St Joseph Tower Assisted Living COVID-19

Updated: 12/7/2020

Friends and Family,

We have received guidance from our vaccine distributor (Walgreens) that we will be receiving the first dose of the vaccine on January 14th and the second dose will be administered on February 4th. We will be receiving the Pfizer vaccine. At this time, we do not have guidance from DHHS on how receiving the vaccine will affect our reopening. We will provide you with further information as it comes to us.

Friends and Family,

We completed our second round of full building COVID testing this week and are currently COVID free! The residents are now free to leave their rooms wearing masks and properly distancing. That being said, we are taking things very slowly and will continue to loosen the restrictions over time as long as everyone is able to stay healthy. 

Friends and Family,

I am happy to announce that the viral spread has significantly slowed and our residents are recovering well. The next step is to retest the entire building to get a good baseline for where we currently are. We plan to do this on Monday, December 1st. Currently, the number of COVID positive residents reflected above are people who are not currently in the building. This has left us with 0 active cases in the building however, for now, we are continuing with our infection control protocols and are keeping the building in full lock down. Decisions about how to begin loosening restrictions will be made following the testing on Monday. 

We have completed the first round of rapid COVID testing for all residents. The number of active cases seen above, reflects that testing. We will be contacting the emergency contact listed for each positive resident so if you do not hear from us, it is good news. We are working to prevent any further spread, but the situation can change very rapidly. Please keep checking the website or call for updates.

We have had a team member and resident test positive for COVID-19. Both are no longer in the building, however we are taking strict precautions to reduce the spread of infection. At this time, the building is in full quarantine. This means that only team members are allowed in and out of the building, residents must stay in their rooms, and we are not allowing any visitation. We are currently working with the local health department and ICAP on infection control and testing measures. We will continue to update this page as things progress. 

We have had a team member test positive for COVID-19. This team member was self-quarantining at home prior to the onset of symptoms and the positive result. We have no other positive or presumed positive cases at this time. Thankfully, our baseline testing results showed that our current infection control practices are working, but we will continue to be diligent in our monitoring procedures and infection control precautions. 

Family and Friends,

We recently completed baseline COVID-19 testing of all residents and staff. This testing was mandated and coordinated by the State. We are very pleased to inform you that we had a 100% negative test rate! This is a huge testament to the excellent work being done by our team members and the continued efforts of our residents and families. We appreciate everyone working together to prevent the spread of illness in our community. We know that it has not been fun or easy and at times has caused a lot of anxiety and stress. We want to thank you again for helping us get to this point. While it is excellent to know that we have been able to stop the spread so far, it is not the time to get careless with our response. As a facility, we are looking at ways to safely loosen some restrictions going forward but it will take some time and careful planning to ensure a proper response. As a reminder, window and visiting booth family visits are allowed and encouraged at this time. If you wish to schedule a visit, please contact the main number and someone will assist you. Thank you again for your part in helping us all stay healthy! Please keep an eye on the Facebook page and the website for future updates.  

Family and Friends, 

I am aware that the Governor recently spoke to the future opening of long term care (LTC) facilities. I wanted to provide you with a transparent update on that. The state has asked that all LTC facilities submit a plan for reopening by June 22nd. We are currently formulating this plan utilizing the stated guidance that has been supplied to us by the Nebraska Healthcare Association. This plan will utilize a phased approach for reopening. I know that the most pressing topic on your minds is visitation. According to the guidance that has been provided, visitation is not allowable until phase 3. Additionally, if the facility is experiencing any current or new COVID cases, reopening is not allowable and any loosened restrictions must be scaled back. Unfortunately, at this time St. Joseph Tower is not in a position to allow for reopening. So far our efforts to mitigate any possible spread of COVID have been successful so it is my hope that will we be able to start loosening restrictions soon, but for now all restrictions are still in place. This means that currently no in-person visitation is allowed, either in the building or outside of the building. Thank you for your patience in this very difficult time. The more we work together to follow the stated guidance to mitigate the spread of infection, the quicker we will be able to return to a state of normalcy. 

We have had a team member test positive for COVID-19. This team member was already self-quarantining at the time of the positive test and has not worked in the facility for well over 14 days. We have had no other positive or presumed positive cases at this time. We believe the risk from this particular case is low but we are continuing our monitoring procedures and infection control precautions. 

We understand that the current media coverage surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic can be very confusing and overwhelming. We wanted to reach out and speak to you directly about our current procedures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your loved ones. 

We would ask for your help in ensuring these guidelines are being followed for the health and safety of every resident. Please do not take your loved one off the property for any reason, and please ensure that any packages dropped off are given to a team member and not directly to your loved one. Thanks to the diligence of the entire St. Joseph Tower team, we have been very fortunate to not have any positive cases. It is our hope that by continuing our efforts and following the current recommendations closely, we will be able to maintain this trend.  

We know it is difficult on the residents and family members to not see and hug loved ones for a couple of months. We wish that could be different, but in the meantime, we will do all we can to create opportunities for you to connect with your loved one. You can set up video calls and/or window visits by visiting the Facebook page or calling the building. 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. We hope that allowing family visits can occur sooner than later, but at this time we do not have a definitive plan. As things evolve, we will keep you informed. We want to thank you for your patience and understanding through these difficult times.

We know many of you are concerned about the spread of COVID-19 (the new coronavirus) and how it may impact us here at Saint Joseph Tower Assisted Living. Ensuring residents are cared for in a safe and healthy environment is our first priority. At this time, we don’t have any cases in our community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended a variety of steps that we are implementing to help reduce the potential for the virus to enter our building. However, we need your help in battling COVID-19. Below are some examples of how you can help protect the residents, as well as prevent the spread throughout the community.

At this time, we request that family and friends do not visit the center. Out of an abundance of caution, we are limiting all visitors to our facility unless absolutely necessary. We are posting signs on our entryway doors to notify visitors of this policy and actively screening individuals, including staff, who need to come into the building. 

We understand that connecting with your loved ones is incredibly important, and there are a variety of other ways you might consider communicating with them. These may include telephone, email, text, video chat or social media. If you believe a visit to the center is necessary, we request that you contact Ali Riffle, Executive Director at 402-952-5000 prior to your arrival. 

Please make sure we have your most current, emergency contact information. We want to make sure we efficiently communicate with you should there be any new developments. Please reach out to the front desk at 402-952-5000 with your updated contact information. 

Residents, please help prevent the spread of infection by exercising proper hand washing hygiene as well as coughing and sneezing etiquette. We offer hand washing and alcohol-based hand sanitizer stations throughout the building, which you are welcome to use. Please also avoid shaking hands and hugs with any individual. If you are experiencing a cough, fever, sore throat, runny nose, and/or shortness of breath, please let a staff member know immediately.

Our community is following the recommendations of the CDC on prevention steps, including following strict hand washing procedures, and in many circumstances, gloves when interacting with residents who present symptoms. We also are staying up to date with the CDC recommendations as they may continue to change. In addition, our community is in close contact with the local and state health department, and we are following their guidance.