Dear residents, staff, families and supporters,

Over the last several months the Covid virus and the numerous variants remain active in the country. For Iowa there has been an uptick in those sick and hospitalized. Bartels continues to test on a weekly basis due to the positivity rate in the county being above 5%. There have been no positive tests for the past 3 weeks at Bartels.

Over the past couple of weeks several health care organizations have mandated the Covid vaccine and now the federal government is requiring the Covid vaccine for long term care facilities in order to receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

Bartels will require all new employees to receive their 1st dose of Covid vaccine as a part of onboarding starting today. All current employees should get their vaccine process started as soon as possible. There will be additional details and timelines next week after Bartels receives the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services memo with the specific regulations and exemptions. The leadership team is also working to align with a pharmacy to discuss Covid vaccine, boosters and flu vaccines in order to prepare for and determine the timing and spacing between doses.

Keeping the residents and staff safe and well cared for is our top priority at Bartels. We continue to screen in every visitor and visitors need to wear masks, as this is a regulation we continue to follow. We encourage residents, staff and families to enjoy the outdoors while the weather is so nice! The walking path has been repaved and there are several outdoor spaces which create opportunities for people to enjoy and celebrate together.

There is a great deal of unrest going on in the world with so many different opinions. The focus at Bartels will continue to be our values of Honesty, Empathy, Accountability, Respect and Teamwork. All staff will think of this when they are working with your loved ones, any residents within any of our programs, families and each other!

If anyone has questions or concerns please reach out to anyone on the leadership team. There are a number of us to talk to and all who are very committed to the Bartels organization. Please call 319-352-4540 or email us at bartels@bartelscommunity.org.

Paula Geise, RN, MSN, CEO

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