COVID-19 Eden Acres Campus

Eden Acres Campus - COVID-19 Notices

1300 28th Street, Perry, Iowa

December 18, 2023

Three additional residents tested positive for COVID-19. Staff are continuing to wear masks in the building and we encourage visitors to do the same!

December 14, 2023

Eleven additional residents tested positive for COVID-19. We are continuing to wear masks in the building. And we appreciate your prayers!

December 12, 2023

Fifteen additional residents and nine staff members tested positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies. Praying for all to stay safe and healthy.

December 16, 2022

One additional resident tested positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies. Please continue your prayers.

December 13, 2022

Three additional residents and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies. Praying for all to stay safe and healthy.

December 12, 2022

Two additional residents and two additional staff members tested positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies. Please continue your prayers.

December 11, 2022

One additional staff member tested positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies.

December 10, 2022

One additional resident tested positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies.

December 9, 2022

Five additional residents tested positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies. Join us in praying for the health and safety of all and that the vaccine and boosters do their job.

December 8, 2022

One staff member tested positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies.

December 6, 2022

We are moving to a quick update format for the ease of reading and finding information. Should there be a major change in visitation guidelines, we will make a more formal post.

One resident tested positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies.

November 30, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

This is another brief update as we had 1 additional resident test positive for COVID-19. We continue testing at an increased frequency, wearing proper PPE and following proper protocol as issued by CMS and health agencies.

Please continue praying that residents and staff stay healthy and well, and that the virus does not impact others.

Prayerfully,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

November 29, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

Just a quick update to inform you that we had 1 staff member and 1 resident test positive for COVID-19. Masks are required for all visitors at this time.

Join us in prayer as we work to exit the virus from our senior living community.

Trusting in God,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

November 22, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

Greetings to you on this Thanksgiving week.

We had one staff member test positive for COVID-19. Staff and residents will be tested at an increased frequency during the next 14 days.

This does not impact resident activities or visitors, so you are able to continue your visits as normal. However, a mask is now required. We ask that you be diligent in your hand hygiene and mask wearing. If you are experiencing symptoms of any kind of illness, or have been exposed to an illness, please postpone your visit until you are fever free and feeling well.

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 106:1

Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

November 1, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

This is a quick update to let you know that we had one staff member that tested positive.

With just one staff positive, we remain in "outbreak" status. We are testing twice weekly. We need 14 days with no further positive test results before we can move out of "outbreak" status.

Please pray for COVID-19 to exit our buildings so that residents and staff feel well and can enjoy more relaxed regulations.

Blessings to all,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

October 26, 2022

Dear Residents & Family Members,

It has been nice to see so many family members and loved ones in our senior living communities visiting and volunteering!

We have an important update regarding COVID-19 masks, screening and more based upon recent communication issued by CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).

Effective Immediately:

1. Visitors and staff members no longer need to be screened upon entry.

2. Visitors may go directly to the apartment or room where they intend to visit.

3. Masking requirements will change on a DAILY basis and depend upon the COVID-19 community transmission level in our county. Masks will always be made available, and signs will be posted at staff and visitor entrances based upon the following system:

If the county level is BLUE, masks are NOT REQUIRED for visitors or staff
If the county level is YELLOW, masks are OPTIONAL for visitors and staff
If the county level is ORANGE, masks are RECOMMENDED for visitors and staff
If the county level is RED, masks are REQUIRED for visitors and staff

4. Should there be a COVID-19 outbreak in one of our senior living communities, masks are required for visitors and staff on that campus until there are no further positive resident or team member cases at that campus for 14 days. Only one COVID-19 positive resident or staff is needed to put us in outbreak status.

As of October 25, 2022, Dallas County Iowa’s community transmission level is yellow. However, we are in outbreak status at both King’s Gardens Campus and Eden Acres Campus so MASKS ARE REQUIRED until there are no further positive cases.

For visitors who have had close contact with someone with COVID-19, we ask that you postpone any non-urgent in-person visits until 10 days after their close contact and if they continue to be asymptomatic.
Regardless of the community transmission level, residents and their visitors, when in a resident’s apartment or room, may choose not to wear face coverings or masks.
We will continue to encourage physical distancing during peak times for visitations and gatherings.
Residents who leave the senior living community for 24 hours or longer will be managed similar to a new admission as it pertains to COVID-19 precautions as recommended by the CDC.
Residents who have signs or symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, will be tested immediately (but not earlier than 24 hours after the exposure, if known).

As the cold and flu season is here, we ask visitors to stay home if they are ill or experiencing any symptoms. We encourage you to get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines/boosters.

If you’d like to check up on the latest community transmission level, you can do so on the CDC COVID Data Tracker website. Make sure that Iowa, Dallas County, and “Community Transmission” data and map metric are selected and showing. Here’s the direct link: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=Iowa&data-type=Risk&list_select_county=19049&null=Risk

As you can see on the Iowa map, Iowa’s community transmission level is mostly a mix of yellow (moderate) and orange (substantial) at this time.

Below are US community transmission maps from Jan 2022 (left) and Oct 2022 (right). As you can see, our levels of COVID-19 community transmission have significantly improved. And over time, we expect this trend to continue.

Thank you for your kindness and support over the course of the pandemic. God has brought us through it together. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at mgannon@PerryLutheranHomes.org or 515-465-5342.

Grace and blessings,

Melissa Gannon
COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

October 19, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

Just a quick update to inform you that we had a staff member test positive for COVID-19.

With one staff positive, we remain in "outbreak" status. We are testing twice weekly. Once we are 14 days out after our last positive, we will move out of "outbreak" mode.

In Christ,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

October 5, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

As COVID-19 continues to make its rounds this fall in the community, we had one staff member that tested positive.

With just one staff positive, we are now in "outbreak" status. We are testing twice weekly. Once we are 14 days out after our last positive, we will move out of "outbreak" mode.

We continue to thank and praise the Lord for His protection!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

August 20, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

Just a quick update to inform you that we had a staff member test positive for COVID-19.

Again, with just one staff positive, we remain in "outbreak" status. We are testing twice weekly. Once we are 14 days out after our last positive, we will move out of "outbreak" mode.

Holding firm in Christ,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

August 11, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

We hope you have been enjoying this beautiful summer weather!

It's been a while since our routine COVID testing has come up with any positives. For this we thank the Lord!

We did have one staff member test positive on August 11. One positive test moves us into "outbreak" mode which bumps up the frequency of testing, reporting, etc. We will test twice weekly for 14 days after our last positive before moving back out of "outbreak" mode.

Grace and Blessings!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

June 17, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

There are two additional staff members that tested positive for COVID; no resident positive tests. We will continue to test twice weekly for 14 days after our last positive.

Stay safe and well and enjoy the warm weather!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

June 9, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

Since our May 31 update, we have had no other staff or residents test positive for COVID. We will continue to test twice weekly for 14 days after our last positive. Should we have no further positive COVID tests, we will exit the "outbreak" status.

God is good!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

May 31, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

Another quick update. We've had four residents and 3 staff members test positive for COVID-19 as we continue to manage and push through various spikes and drops throughout 2022. Thus far most everyone has either no symptoms or very mild symptoms. We continue to follow all health agency guidelines as it pertains to testing, wearing masks, etc.

Visitation guidelines remain unchanged. Please stay home if you are experiencing symptoms of any kind or have been exposed to any illness - influenza, cold, RSV, etc. And, if you do visit a loved one that tested positive for COVID, please wear a well-fitting mask, social distance, and wash or sanitize hands often.

Join us in praying that all residents and staff continue to feel well!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

May 25, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

We have another brief update for you with one resident presumptive positive for COVID-19. Staff and residents will be tested at an increased frequency during the next 14 days.

This does not impact resident activities or visitors, so you are able to continue your visits as normal. Please be diligent in your hand hygiene and mask wearing. And, please stay home if you are experiencing symptoms of any kind or have been exposed to any illness.

In Christ,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

May 17, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

It has been a long time since we've had a positive COVID test to report - praise God for this. This short update is to let you know that we had a staff member test positive for COVID-19. There are no resident cases at this time. Staff and residents will be tested at an increased frequency during the next 14 days in our "outbreak" period. With just one positive, we are considered to be in "outbreak" status.

Dallas county Iowa has seen a 15% increase in positive cases in the last 7 days. We will continue to follow current regulations surrounding testing and infection prevention and control protocol. This does not impact resident activities or visitors, so you are able to continue your visits as normal.

We continue to thank and praise the Lord for His protection!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

February 11, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

Just providing a quick update that we had one staff member test positive for COVID-19. There are no resident cases as of today. We continue to monitor residents closely and test residents and staff frequently as well as follow infection prevention and control protocol.

Will lots of illness and viruses out in the community, we ask that you be diligent in your hand hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing if you come to visit. And, please stay home if you are experiencing symptoms of any kind or have been exposed to any illness.

Last, join us in giving thanks and praise to the Lord for His strength, healing and protection.

God is good!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 31, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

We are so grateful that at this point there have been no resident cases of COVID-19 for quite some time. We do have two additional staff members that tested positive for COVID-19 since the January 26 update. We will continue to monitor all residents and staff closely, and do everything we can to keep everyone safe.

We ask that you join us in prayer that residents continue to stay safe and that staff members heal fast and/or stay healthy and well.

God is good!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 26, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

Two additional staff members tested positive for COVID-19 since the January 24 update. We will continue the good fight!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 24, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

A quick update to share. We had one additional staff member test positive for COVID-19 since the January 21 update. We continue our frequent testing of residents and staff. Staff who test positive are following proper protocols as issued by state health agencies.

Please join us in praying for the safety and wellbeing of our residents, resident families, and staff.

In Christ,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 21, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

This is a quick update to let you know that we had three staff members test positive for COVID-19 since the January 19 update. We will continue our frequent testing of residents and staff. Staff who test positive are following proper protocols as issued by state health agencies.

For the safety of our residents and staff, please do not visit if you have symptoms of any illness or if you have been exposed to any illness. When you do come for a visit, make sure you wear a well-fitting mask over your mouth and nose at all times, that you social distance, and that you follow proper hand hygiene. For more details on visiting, please refer to the January 19 update below.

Blessings,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 19, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

We have another brief update for you. We had two staff members test positive for COVID-19.

All other staff were tested with no further positive tests at this time. All residents were tested and all tested negative for COVID-19. The positive staff members are at home in isolation for the recommended length of time. Testing of staff and residents continue in accordance with local health agencies.

Please be diligent in your hand hygiene, mask wearing, and social distancing. Remember to go directly to visit your loved one and wear well-fitting masks covering your nose and mouth in any common areas. And, please stay home if you are experiencing symptoms of any kind or have been exposed to any illness.

In Christ,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 17, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

We pray that you're staying healthy and well so far in the New Year!

This is a short message to update you on the COVID-19 testing we continue to do. We had one additional staff member test positive for COVID-19. All other staff were tested with no further positive tests at this time. All residents were tested and all tested negative for COVID-19. The positive staff member is at home in isolation for the recommended length of time. Testing of staff and residents continue in accordance with local health agencies.

Again, this does not impact your ability to visit loved ones. We ask that you please be diligent in your hand hygiene and mask wearing. And, please stay home if you are experiencing symptoms of any kind or have been exposed to any illness.

God's blessings to you!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 11, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

Another quick update. We've had four more staff members test positive for COVID-19. All other staff were tested with no further positive tests. All residents were tested and all tested negative for COVID-19. The positive staff members are at home in isolation for the recommended length of time. And, we continue our staff and resident testing in accordance with local health agencies.

Visitation guidelines remain unchanged. However, with many illnesses going around, we ask that you stay home if you are experiencing symptoms of any kind or have been exposed to any illness - influenza, cold, RSV, etc.

Stay healthy and well!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 4, 2022

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

This is a quick update to inform you that we had one staff member test positive for COVID-19. All other staff were tested with no further positive tests. All residents were tested and all tested negative for COVID-19. The positive staff member is at home in isolation for the recommended length of time in accordance with the national and local health agencies.

One positive test does put us into "outbreak" status; however, this does not impact visitation. Visitation guidelines will remain the same as communicated in our November 16, 2021 letter.

May God richly bless you in the New Year!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

November 16, 2021

It is with great happiness that we write to you today! Visitation regulations have taken a big step in the less-restrictive direction as recently released by CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). The COVID-19 vaccines have decreased the number of cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes throughout the country since the implementation nearly a year ago.

Effective immediately, visitors will be allowed at all times for all residents! There are core infection prevention guidelines that visitors still need to follow. Please read through the new visitation guidelines below.

New Visitation Guidelines:

It is vital to the safety of our residents and staff that all visitors always adhere to these core infection prevention and control principals during visits.

Visitors who have a positive viral test for COVID-19, symptoms of COVID-19, or currently meet criteria for quarantine, should not enter the nursing home. Nursing homes should screen all who enter for these exclusions.
Visitors having any symptoms of any virus should not enter the nursing home.
Visitors must practice good hand hygiene, including the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Visitors should wear a face covering or mask and practice physical distancing.

Outdoor visitation

Perry Lutheran Homes will facilitate outdoor visitation, weather permitting, and the resident is able to so. Outdoor visitation is preferred, particularly when the resident or the visitor is not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Outdoor visitation also generally poses a lower risk of transmission due to increased space and airflow.

Indoor visitation:

All individuals who enter a nursing home must be screened for symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and are denied entry if displaying any symptoms, have recently tested positive for COVID-19, or currently meet the criteria for quarantine.
Visitors at King's Gardens Campus must use the service entrance door on the east side of the building. Visitors at Eden Acres Campus must use the employee entrance door on the west side of the campus (northern-most door on west side).
Visitors will be allowed at all times for all residents.
Visits must be conducted in a manner that adheres to the core principles of infection prevention and control, including reducing risk to other residents.
We encourage visitors to monitor the number of visitors that are visiting at one time to help maintain physical distancing during the visit. If you desire to have a larger gathering (5 or more), please contact Laura Orbell, Family Visit Coordinator at 515-218-3230 or lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org, in advance, and we will attempt to arrange for a larger visitation area that can better accommodate the core infection prevention and control principles.
We encourage visitors to maintain awareness of the number of visitors in the building and to conduct their visits in a manner that helps adhere to the core infection prevention and control principles, like physical distancing, and not place other residents at risk.
Visitors must take the most direct route to/from the visit location and maintain physical distancing from other residents and staff.
If your loved one has a roommate, we encourage the visit to occur outside of the resident room. Visits for those residents with roommates will take place in one of our family visitation areas. If visits must occur in the resident’s room for those residents with a roommate, we ask that you ensure the privacy curtain is closed for the duration of your visit and that you ensure that core infection prevention and control measures are maintained.
When the CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker (located at https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view) indicates that Dallas County, Iowa is in high (red) or substantial (orange) community transmission, residents and visitors must wear face coverings or masks throughout the duration of the visit. In addition, Perry Lutheran Homes reserves the right to request you to test for COVID-19 prior to your visit. If you decline testing, your visit will not be limited based on declination; however, this may aide in additional infection prevention and control measures.
When the CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker (located at https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view) indicates that Dallas County, Iowa is in moderate (yellow) or low (blue) community transmission, the safest practice is for residents and visitors to continue to wear face coverings or masks and physically distance, particularly if either is at increased risk for severe-disease or are unvaccinated. If the resident and all visitor(s) are fully vaccinated and the resident is not moderately or severely immunocompromised, they may choose not to wear face coverings or masks and to have physical contact. However, visitors must continue to wear face coverings or masks whenever around other residents or staff.
Residents may choose to have close contact with visitors; however, residents who are unvaccinated should be aware of the risks of physical contact prior to the visit.
If a resident is in transmission-based precautions (indicating they are suspected or confirmed for COVID-19), all visitors will be notified upon entry of the risks of visiting and the precautions necessary. Visits for residents in transmission-based precautions will only occur in the resident’s room.
When a nursing home onset case of COVID-19 is identified, Perry Lutheran Homes will continue to have indoor visitation. All visitors will be notified upon entry of a potential COVID-19 outbreak and the potential risks of visiting. All visits will be conducted in the resident’s room during an outbreak investigation and all visitors will be expected to maintain face coverings, regardless of vaccination status.
Compassionate Care Visitation will be implemented if a resident is identified as being severely immunocompromised. During compassionate care visitation Perry Lutheran Homes reserves the right to limit the number of visitors the resident is exposed to based on consultation with the resident or their representative.

Communal Dining, Activities and Resident Outings:

Perry Lutheran Homes will continue to follow CDC guidelines related to communal dining and activities. Current CDC guidelines can be located at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/infection-control-recommendations.html
Residents will be allowed to go on outings. Prior to the outing, the resident and the person transporting the resident on an outing will be educated about infection prevention and control measures to mitigate COVID-19.
When the resident returns, they will be screened for signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and to identify if they were possibly around someone with COVID-19. If the resident was possibly exposed to COVID-19 and is not fully vaccinated, they will be placed into quarantine and offered testing per CDC recommendations.
In certain situations where uncertainty exists about the unvaccinated resident being exposed to COVID-19 (such as a large event like a wedding), Perry Lutheran Homes may require the resident to quarantine upon return, regardless of duration of outing.
Any unvaccinated resident leaving Perry Lutheran Homes for longer than 24 hours will be required to quarantine for 14 days upon return.

Please contact Melissa Gannon at 515-465-5316 if you have any questions regarding revised visitation, dining, activities, and resident outings.

For the safety of all residents and visitors, Perry Lutheran Homes strongly encourages all residents and visitors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If you would like to be vaccinated, please reach out to your physician. We are so excited to see volunteers and families be able to visit more frequently!

Our staff members continue to wear proper PPE in all resident areas, are screened for COVID-19 symptoms before and after every shift, and get routine COVID-19 tests based on policies issued by local and national health agencies. You can continue to find COVID-19 updates on our website at: https://perrylutheranhomes.org/covid-19/. On that page you can select either King’s Gardens Campus or Eden Acres Campus.

Without a doubt, Christ has been beside us throughout this pandemic. Even amidst the trying times, we’ve been blessed in so many ways. And with this latest news, we are looking forward to seeing families, friends and volunteers visit our residents more often!

Blessings,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

November 16, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

This is a quick update to inform you that we had one staff member test positive for COVID-19. All other staff were tested with no further positive tests. All residents were tested and we had one resident test positive for COVID-19. The positive resident has been moved to our COVID-19 isolation area.

One positive test does put us into "outbreak" status; however, this does not impact visitation with unaffected residents. A physical sign will be posted at Eden Acres Campus to inform visitors if there are any residents with an active COVID-19 infection.

Visitation guidelines will remain the same as communicated in our November 16, 2021 letter.

Thanks for your continued grace and understanding as we continue to navigate this journey together.

God is good!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

October 5, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

This is a quick update to inform you that we had one staff member test positive for COVID-19. All other staff and residents at Eden Acres Campus were tested, and all tests came back negative.

Visitation guidelines will remain the same as communicated in our September 13, 2021 letter (see below). Please schedule visits at least 24 hours in advance through our Family Visit Coordinator, Laura Orbell at 515-218-3230 or lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org.

Thanks for your continued grace and understanding as we continue to navigate this journey together.

God is good!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

September 13, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

We hope this update finds you well and ask for your continued prayers and understanding as the COVID-19 virus and associated regulations continue to impact us all.

This letter is to let you know that one of our on-site service provider’s team members tested positive for COVID-19. Because they provide resident services on-site at Eden Acres Campus and King’s Gardens Campus, this will start the 14-days of “outbreak” status and require most restrictive visitation guidelines for both campuses. In addition, one employee at Eden Acres Campus tested positive for COVID-19. If we have no new cases of COVID-19 after 14 days, we will be out of “outbreak” status and can return to less restrictive visitation guidelines.

We know this is tough news to hear. Please know that our hearts ache for you and your loved ones, and that we are doing all we can to keep residents safe. There is one positive piece of news to share. The two-week county positivity rate for Dallas County is down to 10.7 percent. We pray this continues a downward trend.

Please carefully review the most current visitation guidelines and associated safety protocols that remain in effect through the entire “outbreak” status period.

All visits will need to be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance. To schedule a visit with your loved one, please contact Laura Orbell, our Family Visit Coordinator, at 515-218-3230 or lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org.
Visitors at King's Gardens Campus must use the service entrance door on the east side of the building. Visitors at Eden Acres Campus must use the employee entrance door on the west side of the campus (northern-most door on west side).
All visitors must be screened prior to each visit. If a staff member is not at the employee entrance, visitors must use the walkie talkie or phone on the table to call a staff member to screen them. Under no circumstances are visitors allowed to enter the building without being screened.
If visitors have symptoms of any sickness, or have had close contact with someone who is sick, they are not allowed to come to the facility.
Once visitor is screened, they must be accompanied by staff to go directly to the designated visiting area. Once finished, the visitor must go promptly back to the entry/exit area and be accompanied by staff. No loitering in hallways or walking around facility is permitted.
Visits will be in designated places to ensure sanitation before and after each visit as well as for the safety of other residents.
Visitors must wear a face mask for the entire visit. Visitors must practice social distancing staying at least 6 feet apart.
Visits can last up to 30 min. with a total of 5 visits per week as scheduling and staffing allows.
A total of 2 people can visit a resident at one time. Visitors must be age 12 or older and able to wear a mask for the entire visit.
Regardless of vaccination status, residents do not need to be isolated when returning to the care community. The only time a resident would need to be isolated is if they are displaying any COVID-19 symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19. The isolation would be either 14 days or 20 days depending upon their health and comorbidities. If a resident is in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, in-person visits can only be scheduled once resident is no longer in quarantine (except in end-of-life circumstances).
If a resident has a confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, in-person visits can only be scheduled once resident is no longer deemed infectious (except in end-of-life circumstances).
Compassionate care/end-of-life visits are able to take place regardless of COVID-19 status, vaccination status, or county positivity rate.
For any campus with an identified positive COVID-19 case, residents will be screened for COVID-19 during every 8-hour shift if awake. For any campus not in “outbreak” status, residents and staff will be screened daily.

To schedule a visit with your loved one, please contact Laura Orbell, our Family Visit Coordinator, at 515-218-3230 or lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org.

Our staff members continue to wear proper PPE in all resident areas, are screened for COVID-19 symptoms before and after every shift, and get routine COVID-19 tests based on policies issued by local and national health agencies. You can also find COVID-19 updates on our website at: https://perrylutheranhomes.org/covid-19/. On that page you can select either King’s Gardens Campus or Eden Acres Campus.

God is good and will see us through this. May we put our trust in Him and continue on this journey into the unknown together.

Blessings,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

September 3, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents & Family Members:

We continue to monitor and pray that the COVID-19 positivity rate and number of cases for Dallas County starts to drop. However, that is not the case currently the 2-week positivity rate is 12.7%.

This letter is to inform you that we have had one staff member test positive for COVID-19 as we continue our screening and testing procedures at Eden Acres Campus. Three positive tests within a 14-day period or any additional positive staff members or residents puts us into “outbreak” status. This means that the most restrictive visitation guidelines need to be back in place effective immediately. We know that this news is very difficult to hear, and we are committed to keep you and your loved one(s) connected as best as we can.

Please carefully review the most current visitation guidelines and associated safety protocols effective Friday, September 3.

All visits will need to be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance. To schedule a visit with your loved one, please contact Laura Orbell, our Family Visit Coordinator, at 515-218-3230 or lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org.
Visitors at King's Gardens Campus must use the service entrance door on the east side of the building. Visitors at Eden Acres Campus must use the employee entrance door on the west side of the campus (northern-most door on west side).
All visitors must be screened prior to each visit. If a staff member is not at the employee entrance, visitors must use the walkie talkie or phone on the table to call a staff member to screen them. Under no circumstances are visitors allowed to enter the building without being screened.
If visitors have symptoms of any sickness, or have had close contact with someone who is sick, they are not allowed to come to the facility.
Once visitor is screened, they must be accompanied by staff to go directly to the designated visiting area. Once finished, the visitor must go promptly back to the entry/exit area and be accompanied by staff. No loitering in hallways or walking around facility is permitted.
Visits will be in designated places to ensure sanitation before and after each visit as well as for the safety of other residents.
Visitors must wear a face mask for the entire visit. Visitors must practice social distancing staying at least 6 feet apart.
Visits can last up to 30 min. with a total of 5 visits per week as scheduling and staffing allows.
A total of 2 people can visit a resident at one time. Visitors must be age 12 or older and able to wear a mask for the entire visit.
Regardless of vaccination status, residents do not need to be isolated when returning to the care community. The only time a resident would need to be isolated is if they are displaying any COVID-19 symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19. The isolation would be either 14 days or 20 days depending upon their health and comorbidities. If a resident is in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, in-person visits can only be scheduled once resident is no longer in quarantine (except in end-of-life circumstances).
If a resident has a confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, in-person visits can only be scheduled once resident is no longer deemed infectious (except in end-of-life circumstances).
Compassionate care/end-of-life visits are able to take place regardless of COVID-19 status, vaccination status, or county positivity rate.
Daily COVID-19 screening of residents and staff will continue at any campus that is not considered in outbreak status. Any campus with an identified positive case the residents will have COVID-19 screening every shift (while awake).

To schedule a visit with your loved one, please contact Laura Orbell, our Family Visit Coordinator, at 515-218-3230 or lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org.

We continue to monitor the information available regarding booster shots for both residents and staff and will update you when more details become available. Our staff members continue to wear proper PPE in all resident areas, are screened for COVID-19 symptoms before and after every shift, and get routine COVID-19 tests based on policies issued by local and national health agencies. You can also find COVID-19 updates on our website at: https://perrylutheranhomes.org/covid-19/. On that page you can select either King’s Gardens Campus or Eden Acres Campus.

Join us in prayer for our residents, our resident families, and our staff. That we may all weather the continued storm together. That we be safe and that we stay connected. And above all, that we look to God to guide us.

In Christ,
Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

August 25, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents and Family Members:

We hope that you’re enjoying these warm weather days of summer. Helping our residents enjoy the many outdoor spaces and places continues to be a focus of ours as the summer continues. Our activities team has been utilizing our all-ability bicycle at all three Perry Lutheran Homes campuses to provide a unique way for residents and tenants to enjoy the great outdoors. It has become a favorite activity for many.

As the summer continues, the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise. Our mandated visitation guidelines depend on the positivity rate for Dallas County. Unfortunately, that number is now above 10 percent and will impact visitation guidelines for all long-term senior living communities in Dallas County.

All of our hearts at Perry Lutheran Homes ache for you and your loved ones. We want nothing more than to see our residents and families together. However, with all the unknowns, we must protect your loved ones from the COVID-19 virus as best as we can. In addition, we must adhere to the mandates of local and national health agencies for staff and resident testing, screening, PPE requirements and visitation guidelines. Revised visitation guidelines are below and will take effect on Monday, August 30.

Please carefully review the most current visitation guidelines and associated safety protocols effective Monday, August 30:

All visits will need to be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance. To schedule a visit with your loved one, please contact Laura Orbell, our Family Visit Coordinator, at 515-218-3230 or lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org.
Visitors at King's Gardens Campus must use the service entrance door on the east side of the building. Visitors at Eden Acres Campus must use the employee entrance door on the west side of the campus (northern-most door on west side).
All visitors must be screened prior to each visit. If a staff member is not at the employee entrance, visitors must use the walkie talkie or phone on the table to call a staff member to screen them. Under no circumstances are visitors allowed to enter the building without being screened.
If visitors have symptoms of any sickness, or have had close contact with someone who is sick, they are not allowed to come to the facility.
Once visitor is screened, they must be accompanied by staff to go directly to the designated visiting area. Once finished, the visitor must go promptly back to the entry/exit area and be accompanied by staff. No loitering in hallways or walking around facility is permitted.
Visits will be in designated places to ensure sanitation before and after each visit as well as for the safety of other residents.
Visitors must wear a face mask for the entire visit. If a resident is not vaccinated, visitors must practice social distancing staying at least 6 feet apart. If a resident is vaccinated, visitors may sit close to resident, give them a hug, etc.
Visits can last up to 30 min. with a total of 5 visits per week as scheduling and staffing allows.
A total of 2 people can visit a resident at one time. Visitors must be age 12 or older and able to wear a mask for the entire visit.
Regardless of vaccination status, residents do not need to be isolated when returning to the care community. The only time a resident would need to be isolated is if they are displaying any COVID-19 symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19. The isolation would be either 14 days or 20 days depending upon their health and comorbidities. If a resident is in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, in-person visits can only be scheduled once resident is no longer in quarantine (except in end-of-life circumstances).
If a resident has a confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, in-person visits can only be scheduled once resident is no longer deemed infectious (except in end-of-life circumstances).
Compassionate care/end-of-life visits are able to take place regardless of COVID-19 status, vaccination status, or county positivity rate.
Daily COVID-19 screening of residents and staff will continue.

To schedule a visit with your loved one, please contact Laura Orbell, our Family Visit Coordinator, at 515-218-3230 or lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org.

Perry Lutheran Homes is preparing for the added protection of COVID-19 booster shots for both residents and staff. We are also waiting for further guidance on vaccine mandates for residents and staff. We will update you when more details become available. Our staff members continue to wear proper PPE in all resident areas, are screened for COVID-19 symptoms before and after every shift, and get routine COVID-19 tests based on policies issued by local and national health agencies. You can also find visitation guidelines updates on our website at: https://perrylutheranhomes.org/covid-19/.

Join us in prayer that the Dallas County positivity rate will decline, for the safety of all residents and staff, and for staff to stay with Perry Lutheran Homes, and in the field of long-term care, should the vaccine be mandated for long-term care workers. Together we’ve made it this far, and together we will continue on as we look to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to provide for us and guide us into the future.

Blessings,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

August 10, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents and Family Members:

With the rising number of Covid cases, we are busy trying to put in place the extra precautions that will provide the best level of safety for our residents and staff, without losing our humanity. Each of our three campuses will be monitored individually for signs of Covid and each will respond to their own level of risk, based on their individual situation.

As of today, we are taking extra precautions at our King’s Gardens campus, which is experiencing two positive Covid infections by staff members. To be as safe as possible we will only be permitting visits for end of life and compassionate care. These visits must be scheduled. To schedule your visit, please contact Laura Orbell, our Visit Coordinator at 515-465-5316.

We will be encouraging our residents to continue to interact with each other in groups while respecting each other’s health by wearing face masks and keeping a safe distance apart. The present levels of open access at both Eden Acres Campus and Spring Valley Campus will remain until or when additional precautions may be necessary.

We appreciate your understanding as we work to keep our community of precious people safe and well. If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Gannon, COO, Administrator at 515-465-5316.

____________________________________________________________

August 4, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents and Family Members:

This is a quick update to inform you that the Dallas County positivity rate has seen a sharp increase reaching 7.9 percent as of the date of this update. National and public health agencies continue to regulate and mandate resident visitation guidelines. Because the positivity rate is over 5 percent, residents living in secure memory care neighborhoods will be impacted due to the difficult nature of keeping appropriate distance between visitors and other residents.

If your loved one lives in one of our secure memory care neighborhoods, you will need to schedule visits through our Family Visit Coordinator, Laura Orbell. Call 515-218-3230 or email lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org.

This is such a difficult time as we take steps backward. But, safety of your loved ones is our top priority, and we are happy to help you continue in-person visits through scheduling ahead.

Keep on praying!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

August 2, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents and Family Members:

As I’m sure you’ve heard, there are growing concerns regarding COVID-19 and its variants and a growing number of COVID-19 cases in Iowa. Visitation guidelines for long-term care communities continue to be based upon the county positivity rate as mandated by local and national health agencies. As of the date of this update, the current Dallas County positivity rate is 4.8 percent. Should this number grow to 5 percent or higher, visitation guidelines for residents in secure memory care neighborhoods will be revised back to scheduled and supervised visitations. Should the Dallas County positivity rate reach 10 percent or higher, all visitation guidelines will need to be revised back to scheduled and supervised visitations.

We know that this is incredibly hard for you to hear, and we hope that we can remain partially “open.” But, should the rate increase to 5 percent or above, we must continue to walk together on this journey through the ups, downs and unknowns in support of each other. Please know that we care deeply for all who live with us, and that we want to keep our residents, your loved ones, protected from the COVID-19 virus as best as we can.

Our staff members continue to wear masks in all resident areas, are screened for COVID-19 symptoms before and after every shift, and get routine COVID-19 tests based on policies issued by local and national health agencies.

We wanted to let you know that we had one staff member test positive at Eden Acres Campus last week. We then moved quickly to get all staff and residents tested and all tests came back negative for our first round of surveillance testing. We conducted a second round of surveillance testing and all remained negative. We have two more rounds of surveillance testing to complete yet at Eden Acres Campus.

We also had one staff member test positive at King’s Gardens Campus. We moved swiftly to conduct our first round of surveillance testing and all staff and resident tests came back negative. We have three more rounds of surveillance testing to complete.

Should we ever have three or more positive tests at one of our long-term care campuses, that will trigger an “outbreak status” at that campus moving us back to the most restrictive phase of the reopen process. We pray that this will not ever be the case, but there have been reports of long-term care communities in Iowa that have had to move back to step one due to three or more cases of positive COVID-19 tests.

Right now, our visitation guidelines remain the same as outlined in our last letter and below. We will let you know as soon as possible if these guidelines change. Especially as we see an uptick in COVID-19 cases it is incredibly important for everyone to follow all guidelines below to keep residents and resident families safe.

Please carefully review the most current visitation guidelines and associated safety protocols:

Unscheduled visits can take place from 8:00AM – 4:00PM on Monday through Friday. Saturday, Sunday, and weekday after 4:00PM visits will need to continue to be scheduled.
Visitors at King's Gardens Campus must use the service entrance door on the east side of the building. Visitors at Eden Acres Campus must use the employee entrance door on the west side of the campus (northern-most door on west side).
All visitors must be screened prior to each visit. If a staff member is not at the employee entrance, visitors must use the walkie talkie on the table to call a staff member to screen them. Under no circumstances are visitors allowed to enter the building without being screened.
If visitors have symptoms of any sickness, or have had close contact with someone who is sick, they are not allowed to come to the facility.
Once visitor is screened, they must go directly to the resident’s room or designated visiting area. If resident is in long-term care or skilled care and has a roommate in the room at the time of the visit, the visiting family and resident will need to use the designated visiting area. Once finished, the visitor must go promptly back to the entry/exit area. No loitering in hallways or walking around facility is permitted by government oversight agencies.
Visitors must wear a face mask for the entire visit. If a resident is not vaccinated, visitors must practice social distancing staying at least 6 feet apart. If a resident is vaccinated, visitors may sit close to resident, give them a hug, etc.
A total of 2 people can visit a resident at one time. If visitor brings a child to visit, the child needs to be able to sit in one spot and wear a mask for the entire length of the visit and be supervised by visitor at all times. If the child is not able to stay in place, wear a mask, or practice all safety measures, the visit will need to end.
Regardless of vaccination status, residents do not need to be isolated when returning to the care community. The only time a resident would need to be isolated is if they are displaying any COVID-19 symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19. The isolation would be either 14 days or 20 days depending upon their health and comorbidities. If a resident is in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, in-person visits can only be scheduled once resident is no longer in quarantine (except in end-of-life circumstances).
If a resident has a confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, in-person visits can only be scheduled once resident is no longer deemed infectious (except in end-of-life circumstances).
Compassionate care/end-of-life visits are able to take place regardless of COVID-19 status, vaccination status, or county positivity rate.
Daily COVID-19 screening of residents and staff will continue.

To schedule a visit with your loved one on Saturday, Sunday or any time after 4:00PM on Monday through Friday, please contact Laura Orbell, our Family Visit Coordinator, at 515-218-3230 or lorbell@perrylutheranhomes.org.

It has been incredible to see our residents enjoying in-person visits from friends and family. We pray the county positivity rate stays low, for no COVID-19 cases for staff and residents, and for the safety and wellbeing of all. What a journey it’s been so far, and we’ll continue walking together. Thank you for your continued love, grace, patience and support. God will lead us through it all!

Blessings,
Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

February 24, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus Residents and Family Members:

We have some exciting news to share that we hope will lift your spirits and bring a smile to your face. On Monday, March 1, 2021, we will be able to start scheduling in-person visits for all residents at Perry Lutheran Homes Eden Acres Campus once again so long as the Dallas County COVID-19 positivity rate stays below 10 percent!

Eden Acres Campus will be in Phase 3 of the CDC reopen phases which is the least restrictive phase. And, COVID-19 cases in Dallas County have dropped below the 10 percent mark. With the vaccination of our residents, we are still anxiously awaiting revised safety guidelines from local and national health agencies.

Until revised guidelines are issued, we will abide by the same safety protocols as from before.

All visits must be scheduled in advance.
Visitors will be screened prior to each visit.
Visits will be in designated places to ensure sanitation before and after each visit.
Visitors must wear a mask and practice social distancing staying at least 6 feet apart.
Residents are able to have 2 or less visitors per visit and up to 5 visits per week as scheduling and staffing allows.
If a resident is in quarantine, in-person visits can only be scheduled once they are no longer in quarantine (except in end-of-life circumstances).

To schedule a visit with your loved one living at Eden Acres Campus, please contact Laura Orbell at 515-465-5316 or lorbell@PerryLutheranHomes.org.

Praise be to God that residents were able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as this offers additional means of protection from the risks associated with the virus. Our last on-site vaccine clinic will be on March 10.

Residents have been getting back to a more “normal” life here in the last couple of weeks enjoying group activities, eating meals together in the dining room, gathering for weekly bible study, and having more social time with one another.

What a long journey these past twelve months have been for us all. We are so grateful for your continued support, prayers, patience and grace. Your loved one’s overall safety and wellbeing remains our top priority, and our staff members are so excited to see a little more pep in the steps of our residents as we work to find what our new normal might look like moving forward.

We are excited to see you in person again at Perry Lutheran Homes Eden Acres Campus! God is good!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 18, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus (formerly Rowley Masonic Community) Residents and Family Members:

This is a quick update to inform you that we had one staff member test positive for COVID-19 since the January 11 update. At this time, there are no resident cases of COVID-19. All appropriate measures are being taken to do everything we can to keep both residents and staff safe..

Please make sure that you sign and return your loved one's consent form as soon as possible. Just a reminder that Walgreens Pharmacy staff will be on-site to administer the vaccine to both residents and staff that have signed consent forms at Eden Acres Campus on Wednesday, January 27 from 9AM to 4PM. The second dose will be administered on Wednesday, February 17 from 9AM to 4PM.

If you'd like to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, we'd encourage you to read the CVS Health COVID-19 Vaccination Frequently Asked Questions HERE. Residents that do not receive the vaccine will need to continue with many of the visitor restrictions currently in place due to their vulnerability for exposure to the COVID-19 virus.

Getting vaccinated will help our residents, resident families and staff get back to enjoying life again! Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 11, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus (formerly Rowley Masonic Community) Residents and Family Members:

Our many prayers continue to be answered as a new year begins. All residents and staff at Perry Lutheran Homes Eden Acres Campus remain COVID-19 free at this time. And, we have confirmed dates with Walgreens Pharmacy for our COVID-19 vaccine clinics.

The COVID-19 positivity rate in Dallas County continues to trend downward and is around the 10 percent mark. This is great news as the lower the positivity rate is in Dallas County the fewer visitor restrictions we will have. Please continue to urge family, friends and fellow community members to do everything possible to stop the spread, and to get the vaccine when possible.

The only way to eradicate this illness is to vaccinate enough citizens to achieve heard immunity just like we once did with smallpox, measles and polio. We strongly encourage you to choose to vaccinate your loved one for both their physical and mental wellbeing. Should there be a resident who does not receive the vaccine, they will likely need to continue some form of isolation and separation from other residents as well as have visitation restrictions from outside parties as they will remain highly vulnerable.

We have included a vaccination consent form for you to sign and return as soon as possible so that you or your loved one will be protected against COVID-19 by getting the vaccine. Walgreens Pharmacy staff will be on-site to administer the vaccine to both residents and staff that have signed consent forms at Eden Acres Campus on Wednesday, January 27 from 9AM to 4PM. The second dose will be administered on Wednesday, February 17 from 9AM to 4PM.

Please watch out for and warn others about COVID-19 vaccine scams. They are trying to take advantage of people in this stressful time. Scammers may call or email you asking for personal information or money regarding the vaccine or vaccine wait list. There is no such thing as a waitlist, and there is no cost for the vaccine itself. Do not give them any personal information or money.

We will continue to keep you updated via letters, our COVID-19 webpage (https://perrylutheranhome.org/covid-19/), phone calls and/or emails. Should your loved one show symptoms or require a test, we will get in touch as soon as we are able with the assigned resident representative we have on file.

Keep those prayers coming and we wish you all the best in the New Year!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 8, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus (formerly Rowley Masonic Community) Residents and Family Members:

This is a quick update to inform you that there are no new positive COVID-19 tests for staff or residents and we continue to remain in Phase 1 of the three reopen phases. The positivity rate for Dallas County is currently at 10.4%. We are hopeful that the downward trend will continue.

Please make sure that you sign and return your loved one's consent form as soon as possible. We continue to work with Walgreens Pharmacy to schedule our on-site clinic dates and will let you know as soon as they are confirmed.

We are overjoyed at the arrival of the vaccine as it will help our residents, resident families and staff get back to receiving visitors, enjoying group activities and more! Keep those prayers coming!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

January 1, 2021

To Our Eden Acres Campus (formerly Rowley Masonic Community) Residents and Family Members:

Happy New Year!

This is a quick update to inform you that there are no new positive COVID-19 tests for staff or residents since the December 18 update. We are now able to transition from outbreak status to Phase 1 of the three reopen phases.

Please make sure that you sign and return your loved one's consent form as soon as possible. We are working to schedule clinic dates with the pharmacy and will let you know as soon as we have those dates finalized.

The year 2020 was long and difficult from us all. We are so grateful to everyone for your prayers and support. It is our hope that through this vaccine your loved one will once again be back to fully enjoying life, group activities, and in-person visits wile living at our senior care communities. God's blessings to you and yours in this new year!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

December 24, 2020

To Our Eden Acres Campus (formerly Rowley Masonic Community) Residents and Family Members:

This is a quick update to inform you that there are no new positive COVID-19 tests for staff or residents since the December 18 update. We continue to pray for no positive test results through the end of next week as we will then be able to move out of "outbreak" status.

CVS Pharmacy has finally sent the consent forms, and we will be doing a mass mailing on Monday, December 28 to all resident point of contacts. January 5 will be our first Pfizer vaccine clinic day. All staff and residents that have signed consent forms will receive the vaccine. The booster shot and a second Pfizer vaccine clinic day will take place on January 26. Those receiving their first dose on January 26 will then receive their second dose at our third Pfizer vaccine clinic day (TBD).

Staff have been busy bringing Christmas cheer to all our residents. We wish you a Merry Christmas and hope that with the arrival of the vaccine, you will be able to visit your loved one in person soon!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

December 18, 2020

To Our Eden Acres Campus (formerly Rowley) Residents and Family Members:

This year is coming to a close, and what a year it’s been. Full of twists, turns, and surprises; yet also full of blessings. You and your loved one are among those blessings. We are reaching out to provide you with a COVID-19 update. At this time, we have one staff member at Eden Acres Campus that tested positive. They are at home following the proper protocols. No residents at King’s Gardens Campus are positive at this time. We will be testing staff twice weekly and residents once weekly and as needed if symptoms appear.

Our one positive COVID-19 test result puts us back into outbreak status. To move out of outbreak status, we will need to have 14 days with no new positive test results. The COVID-19 positivity rate in Dallas County is slowly trending downward and is around the 15 percent mark. It needs to drop below the 10 percent mark for us to work through the reopen phases which ease visitor restrictions. Please continue to urge family, friends and fellow community members to do everything possible to stop the spread – especially with Christmas right around the corner. We will continue to test staff twice weekly and residents weekly and as needed.

Since we are in outbreak status, updates will be sent out weekly through letters, our COVID-19 webpage (https://perrylutheranhome.org/covid-19/), phone calls and/or emails. Should your loved one show symptoms or require a test, we will get in touch as soon as we are able with the assigned resident representative we have on file.

Enclosed with this letter is information about the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. At this time, only residents living in long-term care (Halls A, B & C) will be able to receive the vaccine. You have likely heard information about effectiveness, side effects and more. The only way to eradicate this illness is to vaccinate enough citizens to achieve heard immunity just like we once did with smallpox, measles and polio. We strongly encourage you to choose to vaccinate your loved one for both their physical and mental wellbeing. Should there be a resident who does not receive the vaccine, they will likely need to continue some form of isolation and separation from other residents as well as have visitation restrictions from outside parties as they will remain highly vulnerable.

We hope to receive vaccination consent forms soon from the pharmacies that will be coming on-site to administer the vaccine. At this time, it is looking like we will be able to vaccinate in early 2021. As soon as we receive the consent forms, we will be sending out to all resident point of contacts and encourage you to sign and return the signed forms as soon as possible so that vaccination of your loved one is not delayed.

There is no cost for the vaccine itself; however, the pharmacy provider will be charging for the administration of the vaccine to Medicare. If you have any questions about the vaccine or the administration of the vaccine, please call or email Amanda Cregeen, our Infection Preventionist nurse, at 515-465-5342 or Acregeen@PerryLutheranHomes.org. We hope that older adults living in assisted living and independent living will be able to get the vaccine soon, but we are unsure of any timelines for this.

With Christmas coming soon, we would love to help arrange a front door visit, window visit, video call visit, phone call, or deliver an email message to your loved one. Please contact Laura Orbell at 515-465-5316 or lorbell@PerryLutheranHomes.org. Or, if you would like a message delivered to your loved one, feel free to email info@PerryLutheranHomes.org.

We know that this Christmas will be both difficult and different without being able to spend in-person time with your loved one. Please know that we are not only caring for your loved ones’ physical needs, but their emotional and mental needs as best we can while balancing all the extra mandated rules and regulations that COVID has brought. Our staff continues to encourage and support your loved ones and engage them with activities and conversation one on one or in socially safe, small groups. Special worship services will be taking place as well for any residents that would like to take part in celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support. Have a blessed Christmas!

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes

December 2, 2020

To Our Eden Acres Campus (formerly Rowley) Residents and Family Members:

Our many prayers have been answered as there have been no new positive COVID-19 tests for quite some time at Perry Lutheran Homes Eden Acres Campus (formerly Rowley Masonic Community).

While there are no cases of COVID-19 at Eden Acres Campus at this time, the rate of positive cases in Dallas County remains high, above the 20% level which impacts us in two ways. First, Perry Lutheran Homes Eden Acres Campus is testing all staff two times a week. And, second, this sadly means that the only in-person visits can be for end-of-life matters until the Dallas County rate of positivity drops below 10 percent as per the mandatory regulations.

We need your help to share the message to others to wear masks, social distance, wash and sanitize hands, gather in small groups only, stay home if not feeling well, and do everything to help stop the spread. Share with others the impact it has on you, your loved one, other long-term care residents and families, and staff. You can also share our most recent “Help Stop the Spread” video on Facebook or email the YouTube video link https://youtu.be/QxTRvuioGyA/.

Our entire team, from care staff to culinary staff to environmental services staff, continue their hard and diligent work every day to safely give care, to prepare and serve meals safely, and to clean and sanitize every possible area and surface. We continue to go above and beyond the mandatory personal protective equipment requirements to keep residents and fellow team members safe.

Until in-person visits can resume, we are happy to help arrange a front door visit, window visit, video call visit, phone call, deliver an email message, and more. Please contact Laura Orbell at 515-465-5316 or lorbell@PerryLutheranHomes.org.

Since we are not in an outbreak situation, updates will be sent out on an as-needed basis through letters, our COVID-19 webpage (https://perrylutheranhome.org/covid-19/), phone calls and/or emails. Should your loved one show symptoms or require a test, we will get in touch as soon as we are able with the assigned resident representative we have on file.

This has been a long and difficult ten months. However, we are grateful that we’ve all been able to weather this storm together. This pandemic has made the special, little moments of kindness, togetherness and support all the more special. We are thankful for you, your prayers and your support. Please join us in praying for the finalization of a vaccine, and that older adults in senior care communities are a priority for our nation.

Sincerely,

Melissa Gannon, COO & Administrator
Perry Lutheran Homes