested twice a week. This week’s 2^nd round was today. We will continue to do this Tuesdays and Fridays into the foreseeable future.
• Prairie View – 2 tenants tested positive at Prairie View. They are both in quarantine on the Covid Unit, and precautions are still in place to prevent any further transmission. No staff tested positive. PV will need to continue PPT/Outbreak testing. The next scheduled test day is 11/24.
• Meadows on Main – All tenants and staff tested negative at Meadows. This was their 2^nd round of PPT/Outbreak testing. At this time, they will not need to complete PPT/Outbreak test next week.

We recently learned that the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the federal Medicare agency (CMS) are advising against residents leaving their care center for holiday visits. As we continue to fight against COVID-19, we ask that you not take your loved ones out this Thanksgiving.

By not taking your loved one out for a holiday visit, you will help us in protecting the health of everyone who lives and works here. One of the best things that you can do for your family this holiday season is to not gather in groups and keep everyone safe by wearing a facemask when you do.

We know just how special the holiday season can be and spending time with family is what adds meaning to our celebrations.  However, we need your help to protect our residents, our staff, and yourself during this pandemic’s risky time by limiting our contact with the broader community.  As Governor Walz told us the other night, the COVID-19 surge is at a dangerous level in Minnesota.

This past year has been a challenge like no other, and we deeply appreciate the sacrifices that you and your family have already made during these past months. The hope of a COVID-19 vaccine is promising, but until that time we all need to use extra caution to slow the spread of this highly contagious disease.

If a resident does choose to go to a holiday gathering outside of our care center (RenVilla, Prairie View, or Meadows on Main), the resident will need to quarantine in his or her room for 14-days after returning as a necessary precaution. Even when being very careful and following all of the guidelines, the risk of being infected when being out in the general public is high.

Our staff is committed to keeping you connected during the holiday seasons. We have a variety of activities planned that will engage our residents and are doing all we can to facilitate alternative means of communication between you and your loved one. If you have any gifts or cards you would like to give to your loved one or wish to schedule a virtual visit, please contact your Home Care Director or Deb Vizecky at dvizecky@renvilla.sfhs.org.

We know that this news may cause concern 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 (320) 329-4373 or cknoshal@renvilla.sfhs.org.

Thank you,

Casie Knoshal

  Administrator

  Renville Health Services

   Phone: (320) 329-4373

   Fax: (320) 329-3678

RHS Update: 11/13/2020:

RHS completed point-prevelance testing/outbreak testing on 11/10/2020. The results are as follows:

• RenVilla test results for residents and staff returned. All are negative. Testing will again occur on 11/17.
• Prairie View test results for tenants and staff have all returned. 2 tenants tested positive. This triggered the reactivation of the Covid Unit, and the tenants are currently in quarantine. No employees tested positive. To prevent any further transmission, this also initiated facility quarantine. Testing will again occur on 11/17.
• Meadows on Main test results for tenant and staff returned. All are negative. Testing will again occur on 11/17.

With the Minnesota daily case rate continuously hitting record high numbers, we ask the community to do their part in slowing the spread. The case rate increase is hitting Minnesota and local healthcare systems very hard right now. Following the link below is a graph provided by the Minnesota Department of Health and can be found at https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/situation.html. Please wear a mask and physically distance.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at (320) 329-4373.

Thank you,

Casie Knoshal

  Administrator

  Renville Health Services

   Phone: (320) 329-4373

   Fax: (320) 329-3678

Dear Residents, Tenants, Family and Friends:

This week, Meadows on Main completed its 2^nd round of PPT/Outbreak Testing. All tests returned negative. They will not need to test next week. Following CMS guidelines, Meadows on Main will host indoor visits again shortly not that PPT/outbreak testing is complete. Our county is currently in the “yellow” category, requiring us to have all visitors to have a negative COVID test prior to the indoor visit. All visits must be scheduled in advance, please contact Deb Wertish at dwertish@renvilla.sfhs.org to schedule your visit. Outdoor visitation can occur without visitor testing as before (scheduled with visitor screening).

RenVilla had a positive case exposure that was communicated to residents/families on Tuesday November 3^rd. Due to the risk of exposure, we are required to start PPT/Outbreak testing for 2 consecutive rounds of no new cases. CDC county transmission level for Renville County went into the “yellow” requiring weekly staff test regardless of positivity status.

Prairie View had a positive case exposure as well that was communicated to resident/families on Tuesday November 3^rd. Due to the risk of exposure, we are required to start PPT/Outbreak testing for 2 consecutive rounds of no new cases.

RenVilla and Prairie View will discontinue all indoor visits until further notice (not including Compassionate Care or Essential Caregivers). 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.

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.