COVID-19 and Vaccine Update

BSJ Care Center Covid-19 update (2/4/22)
We had one direct care staff member test positive for Covid-19 on Feb 3. The staff person worked on Feb 1 night but after contact tracing, we determined it is low risk for transmission. Reviewing this with La Crosse County Public Health, we will not change our current precautions.
As a reminder, the current precautions are: Visitors are required to wear a mask; eye shields are optional. Temperature checks and sign-in is required. We have new infrared temperature scanners across from the Reception desk. If a forehead scan reads low because you came in from outside, scanning the wrist is more reliable. Please delay visits if you are experiencing any symptoms.
Larry J. Pupp, Administrator

BSJ Care Center Covid-19 update (1/31/22)
No positive tests have been reported for the past week!! We are currently testing unvaccinated staff and those reporting symptoms. We are doing symptom-based testing rather than mass screening of residents. Effective today, we are reducing precautions. Staff will wear masks with eye protection, gowns are not required.

Visitors will still be required to wear a mask, but eye shields or gowns are not necessary. Temperature checks and sign-in is required. As always, please delay visits if you are experiencing any symptoms. Visits should occur in resident rooms and travel through the building should be limited. Thank you for your diligence in preventing further spread.
Larry J. Pupp, Administrator

Marinuka Manor Update (1/27/22)
One additional staff member tested positive for COVID-19. We have also had one resident test positive for COVID-19, this resident is now on quarantine for the next 10 days. All other residents tested negative this morning and we will continue to test them at least twice weekly. All staff are being tested to determine if there are any asymptomatic cases. Residents are currently dining in their rooms and if they are out of their rooms they are strongly encouraged to wear a mask as well as socially distance. Visitors are still able to come in, we would like to advise everyone of the risks when visiting. Please continue to wear a face mask as well as socially distance while in the building. Please visit your loved one in his or her room at this time. If you would like to visit elsewhere please use our front family room to do so. If you feel ill or have had an exposure please postpone your visit. Staff will be wearing N95 respirators when on the unit/with direct care. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call us at 608-582-2211.

Marinuka Manor Update (1/20/22)
We have had two additional staff members test positive for COVID-19. We are very thankful that these positive cases have again been staff members who haven’t worked in at least a week. We are focused on keeping our residents safe by encouraging those who are sick to stay home and report any potential exposures. The community transmission rates remain high. We encourage staff to be safe in the community. Please postpone visits if you are feeling ill or have an exposure to a known positive case, we encourage individuals to get tested when necessary. Please continue to wear your mask in the building as well as socially distancing from others. Staff continue to wear necessary PPE as well as get tested when necessary. If you have any questions please contact us at 608-582-2211.
Megan McLean, Administrator

Marinuka Manor Covid Update (1/19/22)
Two staff members tested positive for COVID-19. Thankfully neither of these employees have been in the building for over a week, therefore have not exposed any residents or staff. We are continuing to test unvaccinated staff twice weekly as well as vaccinated staff with exposures or symptoms. We are encouraging all staff to stay home if they’re sick to prevent exposing anyone while in the early exposure period. All staff are wearing masks and eye protection while in the building. We are focusing on keeping all of our residents safe and healthy as well as staff members to be able to care for them. If you have symptoms or exposures, please postpone your visit. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 608-582-2211.
Megan McLean, Administrator

BSJ Care Center Covid update (1/14/22)
We had two new Covid positive staff members yesterday. Fortunately, all our positive staff to date have been non-direct care staff, or direct care staff who have not worked during their contagious period. All residents were tested yesterday and were negative.

With the highly contagious nature of the Omicron variant and the amount of community spread, we expect that staff will continue to test positive until the community numbers decrease. So far, the symptoms with this variant have been mild, mostly cold-like symptoms, and the symptoms have been short lived (less than 5 days), especially in fully vaccinated individuals.

I am happy that our precautions have done a good job of protecting residents from infection. With that in mind, we have decided to extend the precautions for another two weeks. Most indications are that the Omicron variant will run its course and decrease rapidly in that time.

The following will be in effect for the next 14 days, then re-evaluated.

Visitors are allowed. Please be aware that there is an increased risk to visitors of both Covid and respiratory illnesses. Surgical masks will be required (provided at the front desk) along with eye protection. Please bring the face shield we provided. We have a limited supply of face shields and can’t provide a new one with each visit. Visits must occur in resident rooms.
Small group activities will be provided by our Recreation Therapy staff.
Dining rooms will be limited to 2 residents per table.
Travel between Avalon and Bluffs will be restricted.

Emergency staffing guidelines will be in effect during this time. This will include the possibility of fewer staff on each shift while other staff members are out on Covid leave. Staff will be providing necessary services, but there are things that will not get done. Our primary objective is to keep residents safe, be sure they stay hydrated, get meals and snacks, and get their medications. A reminder that taking multiple phone calls takes time away from these necessary tasks, so I urge you to limit phone calls if possible. If you feel safe spending extra time in the building to help support your loved ones, it would be appreciated. As always, thank you for your understanding and support. Your kind words over the past months has made this situation more tolerable. Like you, I hope that we can get back to a more normal life as soon as possible.
Larry J. Pupp, Administrator

Marinuka Manor Update (01/07/22)
Two staff members tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. One staff member has not been in the building for over a week and the other staff member worked on 1/6/2021 but did not have direct contact with any residents, therefore there are no high-risk exposures. We are closely monitoring our COVID situation as the community transmission rate remains high. Unvaccinated staff are being tested twice weekly as well as vaccinated staff being tested if exposed or presenting symptoms. We are hopeful that with our high vaccination rate among residents and staff we will keep cases to a minimum. We are continuing to wear appropriate PPE including a face mask and eye protection while in the building for all staff. There are currently no changes to visitation or activities. Please remember when visiting your loved ones to respect others by social distancing as well as wearing a face mask in common areas. We are continuing to ask that visits occur either in our front family room or in the resident rooms to keep everyone safe.
Megan McLean, Administrator

BSJ Care Center Update (01/05/22)
One additional employee (CNA) tested positive for Covid today. She worked on Avalon. Respiratory illnesses are increasing both here and in the community. We are also seeing an increase in Respiratory illness with Covid negative tests.

Out of an abundance of caution, we have placed the Avalon Unit in quarantine. The following will be in effect for 7 days, then re-evaluated.

Visitors are allowed. Please be aware that there is an increased risk to visitors of both Covid and respiratory illnesses. Surgical masks will be required (provided at the front desk) along with eye protection. Please bring the face shield we provided. We have a limited supply of face shields and can’t provide a new one with each visit. Visits must occur in resident rooms.
Small group activities will be provided by our Recreation Therapy staff.
Dining rooms will be limited to 2 residents per table.

Omicron will present a challenge for staff availability. As you see on the news, it seems to spread rapidly and even though symptoms are mild in vaccinated individuals, it requires staff to be off work for at least 5 days. We are implementing emergency staffing guidelines and ask for your patience and support as we work through this Omicron surge. Please direct any questions you have to a Social Worker or Charge Nurse.
Larry J. Pupp, Administrator

Marinuka Manor Update (01/04/22)
One of our staff members tested positive for COVID-19. This staff member has not been in our building for approximately 2 weeks, therefore there is no exposure risk for any of our residents or staff. All procedures will remain the same for visitors, residents, and staff.
Megan McLean, Administrator

BSJ Care Center Update (01/03/22)
In the past 24 hours, we have had two employees test positive for Covid. One was an administrative nurse with no resident contact, and one was a nurse on the 100 and 300 halls. We have done contact tracing and found that the contact was low risk. We tested all residents on 100 and 300 and all were negative. We will re-test daily for 3 days. Since the contact was low risk and all residents are vaccinated, there are no changes to visitation or activities. The hotline is updated with this information.
Larry J. Pupp, Administrator

Iverson Freking Ecumenical Recognition Award (8/26/21)
BSJ Corporation will proceed with planning for the 2022 Iverson Freking Award. Requests for nominations will go out the week of Aug 30. The nomination form can also be found on this site’s I.F. page. A location has been reserved for the luncheon on January 26, 2022. COVID guidelines will be used to determine number of guests for the luncheon. Please consider nominating someone.
Gale Bruessel, Asst to the Exec Dir

Visitors

Highlighted in the news recently has been the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on people. We want to assure you that BSJ Corporation is diligently following this and want to share information about what we are doing to protect our residents, tenants and participants.

We follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and WI Department of Health guidance and protocols to maintain a safe and healthy environment. As a preventative measure we are implementing the following, effective immediately.