Vaccine Celebration
Protected together! With the recent introduction of the COVID-19 Vaccines, resident and staff covid cases have dropped by over 50%. Our team is honored to do our part in helping to end this year long pandemic.
Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation COVID-19 Update
Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation COVID-19 Update
September 23, 2020
To the Community and Families of our Residents:
We have a staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19. We are working diligently to test every resident over the next 2 days. Read more
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
August 23, 2020
To the Community and Families of our Residents:
We wanted to provide you with an update here at Riverbend. We have a staff member who is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. The staff member has been put on a leave of absence and we are working diligently to test all of those who have come in contact with this staff member. Over the next couple of days, we will begin testing those residents and employees who came into contact, as well as reaching out to the families of residents who have been exposed. Read more
Visitation and Appointments
July 8, 2020
RE: Visitation and Appointments
Dear Residents, Family and Friends:
On behalf of the entire team at Riverbend Post-Acute, we want to thank you for allowing us to care for you or your loved one. I am reaching out to introduce myself, Kristine Farrell, as the new Executive Director for Riverbend Post-Acute. It is with great humility and pride that I serve you or your loved one, and a passion that I do not take lightly.
Due to the ever changing circumstances within our community and here at Riverbend, I wanted to draw your attention to some updated policies that we are enforcing to ensure the safety and protection of our residents.
- All outdoor visitations will be cancelled immediately. Due to the increase of COVID in our community, Wyandotte County is recommending that even outdoor visitation be cancelled until further notice. While we understand that this will be hard on families and residents, we want to ensure our resident’s safety and we are committed to that standard during this trying time.
- All medical appointments will be made through the Social Service Department. If a family member schedules an appointment, it must be communicated to Social Services 48 hours beforehand in order to provide transportation and effectively communicate with supporting staff members. Failure to do so could result in patients missing appointments.
- All transportation arrangements are made through our Social Services Director, Teressa Storch. Any interference with these appointments, such as last minute changes or change in times, WILL result in a bill from our business office for additional transportation costs. We diligently work with providers to make appointments to the needs of our residents and without proper communication this can result in missed care. In order to continue to put our resident’s needs first, these arrangements must go through our Social Services Department. We are not allowing family members to provide transportation due to the upswing of COVID in our county.
- We will not be allowing residents to leave with family members for any reason. Again, at this time, we believe that by limiting exposure to the surrounding community, we can continue to help protect our residents.
This season has been incredibly challenging and difficult for residents and families. We understand these new standards may be hard on residents and families and we continue to strive to give our residents the highest quality of care. We greatly appreciate your help and understanding during these times. Again, resident safety and care is our utmost priority and we want to thank you for helping us achieve that goal with these policies. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions, concerns or requests for assistance. We will keep you updated as additional information becomes available.
~The Team at Riverbend Post-Acute
COVID-19 Update
We first want to offer our condolences to all the families and friends of those involved. We understand that the loss of a loved one during this devastating pandemic is heartbreaking, and seeking answers is understandable. We want everyone to know that our team worked diligently to prevent the spread of this highly contagious virus. Our actions were taken in close coordination with the County health department and State leaders to ensure we were following the latest guidelines from the CDC – these guidelines have evolved and continue to evolve as experts learn more about the virus. Given the novel nature of COVID-19 and the ability of asymptomatic individuals to unknowingly infect others, we believe our team took reasonable actions with the resources and information available to us at the time.
Now, to second guess those on the front lines battling a mysterious virus who were doing what they could to save lives, just doesn’t feel like a path to justice. If that is the route we choose to take, then skilled nursing facilities all across the country will be facing a new crisis that threatens the industry’s ability to minister to those in need of the care and services it provides.
For members of the media, we would request that this entire statement be shared in any coverage on this case.
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
April 18, 2020
To the Community and Members of the Media:
Good afternoon and Happy Saturday~
- I know we have shared this previously, but we really continue to be encouraged and energized by what we are seeing in our residents who were previously experiencing functional challenges as a result of the virus. On both the first and second floors of the Facility, there is resident activity, participation in therapy, consistent ingestion of food and fluids, and an overall sense of optimism about what is happening. While we are, and will remain, on high alert for changes in condition, we are celebrating these changes.
- In addition to the impact of COVID-19 on our residents, our staff were also affected by the virus over the past couple of weeks. A number of our team members were diagnosed as positive, and not able to work pending their own recovery. However, as of today, we have welcomed back nearly 40% of these staff following their confirmed negative status. Further, and based on information available to us in this moment, we are hoping to see another significant percentage of residents return to us over the course of the next week.
- As I am sure all can appreciate, this pandemic has changed the course of our lives at Riverbend… we have experienced loss, fear, disruption, and anxiety on a large scale and on a big stage. All of us, including residents, families and staff, have been tried. No one is the same as we were before, we know that. But we are committed to formalizing the turning of the tide here, and are working as a leadership team to design a way to reintroduce the Facility as “HOME” moving forward. We think it is integral to identify steps we can take to write the next chapter for the Riverbend family, which will support our collective emotional recovery.
- Finally for today, we are grateful for another anonymous food donor, who treated our staff to a “Live Mas” lunch with Taco Bell. It is hard to argue with the curative properties associated with a good bean and cheese burrito, and keeping our team nourished benefits our residents as well. We are thankful for those who help us take care of the staff who take care of our residents.
We wish you a restful remainder of the weekend, and will plan on reporting again on Monday.
Cory Schulte Maureen Purvis, RN
Administrator Director of Nursing
Daily Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
April 17, 2020
To the Community and Members of the Media:
Good afternoon. It has been a quiet day at Riverbend – our staff continue to tend to the needs of our resident community, and our residents continue to exhibit signs of improvement and recovery on both floors of the building. We have just a few items to share with you today:
- We understand that the County released a report yesterday about the impact of COVID-19 on the Riverbend community, and that the report included a timeline of events. The presentation of that timeline creates the impression that there was a delay between the time Riverbend received notice of its first COVID-positive result and the time it reported that information to the County Department of Health. Please be advised that there was no such delay. The Facility learned of its first COVID-19 positive test result on April 1, 2020. On that same day, April 1, 2020, we notified the Wyandotte County Health Department as we are required to do. We contacted the Health Department yesterday regarding this issue, and have been advised that they will take action to correct this misunderstanding.
- We believe it is important to take what we have learned from our COVID-19 experience at Riverbend, and identify opportunities to enhance infection prevention and control practices generally. In this regard, we have been asked to partner with geriatricians and other professionals in the field to discuss Long Term Care and Post-Acute Care COVID-19 Planning and Prevention Guidance going forward. We consider this a critical initiative, and are committed to contributing to it in any way that we can. We consider it a privilege to be a part of this important discussion, and wish to express our gratitude for the invitation.
- Finally, we express our thanks to the team at Aquinas Home Health who showed up to the Facility today and decorated the windows of some of our residents with paint and signs expressing love and encouragement. The gesture was even more inspirational because the artists were members of the community we serve, and we want to say a big thank you to those individuals as well. Our residents and staff genuinely felt the love.
We hope you all enjoy the rest of your Friday, and we look forward to updating you again tomorrow.
Cory Schulte Maureen Purvis, RN
Administrator Director of Nursing
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
April 16, 2020
To the Community and Members of the Media:
Good afternoon. On this Thursday in mid-April, we have the following information to share about the status of things in our Riverbend community: Read more
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
April 15, 2020
To the Community and Members of the Media:
Good afternoon and thank you for your continued interest in what is happening with our Riverbend family. In terms of today’s update, we have the following information to share: Read more
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
Update at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation
April 14, 2020
To the Community and Members of the Media:
Good afternoon and we hope everyone is having an excellent start to their week. In terms of today’s update, we have the following information to share:
- The types of improvements we have seen on the second floor, with almost all of our residents there returning to baseline as a product of the clinical interventions, are now evident in our first-floor patients. We have been able to stabilize this group and continue with their care in-house; the fact that we are not needing to transfer these patients to the hospital allows us to implement strategic, recovery-based treatment. We literally feel the tide turning in beneath us.
- Our second-floor residents are starting to participate in therapy as ordered and appropriate. Our physical, occupational and speech therapists are able to provide evaluations and treatment as ordered by the physician, since the residents have now improved sufficiently to meaningfully participate in therapy. The residents are excited to continue with their rehabilitation, and we are equally pleased to be able to facilitate it.
- We do want to take the opportunity to address our process for communicating with residents and families during this challenging time. Generally speaking, we have been regularly communicating with residents and families as we identify changes in a resident’s condition (improvements or otherwise) or regarding other such clinical situations; that information is reported directly from the nursing staff or the physician to the resident or his/her responsible party. We have also done our best to timely answer incoming calls and questions as they are received. While our first priority has been caring for our patients and ensuring they remain safe, we understand the importance of sharing information with those outside the walls of the Facility on a more proactive We are currently reviewing this process of communication to identify ways to improve it going forward. We thank you for your patience, and continue to encourage family members and loved ones to call us directly at 913.334.3666 if there is something you need or if there is some way we can be of assistance to you.
Today, we share our profound appreciation for all those individuals and groups who have prayed with, for and around us over the past several days. We have felt deeply your support and love, and have likewise been restored emotionally, physically and spiritually as a result of it. On behalf of our staff and our residents, we hope you will continue with the prayers and support – they mean the world to us all.
We thank you for your time today, and will look forward to updating you again tomorrow.
Cory Schulte Maureen Purvis, RN
Administrator Director of Nursing
