Weekly Update 1-29-2021

We conducted point prevalence testing (PPT) this week and all tests were returned negative. As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. Our care center continues to test staff weekly. 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).

We are excited to announce that we are taking actions to distribute the 2nd of the two-step COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, February 1st. There will be no cost to our residents or staff for the vaccine.

This week, MDH health officials contacted a computerized random selection of Minnesotans aged 65 and up, who signed up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Unfortunately, with only 11,700 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to give away, many on this list will not receive the vaccine this week. If you were not contacted on Wednesday, your name will remain on the list for the next round of vaccine distributions. For staff and residents at our care center, our next vaccination date is on Monday, February 1st.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and like previous holidays throughout the COVID Pandemic, must be celebrated cautiously. MDH and CDC have not changed guidance regarding residents leaving our care centers during the pandemic and do require residents to quarantine upon return. With any holiday this year, we have seen an increase of visits requested. Please remember to plan ahead and schedule your virtual visit or, if available, indoor visits, with Kelly Squires at 218-231-8119 as soon as possible.

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.

Please follow our Facebook page (@Guardian Angels Health and Rehabilitation Center) or our website (www.sfhs.org) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Shane P. Roche, Administrator, at 218-231-8106 if you have any questions or concerns.

Weekly Update

Dear Family and Friends,

This week we had an outside exposure of COVID-19 in our care center. Due to the potential exposure, we are resuming point prevalence testing (PPT) for all residents and staff and suspended our indoor visits. Our next test date is scheduled for Tuesday, January 26th. 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).

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-12^th 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 2^nd and 3^rd clinics for their free vaccinations. Our next clinic is on date.

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.

Please follow our Facebook page (@Guardian Angels Health and Rehabilitation Center) or our website (www.sfhs.org) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Shane P. Roche, Administrator, at 218-231-8106 if you have any questions or concerns.

Weekly Update

As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. Our care center continues to test staff weekly. 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).

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 February 1st. Geri Patregnani, who has been eagerly awaiting the COVID-19 vaccine says, “I feel an obligation to do what I can to protect the individuals around me. I want to have protection for myself and I trust in science”.

​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 Bobbie Radaich, DON/Infection Control Specialist.

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 the week of January 11th. 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.

Please follow our Facebook page (@Guardian Angels Health and Rehabilitation Center) or our website (www.sfhs.org) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Shane P. Roche, Administrator, at 218-231-8106 if you have any questions or concerns.

Weekly Update 12-31-2020

As of today, we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our care center. Our care center continues to test staff weekly. 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).

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 on 01-04-2021.  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.

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. Currently our county positivity rate is 6.1% and will allow us to open for scheduled indoor visits in the chapel area once we have not had any cases in staff or residents in a two week span. We are asking that all visitors have a negative COVID test prior to their scheduled visit.

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.

Please follow our Facebook page (@Guardian Angels Health and Rehabilitation Center) or our website (www.sfhs.org) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Shane P. Roche, Administrator, at 218-231-8106 if you have any questions or concerns.

12-14-20

Dear Residents and Families,

Testing update from 12-11-2020

We conducted point prevalence testing (PPT) for staff on 12-11-20. We had one staff member test positive from that testing. All other staff tested were negative. Our care center continues to test staff twice weekly and residents once weekly. 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. 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).

Dear Family and Friends,

Weekly Update 12-11-2020

We conducted point prevalence testing (PPT) on residents and staff on 12-8-20. We have no new confirmed positive Covid 19 cases from our testing. Our care center continues to test staff twice weekly. 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).

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 Kelly Squires at 218-231-8119.

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.

Please follow our Facebook page (@Guardian Angels Health and Rehabilitation Center) or our website (www.sfhs.org) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Shane P. Roche, Administrator, at 218-231-8106 if you have any questions or concerns.

Dear Family and Friends,

Weekly Update 12-04-2020

We conducted point prevalence testing (PPT) on 12-1-20. We have one additional resident and one essential caregiver that tested positive. We currently have three residents residing on our Covid unit. Our care center continues to test staff twice weekly. 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).

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) 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 vaccination. We anticipate a vaccine being available in the coming weeks and will keep you informed.

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.

Please follow our Facebook page (@Guardian Angels Health and Rehabilitation Center) or our website (www.sfhs.org) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening inside our care center. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Shane P. Roche, Administrator, at 218-231-8106 if you have any questions or concerns.