After review of the CMS and CDC Covid-19 guidelines, we are happy to announce changes to our current visitation policy. We will be implementing the following updates that will allow for increased visitation while continuing to provide a safe environment for everyone.

Outside visitors will be allowed into resident rooms or apartment and/or a designated area 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.
• Recommended visits should be 30-60 minutes and include no more than 2 persons at a time
• We will have liaisons available at the entrances to assist visitors with this new process.
• Individuals under any quarantine (ie; 14-day admission quarantine) are not able to have in person visits and will be offered virtual visits until quarantine has been discontinued.
• 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 to better ensure your loved one is ready for your visit:

Maplewood Visit Line –        414- 607-4191

Palmer House Visit Line –    414-607-4185

Please provide:

Your Name

Name of resident visiting

Date & time of planned visit

Contact # or email address

(We appreciate this information 24hrs prior to your visit if possible.)

This is truly an exciting step forward for our community, however, we cannot stress enough how important it will be to follow the above guidelines. A Covid-19 outbreak or increase to our Milwaukee County positivity rate can reverse this positive change, so please share this information with your family and friends to ensure that they are prepared to meet these expectations when they visit.  Additional resources have been provided for your review.

If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Martin, Quality & Clinical Support Nurse, at (414) 607-4135.

In addition to emails and letters, please go to our new updated website for more information and ongoing updates.

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

OUR RESIDENTS

• As of March 12, our dining rooms have been closed. Meal trays are being delivered to our Palmer House and Maplewood residents. The dining room in Wesley Park has been closed. The Bistro has been re-opened with limited hours and options. Meals are being provided “to go” for our independent living residents with plans to open the dining rooms over the next several weeks.
• There are no outside groups permitted to enter the campus for the purpose of entertainment, education, taxes, church services or other events.
• The Stafford Center is closed with plans to re-open soon.
• Mail will be delivered to the communications center and delivered to rooms.
• Essential healthcare workers such as those that work for hospice, lab, x-ray, pharmacy or home health will be able to work with residents on a case by case basis and will be subjected to health screening upon entry.
• There will be no outings until further notice.
• Transportation will be available for essential medical treatments and groceries.
• Care Conferences with residents and families will be by phone until further notice.
• All new admissions or readmissions in Maplewood Health Center are given private accommodations for their initial 14 days and monitored for symptoms.
• 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.