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Duluth News Tribune | Written By: Andee Erickson | Jul 12th 2020 – 8pm

The Minnesota Department of Health recently released guidelines allowing one designated “essential caregiver” to enter the long-term facility in order to help with care.

It wasn’t until Father’s Day that the two were allowed to sit down together ⁠— face mask to face mask ⁠— outside following the Minnesota Department of Health’s release of guidelines on offering outdoor visits between long-term care facility residents and their loved ones. Before that the two stayed in touch through multiple phone calls a day and waves through the window.

On Friday, the health department released additional guidelines that would allow residents of long-term care facilities to be designated one “essential caregiver.” Those assigned individuals will be able to enter the buildings and assist with daily care needs. Facilities like Ecumen Lakeshore have until July 25 to review the guidelines and draft their own plans.

Those caregivers will need to wear eye and face coverings. For some residents, especially those with hearing impairments, communicating from behind masks poses real challenges. Which is why there are now two three-sided Plexiglas booths outside Ecumen that residents can sit in to safely visit family and friends without having to wear a face covering.

From behind a Plexiglas wall, Derry was able to visit unmasked with his son Saturday, and being able to read lips and facial expressions helped.

“Otherwise it’s just mouth mush,” Derry said.

“It’s better than nothing,” Tim said of the outdoor visits he has to schedule in advance online. He estimated the two have visited about eight times since allowed.

Jena Evans, community relations manager for Ecumen Lakeshore, said the visitation booths are especially popular among residents with dementia. Overall, the campus’ memory care residents see the highest number of visitors.

“Connections are important for everybody, for any age, any ability or disability, but for our memory care (residents) they’re incredibly important just for their overall happiness,” Evans said “We see that they’re just overall happier when they have familiar people from their life.”

Under the health department’s latest new guidelines Evans said not all residents will be assigned an essential caregiver who will be allowed to enter the building. Since those guidelines only allow for one visitor, she said the Plexiglas stations provide a way for residents, especially those who have difficulty wearing a mask, to see more than just one family member.

“Having this broad range of choices helps to extend the opportunities for our residents to have these meaningful connections,” Evans said.

Following the recent steps toward allowing outdoor visits, beginning this week, assisted living residents at Ecumen Lakeshore will be able to join in group activities and eat together in the dining room for the first time in months with physical distancing emphasized.

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