Paynesville Area Living at Home Block Nurse Program

Transportation Protocol

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Transporting Service Recipients for errands (grocery shopping, etc.) has been resumed. To reduce risk of exposure to the virus, whenever possible, Service Recipients should remain at home if a Volunteer is able to perform errands on your behalf.  If it is important to a Service Recipient to participate in errand-running, limit outings to no more than once/week.

 

Health Screen before every transport

Service Recipients and Volunteers are required to self-screen prior to transport.

 

• Prior to providing rides, Volunteers and Service Recipients will screen themselves. The following questions are what you should address prior to using transportation services:

• A fever (100.4 degrees or higher), or feeling feverish?

• Chills?

• A new cough?

• Shortness of breath?

• A new sore throat?

• New muscle aches?

• New loss of smell or taste?

• New confusion?

• Been advised by public health to quarantine due to close physical contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?

• If either of you answer yes to any of the above questions, stay home and call Paynesville CentraCare Clinic at 320-243-3767 for more guidance.  Notify me so that I am aware of either a need for a potential substitute driver or of canceling the ride, as well as other potential services temporarily if necessary.

 

Before and after transporting

Volunteers must wipe down surfaces that may be touched in their vehicle with a disinfectant cleaner (door handles, seat belts, etc.). Volunteers and Service Recipients must use hand sanitizer after touching things.

 

Safety while transporting

• To maintain social distancing as much as possible, the Service Recipient will sit in the back, passenger seat.  (Note that in most vehicles, this is not quite the recommended 6 feet of distance.)

• Avoid using the recirculated air option for the car’s ventilation during passenger transport; use the car’s vents to bring in fresh outside air and/or lower the vehicle windows.

• Both Volunteer and Service Recipient will be REQUIRED to wear face coverings.  If you have need of a mask/face covering, please contact me so I can get a mask to you.

• Again, stay home if you are symptomatic or have had exposure.  Call me for help coordinating the details.

 

When running essential errands

• Disinfect the shopping cart; use disinfecting wipes if available.

• If possible, use touchless payment.

• After leaving the store, Service Provider and Service Recipient should use hand sanitizer.

• When you get home, Service Provider and Service Recipient should wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds

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At the Paynesville R.O.S.E. Center we are tracking the latest news about the coronavirus (COVID-19) to best help and protect the people we serve and our volunteers.  We will be following recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html ) and from state and local public health officials (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html).

During this time, our work will not stop, we will just be doing it differently.  We are currently trying to limit the spread of germs and ensure the safety of the people we serve. In order to this our volunteers will not be going into people's homes. We are happy to assist with as much as possible while keeping in mind the 6-foot social distancing that the CDC has recommended. 

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We are encouraging seniors to call Teal's and pre-order their groceries. If delivery is needed the R.O.S.E. Center has some volunteers who are willing to make those deliveries. However, those volunteers are not to enter homes so seniors will need to be able to put away their own groceries once they are delivered to their door. 

 

The R.O.S.E. Center staff are offering telephone reassurance to our area seniors as we recognize that being socially isolated can be very harmful to a person's mental health. This will involve telephone calls from us to check up or socialize with the senior citizens we serve. If this is something that you are interested please call us at 320-243-5144 or email at redday.paynesvillerosecenter@gmail.com to set this up.  

We also recognize that people will miss getting out to our events. Staff will be willing to do phone visits and  are  encouraging volunteers to join us. Please call us at 320-243-5144 if you want to volunteer or if you would like to receive calls.  

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 The CDC has identified that the people at higher risk for COVID-19 are older adults and people who have chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes and lung disease. People at higher risk should:

• Stay home as much as possible to reduce the risk of being exposed.

• Stock up on supplies, including extra food, medications, pet supplies and other household provisions, in the event they need to spend two weeks at home.

• Take precautions to keep about 6 feet of space between themselves and others.

• When out in public, keep away from others who are sick, limit close contact and wash hands often.

• Avoid crowds as much as possible.

• Avoid any non-essential travel.

 

 As we navigate these changing times together, thank you for your patience and understanding. Let us know how we can help.