Dear Residents, Tenants, Representatives, and Families,
The gating criteria to move to Phase II in long term care is requiring a change from ‘conservative’ PPE use to ‘conventional’ PPE use. This means, for example, all team members must wear a procedural face mask and replace this face mask after each resident encounter of care/service. We estimate our face mask usage per week would increase from 350 to over 6,000 in the nursing facility and from 35 to over 1,400 per week in our assisted living. Using a ‘conservative use’ method, we have an ample supply of PPE and have had no outbreaks in doing so.
We are grateful for LeadingAge Iowa in their discussion with the Governor’s Office, Iowa Department of Public Health, and Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals to attempt to modify this requirement as many, if not all, long term care providers in Iowa likely do not have the enough proper PPE to implement this requirement. Now, we ask for your voice to join us in supporting long term care facilities and those who reside here. We need grassroot efforts to balance the connection of life for our residents to their loved ones while still ensuring a level of safety. If you would like to send a message to the Governor’s Office, please click here to do so online and mark “nursing facility” as the subject. Or, call the Governor’s Office at 515.281.5211 weekdays during regular business hours. Or, you can send a letter at Office of the Governor, Iowa State Capitol, 1007 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50319. Thank you in advance for supporting and being a voice for long term care facilities.
Mindi Baker, CEO
