Pictured: Tressa Ryswyk, (foreground) and Florence Vanden Bosch (back) with Vicki Kruisselbrink in the therapy room at Edgebrook Care Center. (Submitted photo)

By Jill Fennema –

As businesses and public venues open up after weeks of quarantine and “closed” signs, there are some places that remain closed to visitors. One of those places is nursing homes. Edgebrook Care Center in Edgerton has been closed to visitors since early March.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) guidelines prohibit visitors in long term care facilities, except for certain end-of-life situations.

How are families and residents coping with not seeing one another? Edgebrook Administrator Michael Redinger explained that they are doing all they can to help the residents still see their families, even if those visits are just virtual or outside a window.

The Good Samaritan Society provided Edgebrook with iPads that the residents and tenants are able to use to have video calls with their loved ones.
Not only is contact with the outside world limited, but also between residents. Care center residents are eating in their own room unless they need assistance or supervision. Those that need assistance are able to eat in the dining room with staff.

“We are hoping to be able to move to a communal dining setup for all our residents that would require six feet between residents, proper hand hygiene, disinfecting between meals, and numerous other precautions,” Redinger said.

Residents are still able to use the therapy room. The staff maintains a schedule that keeps residents spaced six feet apart while they have their physical therapy. They are also doing thorough cleaning between residents’ use of particular pieces of equipment.

All group activities are cancelled, but some games can still happen. Residents have been able to enjoy playing Bingo from the comfort of their doorway. Staff members are also providing one-on-one activities with the residents and visiting with them more than they would if they had other visitors.

All staff are required to wear a surgical mask while working in the building. If staff are going to be having close contact with residents, they are also required to wear goggles. The residents were given cloth masks to wear while out of their rooms as well.
“We have been very blessed to have received numerous cloth masks donated from community members, many with fun designs, that our residents can wear,” Redinger said.

For the complete article, please see the June 24th edition of the Edgerton Enterprise. If you do not currently receive the Enterprise, CLICK HERE for information on how to subscribe!