Dear Families and Friends,
Our residents have been living under our current restrictions for almost three months and with each day that passes, I worry about how the isolation is affecting them. I know it is also hard on the many friends and families who cannot visit their loved ones in our communities. As we look to the future and devise a plan for easing restrictions, we as an organization follow guidance from our state health departments.
The plan for reopening will likely look different at our various locations, being we serve residents in four counties. Our communities in Cass and Clay Counties will likely reopen at a slower pace than our Jamestown and Devils Lake locations, which have lower numbers of COVID-19 in their counties. I imagine the slow process for reopening is frustrating to residents and families, but we believe being cautious is important considering how contagious COVID-19 is and how a large number of those infected are asymptomatic. We must keep the safety of our residents and staff as our top priority.
North Dakota has announced a three-phased approach for reopening care centers, basic care facilities and assisted living communities in the state. All phases require a minimum of 14 days spent in each phase and the State Task Force must approve a facility to enter each phase. Steps in phased process may be altered or changed if any new COVID-19 cases are confirmed or additional risks arise.
Each of our North Dakota facilities are either in Phase 1 or making progress towards Phase 1, which advises the same restrictions and practices we are now following, including not allowing any visitors in our facilities, except for end of life situations. In Phase 1, limited group activities and communal dining are allowed, but residents must practice social distancing. Scheduled outdoor visits may occur between residents and their families while exercising social distancing. Everyone must wear clean face masks and perform proper hand hygiene. Each of our facilities will communicate how they intend to schedule outdoor visits once they are officially in Phase 1.
In order to move into Phase 2, a facility’s county must be at a “low-risk level” according to the state’s plan and there cannot be any new reported cases of COVID-19 throughout Phase 1. Once a facility enters Phase 2, visitation within the facility can be scheduled, and non-medically necessary trips outside the building may occur with the utilization of masks among residents and staff. Visitations will be restricted to one visitor per resident. Both the visitor and the resident will be required to wear masks.
To enter Phase 3, a facility’s county must be at a “new normal level” according to the state’s plan and there must continue to be no new cases of COVID-19 in the facility. At this phase, visitation within the facility is fully opened, communal dining and group activities may resume, and non-medically necessary trips may continue.
Minnesota guidelines advise us to continue our current restrictions and plan. As our communities begin to ease restrictions and move towards reopening, we will keep you informed.
The following is an update of active* cases at our locations:
Eventide Fargo Care Center: 1 active residents, 4 active staff.
Eventide Fargo Senior Living Apartments: 0 active residents, 2 active staff.
Eventide Sheyenne Crossings Care Center in West Fargo: 0 active residents, 1 active staff.
Eventide Sheyenne Crossings Senior Living Apartments: 0 active residents, 1 active staff.
Eventide on Eighth Care Center in Moorhead: 18 active residents, 28 active staff.
The Linden at Eventide on Eighth Senior Living Apartments: 1 active resident, 0 staff cases.
Eventide Fairmont in Moorhead: 0 active residents, 2 active staff.
Eventide Jamestown Care Center: 0 active residents, 1 active staff.
The Heights at Eventide Jamestown Senior Living Apartments: No cases.
Eventide Heartland Care Center in Devils Lake: No cases.
Eventide Heartland Courts in Devils Lake: No Cases
Eventide Downtown Care Center in Devils Lake: No cases.
Eventide Lake Country Manor Basic Care in Devils Lake: No cases.
Sincerely,
Jon Riewer, President and CEO
*The cases reported on the North Dakota Health site are considered active if a resident or staff member have tested positive, but are no longer counted as an active case after 10 days. Eventide follows the CDC test-based strategy which classifies residents as recovered after two consecutive negative tests. Please refer to our updates for accurate information on Eventide’s active cases. Eventide will not give information on deaths due to confidentiality and respect for residents and their families.
