July 20, 2021

Summer has brought renewed optimism around COVID-19, however we continue to watch and follow guidelines established by CMS and CDC.  While our county rate has been below 5%, we are seeing a slight uptick recently so our Covid-19 Committee will continue to monitor this and provide updates to residents, families and employees as appropriate.

Visitation continues under the following Core Principles of Covid-19 Infection Prevention:

• Each visitor must sign into the kiosks in Maplewood or Palmer House lobby, complete and pass a health screen including temperature reading. Wesley Park residents will be asked to complete a manual health screen prior to going up to their loved one’s apartment.
• Each visitor must engage in frequent hand hygiene before, during and after visit.
• Visitors should wear a proper fitting mask at all times.
• Visitors should maintain a social distance of 6 feet or more between persons not in your household.
• Recommended visiting hours are 9:00am – 8:00pm daily including weekends.
• Assistance will be available at the entrances to help visitors with this new process.
• In the event a resident or staff member test positive for Covid-19, visitation will be immediately suspended until tracing and additional testing can be completed.

For our Maplewood and Palmer House Residents we have established a Visit Line as a place for you to hear the most up to date status on visitation in the event of changes, so please consider calling prior to coming over:

Maplewood Visit Line —       414- 607-4191

Palmer House Visit Line —   414-607-4185

Effective in July, our employee testing was reduced from weekly to every other week for non-vaccinated employees only.

We are continuing to encourage all of our team to receive the vaccine to reduce the spread and healthcare risks of Covid-19. If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Martin, Quality & Clinical Support Nurse, at (414) 607-4135.

As a reminder, the following items are in place throughout the VMP community.

OUR RESIDENTS

• Our dining rooms have been re-opened. The Bistro is open and back to its pre-Covid schedule.
• Individuals and volunteers are being permitted to enter the campus for the purpose of entertainment, education, taxes, church services or other events.
• The Stafford Center and Apartment Store are open for residents and employees.
• Essential healthcare workers such as those that work for hospice, lab, x-ray, pharmacy or home health will be able to work with residents and will be subjected to health screening upon entry.
• Plans to schedule outings in Maplewood and Palmer House are underway.
• Transportation will be available for essential medical treatments and groceries.
• Care Conferences with residents and families are being scheduled either virtual or in-person based on family preference.
• Wesley Park residents are asked to complete a health screening upon return from any outside appointment or outing.

OUR STAFF

• Our staff has completed the CDC Infection Control Facility Assessment to ensure we are in compliance with all aspects of infection control
• We have documented current competencies on ALL staff for hand hygiene and use of PPE, including when to use, how to apply and how to remove and dispose of properly.
• Every single person entering our building is screened- employee, vendor, surveyor, and family members.
• Additionally, we ask staff who are sick to stay at home until they are no longer contagious.
• No one may enter the campus, except through the 5 designated entrances- Maplewood Main entrance, Palmer House Main Entrance, and the 2 main entrances of WP and Hickory Park entrance. There are no exceptions for anyone.
• All staff MUST wear a face mask at all times when in the facility.
• All staff are trained on signs and symptoms of recognizing COVID and what to report.
• All staff are trained on when to place some on isolation and how to place them in isolation, how to communicate the isolation to all staff immediately.

OUR CAMPUS

• We focus on keeping rooms and common areas as clean and sanitized as possible to prevent the spread of germs. We have increased the frequency of the sanitization.
• Our kitchens follow NSF-approved dishwashing techniques.
• All staff members are trained in techniques to prevent the spread of germs specific to their individual roles in serving residents in our communities.
• VMP has specialized electrostatic machines, called a Novaerus,  which will routinely be used to disinfect common area surfaces.
• We added more touchless hand sanitizer stations in our common areas.

If there are any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to call us at (414) 607-4100 or email us at vmp.healthcare@vmp.org.