fbpx
COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services CEO, Russ Peterson

COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services CEO, Russ Peterson

May 22, 2020

With some of the recent media surrounding nursing facilities and assisted living, I wanted to speak directly to you.  We take care of some of the most vulnerable individuals: older adults with medical complications.  Our Nye campuses have so many committed and caring individuals, helping fight the fight. This is not always easy for them, but they show up every day, faithfully donning their masks and providing care of our residents.

Despite their heroic efforts we have not been able to keep COVID off all our campuses.  When it has surfaced in either a team member or resident, our team has jumped into action, immediately notifying all residents, their responsible family member, notifying the Department of Health and Human Services and the area Health Department.  We have been and continue to diligently follow their recommendations to best protect our residents.  These diligent efforts have helped to minimize the spread of the virus on the campuses that have had it and we know their actions are saving lives.

We know it is also difficult on family members who have not been able to see and hug loved ones for a couple of months.  We wish that could be different and know we will do all we can to create opportunities for you to connect with your loved one.  The health and safety of our residents and team members is our greatest concern.  We will continue to keep you updated with any information about COVID-19 that could impact the health and well-being of our residents and team members.

Recently CMS has been discussing recommendations on how and when nursing facilities and assisted living campuses can open up and allow visitors back in.  We hope that this can occur sooner than later, but our decisions will be guided by balancing the safety of our resident’s and their need to interact with their loved ones.  At this time we don’t have a definitive plan but as things evolve, we will keep you informed.  We want to thank you for your patience and understanding through these difficult times.

If you have questions, please contact the campus administration directly or send your questions to our COVID email: covid@nyehealthservices.com. You can also follow us on Facebook.

COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services CEO, Russ Peterson

Press Release Regarding Regency Square in South Sioux City, Nebraska

Apr 29, 2020

On April 28th, Nye Health Services learned that 3 residents at our Regency Square campus in the skilled care area tested positive for COVID 19 virus. The residents are not showing any signs or symptoms but are in isolation.   The residents’ responsible parties have been notified and will be kept informed as the situation changes.  All other residents’ responsible parties were notified of the current situation and the steps we are taking to protect all residents at the campus.

Kristin Harris, the Nye Health Services Vice President of Operations, along with the Mikel Ardley, the Campus Executive Director, are in close consultation with the Dakota County Health Department and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). They are apprised of the situation and are working with the Campus team on appropriate mitigation efforts.

Resident safety and minimizing any potential spread of the virus is the top priority for Regency Square. The residents are in isolation to reduce the potential spread of the virus. The Campus continues to follow Center for Disease Control (CDC), Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and DHHS recommended guidelines for healthcare facilities during the current COVID-19 pandemic. On April 24th we were notified that on April 23rd a team member had tested positive for the COVID virus.  The Dakota County Health Department and DHHS were notified immediately and began to support the efforts of the campus.  Testing of all residents on the campus occurred on April 25th.  The current positives came from that testing.  Testing of team members began on April 24th.  Currently there are no other known positive test results of either team members or residents.   Also, based upon the circumstances of the situation Regency Square initiated additional mitigation measures on April 24th at the campus. These included increasing our assessment of all residents to twice daily to identify signs or symptoms of the virus.  All team members continue to wear masks at all times, which was implemented on March 29th, and the Campus increased their assessment of team members to twice daily.

Several weeks ago, we reviewed and updated our infection control procedures on the campus in light of emerging information from the CDC regarding the COVID 19 virus.  We continue to monitor and update our procedures as recommended. We know that the frail, elderly are especially susceptible to this virus.  Our efforts to control this virus on our campus are crucial and a key priority.

The health and safety of all residents and team members is our greatest concern. We will continue to update information about COVID-19 that could impact the health and well-being of our residents or our general operations at Regency Square.

Nye Health Services has a web page dedicated to answer frequently asked questions about COVID-19 at https://nyehealthservices.com/covid-19/,  which is updated with information received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Questions can also be submitted to our COVID specific email address: covid@nyehealthservices.com

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Russ Peterson, CEO, Nye Health Services at 402-753-6124 , russ.peterson@nyehealthservices.com

Ron Gross, President, Nye Health Services at 402.753.6102, ron.gross@nyehealthservices.com

COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services CEO, Russ Peterson

COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services

Apr 10, 2020

We know there are continued concerns about the spread of COVID-19 (the new coronavirus) and how it may impact our campuses. Ensuring our residents and team members are in a safe and healthy environment is our top priority. As part of our continued efforts to protect the health and well-being of our residents we are implementing a new precautionary measure at our Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing campuses, effective immediately.

Personal deliveries to our campuses are restricted until May 1st. Please do not drop off deliveries at the campus. Any packages that are received via mail will be set aside for 48 hours, prior to delivering to the resident.

Please know, we will stay up to date with the federal government’s recommendations as they may continue to change. In addition, Nye Health Services is in close contact with the local and state health department and are following their guidance. We understand that these changes can be stressful to both our residents and their family members. Thank you for your patience and understanding of our efforts to combat this new virus and protect the health well-being of our residents. We need your help; it will take all of us to make this a success!

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact the campus directly. We also have an email account dedicated to COVID-19 questions, covid@nyehealthservices.com. You can also follow us on Facebook.

COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services CEO, Russ Peterson

COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services CEO, Russ Peterson

Apr 3, 2020

This time of COVID-19 has been a burden on everyone.  It is so important that we all abide by health care recommendations from federal, state and local health agencies to minimize the risk of the spread of the virus.  We appreciate your support and patience as we work hard to protect our residents and our team members.  Experts predict that the peak will occur in about a month and start to subside, so we are hopeful that restrictions will reduce in the near future, we will keep you informed.  In the abundance of caution and at the strong recommendation of federal and state experts we are implementing three new changes at our campuses, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.

  1. We will be providing dining in the resident’s rooms and will no longer have residents gather together to eat meals or snacks.  This will require some adjustments in timing of meals and staff assistance, but our campus teams are on it and want to ensure that residents have a pleasant and nutritious dining experience.
  2. We will be providing all life enrichment and activities on an individual basis and will no longer have residents gather together to participate in group activities.  We are focused on the quality of life of our residents and will be monitoring their needs and wishes as we move forward.
  3. All team members will be wearing surgical masks when working.  The wearing of masks is recommended for healthcare workers to minimize the potential spread of the virus by team members.

Again, we appreciate your understanding of our efforts, but if you have any concerns for your loved one, we encourage you to reach out to the campus to discuss.  Also, we have an email account dedicated to COVID-19 questions, covid@nyehealthservices.com.  You can also follow us on Facebook.

COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services CEO, Russ Peterson

COVID-19 Update on Precautionary Measures & Supply Shortages

Mar 26, 2020

With the recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases and reports of cases within both skilled nursing & assisted living campuses; we wanted to provide you with an update of the current precautionary measures we are taking.

As you know, we unfortunately had to restrict access onto our campuses to any non-essential individuals except for certain compassionate situations, such as end-of-life. We do not know how long those restrictions will have to stay in place. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), our national regulatory agency is now requiring that nursing facilities restrict all non-essential access and recommending that we restrict access on assisted living campuses as well. Because our independent campuses exist on campuses with attached nursing facility or assisted living areas, we extended the access restrictions to the independent areas to try and minimize any cross exposure and protect our residents. We realize that these restrictions are hard on you and also on your loved ones who live on our campuses. Our teams are creatively working to make life fun and enjoyable to the best of our abilities. We have also purchased additional iPads for the campuses to allow our residents to more easily connect with you.

Any team members or essential visitors who are coming onto the campus are assessed for infection risk. Also, all residents are more closely being assessed to identify those who may begin to show symptoms. We are taking new admissions but screening any new residents prior to bringing them onto the campus.

As stated in previous communication, we are following protocols for infection control and protective equipment according to guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our local and state agencies. If the virus finds its way onto our campuses, we have developed additional procedures to decrease the spread of the virus. Adhering to strict quality, safety and infection control prevention protocols is the best way to increase the safety of our residents and team members.

Questions have been raised about the potential of supply shortages (e.g. masks, gowns and gloves) across the country. We have enough protective supplies for the near future but are concerned about supplies if a large outbreak should occur. We currently have enough on hand to respond to typical flu-like outbreaks but want to be prepared if COVID-19 creates an unusual demand. We are working hard to obtain additional personal protective supplies such as masks, gowns and gloves beyond our normal inventory. We have also appreciated the community donations of extra surgical masks, N95 masks, eye protection and disposable gloves and gowns.

Thank you again for your understanding and patience as we work through these times. If ever you have questions, please contact the campus.

From Nye Health Services CEO, Russ Peterson:

COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services CEO, Russ Peterson

COVID-19 Update from Nye Health Services VP of Operations, Kristin Harris

Mar 21, 2020

As many of you are aware our campuses have responded quickly to COVID-19. We’ve put in place many precautionary measures to support the health and well-being of our residents and team members. Current measures include but are not limited to:
  • Restricting visitors to our campus
  • Limiting appointments to those that are of medical necessity
  • Daily screening of all those who enter our building, including our team members
  • Limiting group activities to no more than 10 people at a time
  • Providing increased space between individuals during meal times and during small group activities to support current social distancing guidelines.
In an abundance of precaution, we have also implemented daily screening of our residents.The impact of this has not been taken lightly and we appreciate the patience and understanding of not only our residents and our team but their family members as well. It is in times like these that you see the best in others and we have certainly noticed this at each of our campuses.
“I want to sincerely say thank you to our team members for the sacrifices you are making and to our family members that are not able to come and visit on our campuses but are finding creative alternatives to staying connected to our residents. We appreciate you, thank you.”