Author: Amy Lhotka

NO NEW CASES!

Dear Family and Friends,

We continue to test staff weekly. Results from testing this week is shown below. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

  • Little Falls Care Center – all negative results
  • Bridgeway Estates – all negative results

This week, Minnesota is beginning a new COVID-19 vaccine pilot program. There will be nine vaccine sites that will serve persons 65 years of age and older as well as prek-12th grade educators, school staff, and child care workers. All appointments available for the nine sites were immediately booked. These sites will begin administering vaccines at the end of this week.

We are thrilled to see the enthusiasm and determination of our community to be vaccinated and help protect our most vulnerable from the COVID-19 virus.  The CDC has released data proving that this Pandemic has disproportionately affected seniors. From May 2020 to August 2020, 78% of COVID-19 deaths were aged 65 and older. As a reminder, our care center will be hosting 3 separate clinics for vaccinations for our staff and residents. Any residents or staff members who were unable to attend the first clinic are encouraged to attend the 2nd and 3rd clinics for their free vaccinations. Our next clinic is on 2/2/21 at the care center and 2/16/21 at BWE.

Looking for ways to help? We have a variety of positions available with flexible scheduling and on the job training. For more information or to apply, visit www.jobswithus.org.

Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Please follow our Facebook page (@Little Falls Health Services) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Madelyn Blaha, Administrator, at 320-632-2061 or by email at mblaha@lfhs.sfhs.org.

COVID Update

Dear Family and Friends,

We continue to test care center staff once a week. Results from testing this week are shown below. Bridgeway Estates will begin testing today 1/15 of all tenants and staff, and continue at least once a week until we have no cases for 14 days. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

  • Little Falls Care Center – All negative staff, all negative residents
  • Bridgeway Estates – Testing today 1/15

Please be patient about changes in safety protocols as vaccinations roll out across Minnesota. Even though the vaccine is here, the virus is still being transmitted throughout our state and we need to continue to be cautious to protect the health and well-being of residents and staff.

Until we receive updated guidance from the State, we ask that everyone, even those not connected directly with our care center, continue infection prevention and control practices. Please wear a mask, wash your hands, don’t touch your face when you’re out and stay home if you’re feeling sick.  These measures will help keep the positivity rate low and allow our care center to host safe and socially distanced visitation for residents.

Looking for ways to help? We have a variety of positions available with flexible scheduling and on the job training. For more information or to apply, visit www.jobswithus.org.

Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Please follow our Facebook page (@Little Falls Health Services) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Madelyn Blaha, Administrator, at 320-632-2061 or by email at mblaha@lfhs.sfhs.org.

Bridgeway Estates Tenant Positive for COVID-19

January 13th, 2021

Dear Staff, Tenants, and Families,

On 1/12/21, we learned that one of our tenants tested positive for COVID-19 at Bridgeway Estates.  Our top priority is to keep everyone safe and healthy.  We are collaborating with the Minnesota Department of Health and are following all recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ensure we are taking all appropriate steps at this time.

We are testing all tenants and staff for COVID-19 on 1/15/21. To ensure the health and safety of our tenants and staff, we will discontinue meals in the dining room and indoor visits. Any exposed or symptomatic tenants will be quarantined in their apartment.

Our vaccination clinic on 1/19 will proceed as scheduled. Any tenants contagious for COVID-19 will be vaccinated at our second clinic in February.

Any staff who test positive will be self-quarantined at home and will not be allowed to return to work until they recover from the virus; 10 days following positive test and 72 hours from last fever without using medication. Our staff are equipped with specific training and PPE to continue to provide safe, quality care, services and support to the residents of our community.

We will continue to update you on any news, emerging issues, or additional changes in our operations via Bright Arrow, email, website, and our Facebook page.

Please follow our Facebook page (@Little Falls Health Services) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our community. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Madelyn Blaha, Administrator, at 320-632-2061 or by email at mblaha@lfhs.sfhs.org.

Falls Prevention

Little Falls Health Services, an affiliate of St. Francis Health Services of Morris (SFHS), is pleased to announce we were recently awarded a Minnesota Nursing Facility Performance-based Incentive Payment Program (PIPP) grant by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) focused on preventing falls.  The initiative for fall prevention and fall reduction began January 1, 2021 and will continue through December 31, 2022 within our care center and related SFHS’ skilled nursing care centers.

The Falls Prevention Project will provide our care center with additional resources to make positive system improvements to prevent falls for individuals receiving services that is focused on each individual’s preferences and needs.  This program will have three components; expanding falls prevention and person centered education, implementing Safe Being technology, and increasing exercise program opportunities.

The education component of the Falls Prevention Project comes to us with a new partnership with Pioneer Network to expand our work force knowledge of Person Centered/Directed care. Pioneer Network is the national leader for culture change that advocates and builds a culture of aging where individual choices are respected and fosters care that is directed by the person receiving it.  Staff will learn how to better address needs and lifestyle choices to reduce an individual receiving services’ risk for falls. 

In the second part of our Falls Prevention Project, we will be installing Safe Being technology in our care centers.  The Safe Being system provides the capability for real time remote monitoring while respecting the person’s privacy.  Safe Being uses a watch-like device that provides data on lifestyles and daily activities and interprets gestures identifying how/when a resident is moving, eating, drinking and sleeping.  Each person wearing the device will send an alert when there is a change in status or has been identified as being at risk for a potential fall or has fallen. 

The third component of the Falls Prevention Project will be increasing exercise program opportunities such as Bingocize and Otago to improve strength, flexibility, and balance to help reduce falls. 

The Falls Prevention Project is intended to build sustainable practices throughout our care center beyond the original two year grant period.  SFHS is a faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization.  In addition to their skilled nursing care centers, they offer a variety of services that include customized/assisted living, a full range of therapies, senior housing, transitional and skilled nursing care, and behavioral and residential programs throughout the State of Minnesota.

Next Vaccination Date set for February 2nd!

Dear Family and Friends,

LFCC continues to test staff weekly. Results from testing this week is shown below. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

  • Little Falls Care Center – 1 new positive employee on 1/5, all residents and other staff are negative
  • Bridgeway Estates – no new updates

We are bringing in the New Year with new hope and excitement. We have administered our first doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in our care center. Our next vaccine clinic will be on 2/2/21. Team member Sharon Freudenrich, who has been eagerly awaiting the COVID-19 vaccine says, “I am so happy I got the vaccine because I am finally helping to stop this pandemic!”

Regarding Assisted Living buildings, the MDH, Preferred Pharmacies and the Public Health Departments are currently working on a plan to start vaccinating tenants and staff.  We are anticipating vaccines to be administered at Bridgeway Estates in the coming weeks.              

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 Laura Stumpf (320) 632-2084, DON.

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, our care center plans to open for indoor visits on 1/20/21, pending no new COVID-19 cases. We will continue regular communication with our residents, friends and family on our COVID response, visitation guidelines and testing results.

Looking for ways to help? We have a variety of positions available with flexible scheduling and on the job training. For more information or to apply, visit www.jobswithus.org.

Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Please follow our Facebook page (@Little Falls Health Services) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Madelyn Blaha, Administrator, at 320-632-2061 or by email at mblaha@lfhs.sfhs.org.

VACCINATION DAY!

Check out some of our safe care heroes below! No doses of the vaccine were wasted 😁

Our care center will have its second vaccine clinic on February 2nd. The vaccine reaches its full effectiveness 1-2 weeks after the second dose.

We are still awaiting more information regarding our first vaccine clinic for Bridgeway Estates, and we will share that with all of our tenants, friends, and families as soon as we can!

When it is your turn, #trustscience and get vaccinated!

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Staff Positive for COVID-19

Dear Family and Friends,

We have had one additional staff member test positive for COVID-19 in the care center. 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 still awaiting final results from our testing on 12/30, and I will update you as soon as I receive them.

Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Please follow our Facebook page (@Little Falls Health Services) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Madelyn Blaha, Administrator, at 320-632-2061 or by email at mblaha@lfhs.sfhs.org.

Date Set for COVID-19 Vaccines!

Dear Family and Friends,

We will be transitioning to test staff once weekly. Morrison County has seen a large decrease in cases, and the positivity rate remains below 10%. Results from testing this week is shown below. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

  • Little Falls Care Center – One new positive staff
  • Bridgeway Estates – All negative tests

We are excited to announce that our care center is scheduled to receive the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and will host 3 clinics for vaccinating our residents and staff! Our first clinic is 1/5/21.  The second dose of the vaccine will be administered 4 weeks after the first round and the third will be administered 4 weeks after the second. Protection from vaccine is not immediate; vaccine is a 2-dose series and will take 1 to 2 weeks following the second dose to be considered fully vaccinated. Vaccine efficacy is 94-95%. This data was assessed with two doses being administered. It is very important to get both doses to ensure good protection. Assisted living vaccination dates will be sent out as soon as we receive them.

When someone receives the vaccine they may experience side effects up to three days after vaccination. These side effects include injection site pain, tenderness and swelling of the lymph nodes in the same arm as the injection, swelling (hardness), and redness. General side effects include fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, chills, nausea, and low grade fever.

Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is one of the best ways to protect yourself and everyone around you, particularly those who are at increased risk for severe illness. Wearing masks and social distancing help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough.  Getting the vaccination will not only protect you from being infected; it will help us reduce visitation restrictions in the future.    

While the vaccine is a significant factor in our fight against the virus, it is just the beginning to reopening our care centers. We continue to use the county positivity rate to measure the spread of the virus in our local communities and follow the recommendations from MDH and CDC on reopening. Our county positivity rate has decreased significantly, but the care center cannot begin indoor visitation until we have gone 14 days with all negative test results. Bridgeway Estates will begin indoor visits on Tuesday 1/5. Visits can be scheduled by calling either Krista or Sam at 320-632-2062 or 320-632-2089. Visitors must be able to produce a NEGATIVE Covid-19 test from 2-3 days prior to the initial visit or a positive test within the last 90 days as long as the individual is out of their infectious period. 

Looking for ways to help? We have a variety of positions available with flexible scheduling and on the job training. For more information or to apply, visit www.jobswithus.org.

Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Please follow our Facebook page (@Little Falls Health Services) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Madelyn Blaha, Administrator, at 320-632-2061 or by email at mblaha@lfhs.sfhs.org.

COVID Update

Dear Family and Friends,

We continue to test staff twice weekly. Results from testing on 12/8 is shown below. We are following recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

  • Little Falls Care Center – 2 positive staff. All other staff and residents negative
  • Bridgeway Estates – 1 positive tenant. All other staff and tenants negative

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 Molly Vanuurden, 320-632-2061 at the care center.

Looking for ways to help? We have a variety of positions available with flexible scheduling and on the job training. For more information or to apply, visit www.jobswithus.org.

Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Please follow our Facebook page (@Little Falls Health Services) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Madelyn Blaha, Administrator, at 320-632-2061 or by email at mblaha@lfhs.sfhs.org.