Guidance for Outdoor Visits
Dear Friends,
We have good news about outdoor visiting options starting Monday, June 22. Thanks to you, our staff, and community, we are managing the risks of COVID-19 well at PioneerCare.
As a result, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has provided guidance on outdoor visits. Indoor visits will continue to be limited to essential health care personnel and compassionate care situations for now.
Here are some general details of our Outdoor Visiting Program:
- Fair Weather. PioneerCare will allow outdoor visits on fair weather days. We will do our best to determine an appropriate definition of “fair weather,” and will reserve the right to cancel visits due to weather. In general, weather cancelations would result from rain, high wind, storms, extreme heat, etc.
- Number of Visitors. We are limiting number of visitors per resident to one immediate household, or a maximum of four people from different households.
- Advanced Scheduling. Due to the requirement to have staff available for support, we are requiring you to schedule your visit in advance during designated visiting hours. Visiting hours vary by location, so please contact the location where your loved one resides, or check PioneerCare’s website for specifics by location.
- Designated Visiting Areas. Each location has designated outdoor visiting areas. These areas are set up to be comfortable, allow staff to monitor, and to promote the required social distancing and cleanliness requirements. Please contact the location or check PioneerCare’s website for specifics by location.
- On-Site Visitor Screening and PPE. Each location will require visitors to be screened by designated staff prior to their visiting time, to wear masks and use alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Staff screeners will be readily available during visiting hours.
- Avoid Physical Contact. To continue protecting everyone from potential virus transmission, we ask that you avoid hugs, handshakes and other physical contact.
- MDH Guidance for Outdoor Visits. During your first outdoor visit, we’ll ask you to read a description of the visit requirements provided by the MN Department of Health (MDH), agree to follow those instructions, and accept that there is some COVID-19 risk even in these protected situations. PioneerCare is required to follow MDH guidance. I’ve included a copy for you. Please familiarize yourself with these guidelines.
- Volunteers. MDH is allowing facilities to use volunteers to help coordinate outdoor visits. If you would like to volunteer, we would be excited to talk to you about those opportunities.
- FAQ. For specifics on what to expect, see the Frequently Asked Questions document posted from our professional association, LeadingAge Minnesota.
I understand how difficult this has been for you and your family. We were all asked to prioritize safety during these past few months and the limited social contact with families was painful.
We deeply appreciate the sacrifices you made to limit the impact of COVID-19 on our community. While the virus will be with us for many more months, we all now know more about how take precautions like wearing masks, making sure our hands are clean, and deep cleaning high-touch surfaces to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.
Our entire team looks forward to seeing you outside and enjoying our well-earned Minnesota summer days. I will continue to keep you up to date on how our COVID-19 protection efforts are going. We are following state and federal guidelines in planning to re-open inside visiting as quickly as we can. For now, we will do everything we can to make your outdoor visits as comfortable as possible.
Thank you again for being partners with us in fighting the COVID-19 virus. Your messages of support, prayers, and patience will not be forgotten. There may be more challenges ahead, and we may need to make adjustments as we roll-out our new Outdoor Visiting program. If you have ideas to make it better, please do not hesitate to contact the building manager or reach out to me at 218-998-1518 or by email directly.
If you haven’t done so already, please consider signing up for our Email Updates frequently sent through Constant Contact as news from PioneerCare is available. You can register at https://www.pioneercare.org/join-our-email-list
Sincerely,
Nathan Johnson, CEO
PS: For more specific details on the new outdoor visiting guidance from Minnesota Department of Health, please click this button:
Mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 13 – 5 pm to 8 pm. Come have fun, enjoy food, fun, and more – and support Pioneer’s mission and the future of aging in our community at the same time! Find the details here: