24.9 F
Saint Paul
Friday, March 29, 2024

Archbishop Hebda, Bishop Cozzens bless senior care residents amid pandemic

Archbishop Bernard Hebda prays a blessing over Jane Juaire, a resident of St. Therese of New Hope, a senior care facility hit hard by COVID-19. Archbishop Hebda and Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens visited five long-term care facilities, including St. Therese, to pray a decade of the rosary and to sprinkle holy water on the grounds. After the blessing at St. Therese, in which residents and staff members gathered in front of the building, Archbishop Hebda greeted and blessed residents who stayed. For more information about how the pandemic is affecting St. Therese and other facilities, see story on Page 8.  DAVE HRBACEK  |  THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Sue Schinzel lost her mother, Margaret Strauss, on April 21 to COVID-19.

Strauss, 83, had Alzheimer’s disease and had lived for three years in the memory care unit at St. Therese of New Hope. When she moved to St. Therese, her husband, Thomas, 87, visited her several days a week, until coronavirus-related restrictions that began in March prevented him, Schinzel said. A staff member updated the family each day.

On April 15, the family learned Margaret had stopped eating. The next day, test results for coronavirus came back positive. Five days later, she died.

Margaret is among 47 residents at St. Therese who have died from COVID-19 since April 6. The first time someone at the facility tested positive for the virus was April 5.

While the deaths on the skilled nursing side of the facility — a complex that also offers independent living apartments — account for about 10% of Minnesota’s 455 deaths related to COVID-19, it is not alone among senior care facilities struggling with the illness.

The Minnesota Department of Health reported May 4 that 80% of deaths in the state stemming from COVID-19 have occurred in long-term care and assisted living facilities.

Recognizing the hardship and trauma, Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens visited St. Therese and four other senior care facilities in the Twin Cities May 2. They prayed a decade of the rosary at each and blessed the facilities and their residents.

- Advertisement -

Local news media have reported that some family members wonder if the St. Therese facility could have done more or kept residents and families better informed.

Schinzel said that was not her family’s experience.

“I just want to say that nobody’s angry,” said Schinzel, a nurse practitioner who worked in a nursing home earlier in her career. Schinzel said she and her father were pleased with Margaret’s care. “I think it all was taken care of correctly … and the staff (at St. Therese) were wonderful, the social workers to occupational therapists, everybody.”

St. Therese has now tested every resident for coronavirus, and awaits results. In early March — about a month before the first resident tested positive for the virus — the facility closed its 258-bed skilled nursing facility to visitors, vendors and partners to protect residents and staff. The facility has not taken any new admissions since April 5, said Barb Rode, its president and CEO. “We didn’t want to … not be aware of who might be coming in with COVID,” she said, because people can carry the virus but not show symptoms.

Residents who died of complications from COVID-19 ranged in age from 83 to 96, Rode said. Most had orders in place not to be resuscitated or intubated in the event of any serious illness. All but one was a resident in long-term care.

In a statement released April 29, St. Therese officials said any time a resident’s condition changes, that person’s family is asked about any desires to change treatment options. Even after learning that their loved one tested positive, most families kept their existing treatment plans, while others adopted advance directives, officials said.

Having so many residents with “do not resuscitate” and “do not intubate” directives is one reason why only a handful of residents were hospitalized, facility officials said. Only one family asked to move their relative from the facility after hearing of a positive test.

Sue Sullivan’s mother, Dianne Crawford, 86, was a nursing director at St. Therese for more than 25 years, and she lives there now. She has Alzheimer’s disease and has tested positive for the coronavirus. She lives in an area with other residents who have tested positive for the virus, and so far she is doing well, Sullivan said.

The facility moved all virus-positive residents together to prevent infection of others, and to conserve personal protection equipment for staff. The move follows guidance from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Minnesota Department of Health, facility officials said.

Sullivan said her mother’s condition is stable, and she is confident that her mother is getting the care she needs. As with all visitors now, her father cannot visit his wife, but he is updated daily on her status.

In addition to her mother’s work at St. Therese, the family has longstanding ties to the facility, Sullivan said. Her grandmother and great-grandmother were residents. Many family members worked there. Sullivan’s work there began with volunteering as a young teen and, later, she became a nurse’s aide and unit manager.

Schinzel said her late mother, Margaret, was a fiery redheaded Irish gal before Alzheimer’s changed that. During the four weeks her family could not visit, they could have called her, but Margaret always pulled out her hearing aids. Once death neared, they were allowed to visit, but Thomas declined. By then, Margaret was unconscious. “She was there, and then it was like she just vanished,” Schinzel said.

Besides arthritis, she had no underlying medical conditions. Margaret could not receive anointing of the sick in her final days, but staff told Schinzel that she did receive the sacrament last fall at the facility.

Because of the pandemic, the family did not bring home her belongings. A “normal funeral” wasn’t an option, but Schinzel’s father insisted on Mass right away at the couple’s parish, Epiphany in Coon Rapids. With pandemic-related restrictions, only 10 people could be present, so seven family members attended in addition to the celebrant, server and a singer. Any number of people were welcome outdoors at the plot, but they needed to stand 6 feet apart. Some wore masks and a few wore gloves.

At St. Therese, Rode said the staff very much cares about and respects all residents. Any time a resident dies, a longstanding tradition calls for staff members to line up in the hallway and sing a hymn as the deceased is brought out of the facility.

When family members are present, staff can tell them in person how much they cared about the resident, Rode said. “They can say their condolences … so that’s really nice.”

 


Related Articles

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Trending

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
12,743FansLike
1,478FollowersFollow
6,479FollowersFollow
35,922FollowersFollow
583SubscribersSubscribe
- Advertisement -