Johnson Memorial Health Services is committed to providing excellence in health care to our local community and beyond. To safely provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to adapt and modify the way we deliver services.
Every person, including staff, is screened for symptoms and risk factors before entering our healthcare campus. Face masks are required inside the facility at all times. We continue to train our staff to identify, treat, and transfer COVID-19 patients. We also conduct COVID-19 drills in the various clinical settings.
In the Clinic, we have significantly increased our on-site, face-to-face patient visits the past few weeks. Telehealth visits have been extremely important during the MN Stay-At-Home Order, and continue to be available during the new Stay Safe MN Order. We have also been utilizing a Respiratory Clinic separate from the Well Clinic, in order to minimize potential COVID-19 exposures. The Respiratory Clinic is currently located outside the ER in the parking lot. In the near future, the Respiratory Clinic will be relocated in-house, in an isolated section, for both treatment reasons and to deal with inclement weather patterns.
In the Hospital, outreach service providers have resumed seeing patients in-house, and we are again performing approved, non-emergent surgeries. We have identified and outfitted negative pressure air rooms to allow us to treat COVID-19 patients. We also have protocols and transfer agreements in place with larger area healthcare facilities treating critical patients.
In the Care Center and Assisted Living, we are screening all residents and tenants daily for symptoms. The staff works hard to maintain social distancing between residents while providing activities, entertainment, and socialization. Hallway Bingo and Traveling Happy Hour are the favorites! When the weather cooperates, they enjoy the outdoor courtyard. Residents and tenants have especially enjoyed virtual visits with friends and family. Many are seeing family members that live out of the state and the country that would otherwise be unable to visit in person.
COVID-19 testing supplies have increased, allowing us to test more, utilizing the guidelines set by the MDH and CDC. Besides Mayo and MDH tests that are sent out, JMHS also has a rapid COVID-19 test available on-site for hospitalized patients. Please remember to call 320-312-2155 first to discuss symptoms and testing protocols. It helps protects both you and our staff.
Johnson Memorial Health Services would like to thank our wonderful community for their support, words of encouragement, food, candy, flowers, homemade masks, PPE, and financial donations. As our community begins to open up, we encourage you to please help protect each other by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing your hands frequently, and staying home if you are sick.
As we begin to increase services and on-site in-person visits, please know that everything is fluid and contingent on COVID-19 cases in our community and recommendations from the MDH and CDC. Please visit our website at www.jmhsmn.org for up-to-date information.