SALEM HOME BEING VIGILANT
The following was submitted by the Salem Mennonite Home in Freeman and signed by its administrator, Shirley Knodel.
Salem Mennonite Home (SMH) has been vigilant since the onset of the pandemic in an effort to keep our residents and staff safe from COVID-19. These measures came from recommendations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, and the South Dakota Department of Health, Freeman Regional Health Services (FRHS) and Avera.
We have been in communication regularly with residents, families, staff, and the SMH board of directors. We have a specially equipped Covid-19 unit with reverse air flow that was made possible by grants from the Freeman Community Foundation and the South Dakota Community Foundation.
In our efforts to be transparent, SMH would like to inform the community that we had our first resident test positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 7. This person has been hospitalized and is returning to us. At the time of this first positive we implemented facility wide enhanced precautions including all residents being quarantined in their rooms.
Since the initial positive, seven more residents have also tested positive. SMH nursing staff have been caring for these residents in our COVID-19 unit. We are very fortunate to have providers and a hospital in our community that offers support that allow us to either keep the residents in our COVID-19 unit or have them treated and returned to our unit.
SMH continues to take actions to prevent this virus from further spreading in the healthcare facility and the broader community. Keeping everyone safe and healthy continues to be the top priority. SMH has been in close communications with FRHS providers and staff, South Dakota State Department of Health and Avera infectious disease specialists to ensure that all appropriate precautions have been implemented.
SMH continues daily screening of employees and more frequent screening of residents for COVID-19 symptoms. We are testing staff twice a week and when symptoms are present.
We are currently testing residents two to three times per week and when symptoms are present. This procedure will help to identify any asymptomatic individuals that may be unintentionally spreading the virus. SMH will continue to do the utmost to minimize any further spread of COVID-19 within the facility and asks the community to keep the residents and staff in their prayers during this time. SMH will keep the community informed of any further developments.
