COVID-19
Visitation Update Center
Visitation Update 6/21/2021: On 6/22/2021 Michigan will be lifting many of their COVID-19 restrictions on capacity limits, broad mask mandates, and vaccination requirements, although, the State and CMS has not lifted our current restrictions or required precautions. Due to that, we will continue to follow our 5/27/2021 rules and guidelines (below).
Visitation Update 5/27/2021: We are happy to have both indoor/outdoor and leave of absence visits again! But as many of you know, it has been difficult to get through to schedule visits and leaves of absence due to a high volume of requests. And, quite frankly, that is a good thing! To help, we have 2 links you can now use for scheduling:
Visitation Update 3/18/2021: We are very happy to share that CMS and the State have further relaxed visitation guidance for skilled nursing facilities. We still have many restrictions and the rules very for those residents who have not been vaccinated. For the residents that have been vaccinated and are in private rooms we will now be allowed to let visitors into resident rooms. The full guidance is posted below due to its length. This new guidance will also allow us to increase the number of visits per day. We are hopeful we will be able to expand to weekends and nights before too long as well.
Please know however, should we have a breakout in the facility or the number of cases in Barry County increase, we may be required to suspend visits with little notice. But for now we are excited to have you visiting within our building once again.
We will still be testing here before visits as well as limiting to two visitors at a time.
Letter from our Administrator
3/31/2021
I am writing to share my gratitude for the amazing staff and team at Thornapple Manor. Over the years we have been recognized within our community and industry for providing high quality state of the art services. I have felt very blessed to be part of such a great organization and to work with such a dedicated team.
As we passed the anniversary of closing our building and working diligently to protect our residents from COVID 19 I have taken a moment to reflect on the absolutely amazing successes our team has achieved. Here is a brief summary of their successes.
We closed our building on March12, 2020 to outside visitors before ordered to do so by the state or federal government. We admitted our first COVID 19 positive patient into an isolation area we created on April 6, 2020. They were followed by 17 more COVID 19 positive admissions through August 2020, all of them recovered and successfully discharged. During this time we had zero cross infections from our known COVID 19 positive residents to other residents or staff. The staff working within the isolation unit volunteered to do so.
We did encounter an unexpected COVID 19 outbreak in late August from a resident in for therapy unrelated to COVID 19. However, the actions of our team with in the first few hours of confirmation contained the virus spread. Although eight other residents and 12 staff became infected, two weeks later we had no further cases of COVID 19 within our building. Fortunately those cross infected with COVID 19 had only mild symptoms and fully recovered. Since then we have had over 70 staff test positive for COVID 19 from community exposures with no staff or residents cross infected.
In addition, our team saw improvements in many of our quality measures while the state and national numbers worsened. To underscore this accomplishment, this was done while skilled nursing facilities were over looked in the early days and not prioritized with PPE and other vital resources. We faced daily and sometimes hourly changes in regulations and requirements from multiple governmental agencies that often provided conflicting rules and guidance. We also faced, and continue to face, staffing challenges with our team working past the point of exhaustion.
COVID 19 is not completely behind us. But there is light at the end of this long dark tunnel. With the vaccine, spring and sunshine in the air we have a renewed sense of optimism about the future. We have the pleasure of reuniting family members and watching the hugs, kisses and tears following a year-long separation.
It seems entirely inadequate to simply express thanks, gratitude and admiration for your successes as we and our families have. But I would like to publically say THANK YOU to the entire team at Thornapple Manor for your love, dedication, care and compassion for our residents. I hope you know that every day you make our resident’s day brighter and truly make a difference in their lives. Like never before this past year highlights your efforts. I hope you are as proud of your efforts as I am to be part of your team.
Sincerely,
Donald A Haney
PANDEMIC VISIT GUIDANCE
Visits will be by appointment only and be scheduled by Life Enrichment
THE VISITOR
- Visitors should be 13 years of age or older (exceptions may be made on an individual basis by the Administrator/DON or their designee)
- Must be COVID-19 symptom free and COVID-19 negative
- Have had no known exposure in the last 14 days
- And agree to the following:
Visitors need to arrive 15 minutes early at the main entrance, park in a “rapid testing” spot, and call when they get here for POC COVID-19 testing; which will be completed in the visitor’s vehicle. A COVID-19 test completed in the past 72 hours will be accepted (must provide proof).
- They will be given an education packet which includes proper hand hygiene, social distancing, and proper mask wearing.
- They will review and sign the visitor agreement which includes the rules for the visit and that they will notify the facility of any signs and symptoms or if they test positive for COVID 14 days following the visit.
- They will be screened for signs or symptoms of COVID-19 and have their temperature taken.
- They will also be given a surgical mask to wear during the entire visit, and will wash their hands upon entering and exiting the room.
Once this is completed the visitor will be directed to the appropriate entrance where the appointed staff member will meet them at the door to assist and escort them to the designated visiting area or resident room.
A staff member will monitor visits in the room or in designated areas for compliance and safety and will be available to assist with any needs during the visit.
For vaccinated residents with a private room they may have the visit on their room:
- Be limited to 2 or less visitors with one resident
- Visitors and residents will adhere to 6 foot social distancing
- The resident (as able) and the visitor will wear a mask during the entire visit
- Remain in the resident’s room with their door open, and visit only that particular resident for the appointment time for 30 minutes.
- Vaccinated residents may request to have physical contact (hug/hand shake) which is allowed as long as both parties are wearing a mask and wash their hands before and after contact. Physical contact must be less than 15 minutes preferably at the end of the visit.
For unvaccinated residents or those who live in a semi-private room, their visit will be at one of the designated visiting areas:
- Be limited to 2 or less visitors with one resident
- Visitors and residents will adhere to 6 foot social distancing
- which may be behind plexi-glass or plastic barrier
- The resident (as able) and the visitor will wear a mask for the entire visit
- Remain in the visiting area, and visit only that particular resident for the appointment time of 30 minutes.
Following the visits staff:
- Will escort the visitor back outside of the building
- Assist the resident back to their room if it is at one of the designated visiting areas
- Clean/Sanitize all areas touched by visitors and the resident, such as chairs, door handles, hand rails, etc.
Visits dates and times will be documented by Life Enrichment or the visit monitor
PANDEMIC VISITOR AGREEMENT
Visitor will be given the Pandemic Visitor Agreement when visiting and will be required to sign in order for the visit to proceed. The agreement includes the below:
In order for Thornapple Manor to meet Guidelines from the CMS Rule QSO-20-39-NH and comply with MDHHS and CDC guidelines to promote safe visits for our residents, the following interventions have been put in place:
- Only two (2) visitors per resident will be allowed in the building at a time.
- Each visitor must be screened at the front door (for signs & symptoms of COVID-19, known exposures, and have their temperature taken). Any visitor with signs/symptoms or known exposure will not be allowed in the building for any reason.
- Each visitor must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test completed within 72 hours of the visit OR be tested using a rapid POC test in the facility. POC test results: ____________. Any visitor who tests positive for COVID 19 will not be allowed in the building for any reason.
- Each visitor will receive an education packet on how to correctly: wear a mask, wash hands, social distancing, and the signs and symptoms of COVID 19.
- Staff will escort the visitor from the appointed entrance to the designated visiting area or resident room (if able) with door open and back outside of the building following the visit.
- Visitors will be allowed to visit for the agreed amount of time (30 minutes each visit) with only that particular resident. Visiting other residents or staff members is prohibited.
- Each visitor must sanitize their hands and wear a surgical mask covering their nose & mouth for their entire visit- eating and drinking is not allowed at this time as the visitors mask must remain in place.
- Visits with unvaccinated residents will be conducted socially distanced with a clear barrier between the resident and visitor for the entire visit. Visitors will refrain from physical contact with residents and staff.
- Visits with vaccinated residents will be socially distanced, but the resident may request to have physical contact (hug/hand shake), which is allowed as long as both parties are wearing a mask and wash their hands before and after contact. Physical contact must be less than 15 minutes preferably at the end of the visit.
- Staff will monitor the visits to ensure compliance and safety; and will be available to assist with any needs during the visit.
- The visitor agrees that if they become symptomatic or if they test positive for COVID-19 at any time for the fourteen (14) days following the visit, they will notify the facility. The visitor also agrees that if the above guidance is not followed they may be asked to leave the facility.