Dear residents and families,
Since the middle of March, our communities have restricted access to our communities. While these restrictions helped to keep residents protected from the coronavirus, they also meant that families and residents were cut off from one another. But this has also led to isolation and loneliness. Our teams have worked hard to fill the void, but nothing can replace family.
The Department of Health has broadened their definition of Essential Caregivers, which will allow more people to enter our communities. We are excited about the news and look forward to welcoming more family members, friends, and volunteers into our buildings to assist residents with essential care.
I know this is welcome news to most of you, but may also cause some fear. This new policy comes with several restrictions and regulations, to continue to protect all residents. We encourage you to read the MDH Guidance on Essential Caregivers to fully understand the guidance we are required to follow by the State of Minnesota and ensure we are protecting the health and safety of all who live and work here. Below are some of the criteria we will use as we evaluate and designate Essential Caregivers in our settings. You will receive specific guidance from your community leadership team as we work out the details. We expect to have our policy and procedures ready to communicate with you around July 25. MDH specifically gave communities two weeks to work through details before rolling this out in order to protect residents and families.
Status update
Testing continues to go well as we continue to do mass testing in our communities. We want to thank everyone for your cooperation and patience. Please note that this battle is not over and we will have people test positive from time-to-time. Currently, four residents are positive for COVID. The team has taken great care to ensure all isolation procedures are in place for residents and team members. Please note that if a resident tests positive, all emergency contacts listed in that individual facility will receive notification of a positive test. If you have not received a notification, this means it was not in your or your loved one’s facility. Thank you for your understanding. Together we will overcome.
Scott Riddle
President and CEO, Walker Methodist