As of today we were notified that two Trinity Terrace tenants and employees tested positive for COVID 19. These tenants have been transferred out of the facility to receive care.
We continue to have aggressive procedures in place that includes masking, eyewear, gowns, distancing, and minimal contact. Nursing Staff are only providing minimum cares to clients at this time, such as essential nursing services. Showers, housekeeping and laundry are identified as non- essential at this time. We urge you to encourage your loved one to remain in their apartments and report any COVID 19 related symptoms to staff immediately.
We are currently testing symptomatic employees and residents. All staff and employees will now be tested weekly in accordance to Our point Prevalence Testing, regardless of symptoms.
Please contact me or Jackie Brula 651.252.2078 with any questions or concerns.
Trinity Care Center conducted Point Prevalence Testing (PPT) on Monday 11/2/20. This week we had four employees test positive for COVID-19. We have had no residents test positive at this time, with two results pending. We will be testing again on Monday 11/9/20. We follow all recommendations from MDH, CDC and CMS.
Trinity Care Center is currently operating under quarantine and is not eligible for indoor visits at this time. To schedule your visit or for more information about our visitation policy, please contact Joy Lauterbach at 651.460.1138.
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 in our community to practice proper hand hygiene and safe physical distancing.
Please follow our Facebook page (@Farmington Health Services) 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 Elizabeth Letich, Administrator, at 651-460-1138 or eletich@trinity.sfhs.org if you have any questions or concerns.
Trinity Care Center conducted Point Prevalence Testing (PPT) on Monday 10/26/2020. All resident results are negative. Most employee results have been returned and are negative. We will be testing again on Monday 11/2/2020. We follow all recommendations from MDH, CDC and CMS. Trinity Terrace and Trinity Suites continue to have no COVID 19 exposures.
Trinity Care Center has plans to start indoor visitation pending this week’s COVID testing results and the closing of the COVID unit. Trinity Suites and Trinity Terrace will begin indoor visitation next week. Notifications will go out to the resident’s responsible parties when indoor visitation begins.
While we welcome the new indoor visitation guidelines, we continue to monitor the COVID outbreak in our community and nearby counties. Even when not experiencing symptoms, you may test positive for COVID-19 and spread the virus without knowing. Some of the common standalone symptoms we’ve seen at Trinity include a runny nose, watery eyes or simply just a headache. When visitation opens, visits are to be scheduled weekly through Joy Lauterbach at 651.460.1138. Due to demand, we are only able to accommodate one visit per week with a resident. We are requesting that families develop a family visitation schedule. Indoor visits will look much like our outdoor visits but will be held inside. Below are the core principles to visits.
All visitors will be screened for signs and symptoms of Covid-19 (i.e. temperature checks, questions or observations about signs and symptoms) and visitation will be denied if the visitor does not pass the screening.
Good hand hygiene (use of alcohol-based hand rub) will be used throughout visit.
Social distancing of at least six feet between persons will occur.
All visitors will use appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as eyewear and a mask (covering eyes, nose and mouth) at all times inside the building regardless of social distance and may be provided by the care center as supplies are available.
Trinity requires all visitors to test for COVID 19 prior to visit. Visitors must obtain their own tests within 2-3 days of scheduled visit providing proof of negative test upon entry. The facility can provide testing at a cost of $75 per test. It is recommended you reach out to your insurance provider to discuss coverage.
Any items brought for the resident must be left with care center staff for disinfection and not passed to the resident during the visit.
All visits must be pre-scheduled with the care center to assure residents are safely transferred and monitored during visits and that spaces are appropriately cleaned.
The number of visitors per resident will be limited to two (based on the size and space of the area where visit is being conducted).
Visitation will occur in a designated space. Visitors should not leave this space during visit.
Visitors under the age of 12 must be in the control of adult visitors and must comply with social distancing, wearing PPE and use of hand sanitizer.
Please follow our Facebook page (@Farmington Health Services) 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 Elizabeth Letich, Administrator, at 651-460-1138 or eletich@trinity@sfhs.org if you have any questions or concerns.
Farmington Health Services tested residents and staff for COVID-19 at Trinity on 10/19/2020. We have been notified that three of our residents have tested positive for COVID-19. We will be testing all residents and staff again on 10/26/20. We continue to follow all recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The residents testing positive for COVID-19 have been transferred to our COVID unit. As a reminder, staff that work in our segregated unit will not care for residents outside of the unit or interact with any employees that are providing direct care to residents outside of the unit. All staff in the segregated unit will be equipped with N95 masks, face shields and gowns. Staff will enter and exit the segregated unit from a separate door to prevent exposure to the rest of our care center, residents and employees.
Due to the positive cases, we will discontinue to patio visits and open window visits for the care center at this time. We are allowing closed window visits and virtual visits at this time. Please contact Joy at 651-460-1166 to schedule your visit.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.
During our routine staff testing this week, we had two staff members test positive for COVID-19. Unfortunately this means we must discontinue patio visits until further notice and restart point prevalence testing (PPT). Our first round of testing for both residents and staff will be next week. As a reminder, 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 top priority is to keep everyone safe and healthy. 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 remain vigilant on social distancing, proper hand hygiene and our infection control practices.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
October 2nd, 2020 The results from the 9th round of Point Prevalence Testing (PPT) has come back. At this time, we have had no additional staff or residents test positive for COVID-19. Our staff will be routinely tested weekly according to CMS guidelines. Our next round of routine staff testing will take place on 10/6/2020.
Please know we continue to offer outdoor visitation (for those not in quarantine), window visits and virtual visits in an on-going effort to decrease the impact the virus may have on residents. Please contact Joy at 651-460-1166 to schedule your visit in advance.
The coming cooler months will continue to challenge us in limiting the impact of COVID-19 on our community. It is important for each of us to think about how our actions affect others we come in contact with. We must protect one another. You are a key partner in the safe reopening of our care center, please remember to social distance, wear a mask, and practice proper hand hygiene. Remember to stay home if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have had close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
We truly appreciate your patience as we prepare to expand visits and other activities within our care campus. We all look forward to the days ahead when we’re able to enjoy the simple pleasures of hugs, handshakes, and warm in-person greetings again.
Please follow our Facebook page (@Farmington Health Services) for all COVID updates and information on what is happening in our care center. We appreciate all the support, prayers, and offers of help that we’ve received. If you have specific questions or concerns, please contact Elizabeth Letich, Administrator, at 651-460-1138 or eletich@trinity@sfhs.org.
The results from the 8th round of Point Prevalence Testing (PPT) is shown below. At this time, we have had no additional staff or residents test positive for COVID-19. We are still waiting on staff results. We will test all residents of our targeted quarantine area and all staff on 09/29/20 for our 9th round of Point Prevalence testing (PPT).
Tests Positive
Tests Negative
Tests Pending
Total Tested
Residents
0
58
0
58
Staff
0
114
44
158
Results from 9/22/2020 Entire-site testing
We continue to follow the recommended guidance from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), and take all appropriate measures possible to protect the health and wellness of all who live and work here. We test symptomatic residents and staff as symptoms arise and perform site testing during an outbreak (1 or more positive cases of either a resident or staff in our care center). Should a confirmed case come from any of these tests, we would promptly notify our residents, their families and staff.
On September 17, 2020, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released Memorandum QSO-20-39-NH Nursing Home Visitation – COVID 19 which provides updated visitation guidelines for skilled nursing facilities; https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-20-39-nh.pdf. We are currently waiting for the MN Department of Health direction on this Memo before we begin working on a policy & implementation plan.
Please follow our Facebook page for all COVID updates and information on what is happening in our care center. We appreciate all the support, prayers, and offers of help that we’ve received. If you have specific questions or concerns, please contact Elizabeth Letich, Administrator, at 651-460-1138 or eletich@trinity@sfhs.org.
On 9/17/2020 Trinity Care Center became aware that two employees tested Positive for COVID 19. As of yesterday Trinity Care Center began a targeted quarantine & resident testing. We will continue with our targeted quarantine and testing until we have had two weeks of negative testing.
Due to our continued targeted Quarantine, the implementation of our essential caregiver program has been delayed.
We now offer outdoor visits and small group (10 or less) activities for residents not residing in the targeted quarantined area. Face coverings and social distancing are utilized. Please contact Joy at 651-460-1166 to schedule your visit in advance.
Last week we learned about the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) testing requirements that include routine staff testing. Based on our current county positivity rate we will be routinely testing all staff weekly. Our first round of routine testing for all staff was done this Tuesday. We will be testing all staff again next Tuesday, September 22nd.
Updated information on our planning and preparedness for Coronavirus and our activities within our care center can be found by visiting our website (www.sfhs.org) or our Facebook page. If you have specific questions or concerns, please reach out to me.
The results from the 5th round of Point Prevalence Testing (PPT) is shown below. At this time, we have had no additional staff or residents test positive for COVID-19. Additionally, we have now closed our COVID unit. We are waiting on the results of 2 staff members. If these results are negative, we will resume patio and open-window visits soon.
Tests Positive
Tests Negative
Tests Pending
Total Tested
Residents
0
60
0
60
Staff
0
125
2
125
Results from 9/1/2020 Entire-site testing
This week, CMS and MDH released new testing requirements for our care center’s staff and residents that are effective immediately. “Facility Staff” is defined broadly, to include employees, consultants, contractors, volunteers, and caregivers who provide care and services to residents on behalf of the facility, and students in the facility’s nurse aide training programs or from affiliated academic institutions. The requirements outline routine testing depending on our county positivity rate:
Low: Monthly testing in counties with less than 5% positivity
Medium: Weekly testing in counties with 5-10% positivity
High: Bi-weekly testing in counties with greater than 10% positivity
The rule also requires testing in three scenarios: (i) symptomatic individual identified; (ii) outbreak (new case arises in facility); and (iii) routine testing. While CMS does not recommend routine testing of residents unless the resident leaves the facility regularly, it does require routine testing of staff.
Currently, our policy is to test residents and staff if they are symptomatic, had exposure to someone positive and during a known outbreak in our facility like we currently experiencing. Due to our county positivity rate, we will now be conducting “routine” Staff testing weekly. This frequency is subject to change pending our county positivity rate.
We are optimistic the last 2 staff results will return negative and we will be able to lift some of the precautions introduced during the threat of COVID-19. We are finalizing our policy on the Essential Caregiver program and will have more information for our residents and families next week.
We appreciate all the support, prayers, and offers of help that we’ve received. If you have specific questions or concerns, please contact Elizabeth Letich, Administrator, at 651-460-1138 or eletich@trinity@sfhs.org.
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