6/05/20 Update: Residents and employees continue to make recoveries

June 5, 2020

Tuesday, June 2, marked a very important day at Lyngblomsten since the COVID-19 pandemic began sweeping the country.  The Fergstad Neighborhood, which has served as one of the care center’s COVID-19 units/neighborhoods for several weeks, saw 13 of its 15 residents recover from the virus, allowing it to reopen as a non-COVID-19 unit/neighborhood.  The remaining two residents on Fergstad recovered today.

As part of our COVID-19 strategy, we have been cohorting residents in different care center neighborhoods (i.e., small groupings of resident rooms) based on whether they currently have the virus and other factors.  Residents who have the virus are cohorted in one of our COVID-19 units/neighborhoods.  Select groups of staff work on these neighborhoods using full-body personal protective equipment (i.e., gowns, gloves, facemasks, goggles, face shields, and hair coverings).

Staff celebrated the reopening of Fergstad by taking down a curtain that sectioned off its PPE station and giving those who were working on the unit with a chance to shed their isolation gear.  Staff also were awarded with medals proclaiming “I’m a Red Zone Superhero!” and Fergstad residents received medals that tell the world “I beat COVID!”  While this neighborhood is no longer a COVID-19 unit, its staff and residents continue to follow all Lyngblomsten policies that are in place to mitigate the spread of the virus (e.g., residents wear facemasks and are served meals in their rooms, staff wear facemasks and goggles when interacting with residents).

In total, 20 residents have recovered from COVID-19 since Lyngblomsten submitted its first resident test to the Minnesota Department of Health on April 1.  Recoveries also continue to climb for staff who have tested positive for COVID-19.  As of today, 29 employees have recovered since April 1.

Another important update is that starting June 3, Lyngblomsten began testing all staff as part of our weekly surveillance efforts.  Due to limited test supplies, only staff who had the most direct interaction with residents were being tested, which has been happening since May 18.

We are very happy to get to the point of seeing so many recoveries and expanded testing for our staff. Thank you to those who have kept our campus in their thoughts and prayers.  Your support continues to carry us through the challenges we face every day in this pandemic.