Weekly update for Friday, June 19, 2020
To date 24 tests have been completed.
All 24 were negative.
To date 45 employee tests have been completed.*
All 45 were negative.
Two employees remain off related to possible COVID-19 exposure following IDPH criteria.
*The format for reporting number of tests changed due to some employees being tested for COVID-19 related symptoms more than one time. This means that out of the 45 employee tests, there are some repeated employee tests occurring.
Information Regarding Easing of Restrictions
Stonehill remains in phase 1 of the re-opening guidance received from IDPH, which means that our current precautionary protocols and visitor restrictions remain in effect.
We are working with our healthcare association, LeadingAge of Iowa, as well as other state agencies to clarify the criteria in the guidance for securing an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), which is one of the criteria for moving to phase 2. Currently, Stonehill has secured an inventory of PPE to provide care following the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for re-use and extended use. As of today, in order to move to phase 2, the Department of Inspections and Appeals and Iowa Department of Public Health are requiring skilled nursing facilities to resume conventional use strategies for implementing PPE (eg: not re-using). However, due to the nation-wide shortage, we are unable to proceed to the next phases of re-opening until we secure a larger supply of PPE and/or the guidance allows for optimization strategies of re-use/extended use of PPE to advance to phase 2 and/or phase 3. In speaking with other local skilled nursing facilities, they too are in a similar situation with available PPE. We continue to work with our private vendors and Dubuque Emergency Management to secure additional PPE.
We continue to have friends and family of residents reaching out regarding visits with a resident. At this time, we are unable to allow for visits unless approved for end-of-life scenarios only. We understand that this causes difficulty for residents, families, and friends, but our goal is to continue our mitigation strategies to reduce the potential for COVID-19 transmission.
In the interim, our maintenance and incident command teams are developing plans to create spaces where outdoor visits may occur. Once spaces are created, we will provide more information on the visitor guidelines for these visits as far as criteria, scheduling, and how the visit will be conducted.
We appreciate your understanding and patience as we continue to navigate through this pandemic.
If you have questions please contact Peggy Stockel, V.P. of Operations/Administrator or Matt Jahn, Director of Healthcare Services at 563-557-7180.