Worth County Care & Rehab Visitation Policy

Revised 2/22/2021

Policy:

It is the policy of Worth County Care Center to facilitate safe visitation practices and to keep the residents as safe as possible from being exposed to COVID-19.

Procedure:

All visitors will be screened in and must follow the Infection Control Policies.

Residents, their guardian, or legal representative may designate up to five (5) visitors total.

Each scheduled visit will consist of up to two (2) visitors at one time with social distancing (spaced by at least six (6) feet), hand hygiene before and after each visit for both the resident and the visitors and use of a cloth face covering or facemask for both the resident and the visitors. In the event a resident cannot safely wear a cloth face covering or facemask, a plastic partition or plexiglass barrier will be utilized to prevent the spread of virus. The cloth face covering, or facemask will be provided by the facility and will be returned to the facility for laundering.

Visits will be conducted inside in the designated areas. These designated areas are:

• Covid Cabana located in the Therapy room.

• Covid Cabana located in the Dining room.

• Room 35, which is set up for social distancing.

Indoor Visits

Indoor visits will be limited to:  

• Residents who are COVID-19 negative or asymptomatic and not suspected to have COVID-19; or Previously COVID-19 positive but have been released from isolation.

Indoor visits will be implemented under the following conditions:

• The facility must not have any COVID-19 staff or resident cases, or it has been fourteen (14) days since the last facility acquired COVID-19 positive case.

• The County positivity rate must be below the levels recommended by CDC, CMS and DHSS.

Accommodation for visits:

• All visits will be scheduled through the Business Office Manager, Monday through Friday between 9 am – 3 pm. If the Office Manager is not available, the Administrator will schedule appointments. If the Administrator is not available, the Director of Nursing will schedule appointments.

• Visits must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.

• A maximum of 2 visitors per resident will be allowed in the facility.

• Visits will be scheduled on the hour, allowing the visitor into the visitation room to be screened, properly donned with PPE and handwashing and sanitation to take place. The 30-minute visit time will start when the resident has been donned with the appropriate PPE, hand hygiene performed and/or placed on the opposite side of the plexiglass barrier.

• Visitors must maintain six (6) feet between themselves and the resident throughout the visit.

• PPE will be provided by WCCC. Cloth masks will be laundered after each use.

Safe practices for visits:

• Visitors will enter and exit the building through the door nearest the designated room.

• All visits will be monitored for adherence to proper use of masks and social distancing, while allowing for auditory privacy.

• A complete screening will be performed before each visit begins to ensure that only those visitors that meet the screening criteria are allowed.

• The screening will include temperature checks and a questionnaire to be filled out every time a visitor arrives.

• We will not allow any visitor with signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or who are unable to demonstrate proper use of infection control techniques to visit.

• Visitor logs will be filed and kept for 180 days. Logs will record the names of visitors, who they visited, staff that assisted the visit, date of visit, and contact information to be used in the event of subsequent COVID-19 outbreak among staff or residents will be filed and kept for 180 days.

• All visitation areas will be sanitized between visits, including tables, chairs, and partitions between each and every visit using an EPA approved disinfectant in accordance with instructions for dilution and contact times.

Visits will be stopped:

• If at any time a resident test positive for COVID-19, or a staff person tests positive for COVID-19 and if the staff person was in the facility in the ten (10) days prior to the positive test, all general indoor visits will cease except for compassionate care situations. Indoor general visitation will not resume until the facility achieves a continuous fourteen (14) day period without a facility acquired resident or staff COVID-19 case (if staff person was in the facility in the ten (10) days prior to the positive test), excluding dedicated units/wings accepting COVID-19 cases from the community.

• County percentages are above the levels that are recommended by CDC, CMS and DHSS.

Albany Woman Injured in Wreck Near Ford City

 An Albany woman was injured in a wreck near Ford City Thursday at around 3:51 pm. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports that a 2017 Jeep Compass driven by Bendi Burgin (53) of Albany was southbound on Route AA two miles south of Ford City when she traveled off the west side of the roadway due to poor road conditions. The vehicle struck a ditch and overturned, coming to rest on its top facing south. Burgin received moderate injuries and was taken to Mosaic in Albany. 

Obituary -- Virgil Stevens 1933-2021

Virgil LeRoy Stevens died peacefully in his home surrounded by loved ones just outside of Blythedale, Missouri on March 3, 2021 at the age of 87.

He was born on August 15, 1933 in Harrison County, Missouri to Charles and Murryl (Martin) Stevens.

On May 24, 1953, he married his beloved Helen Marie King at the Methodist Church in Mt. Moriah, MO.

He served in the United States Army from November 4th, 1953 to November 3rd, 1955.  Virgil was a heavy equipment operator, which fueled his love for bulldozers.

After leaving the military, he found his true passion in life. He raised cattle and hogs in Ridgeway, Missouri. In 1957 he purchased a farm east of Blythedale which then became Stevens Farm. Over the years, Virgil milked dairy cows, raised hogs, sheep, and cattle and was often doing custom farming work which included combining, hay baling, and bulldozing. Toward the end of his career he was involved in row crop farming and took care of his cows. His animals and his farm were not only his livelihood but passion in life which he cared for until the very end.

Virgil is survived by his wife, Helen of the home and his beloved dog, “Stinky”; children, Terri (Lester) Johns of Bethany, Rosetta (Doug) Waychus formally of Rockford, IA and now east of Blythedale, Doug Stevens of St. Joseph; grandchildren, Lance (Jan) Johns of Bethany, David (Dianne) Johns of Cameron, Tim (Polly) Johns of Bethany, and Christina (Morris) Pittsenbarger of Bethany, Danielle (Chris) Patterson of Marion, IA, Markus Hamlett of  Destin, FL, Sherman Lee Stevens of Stanberry, Nick Stevens of Bethany and Meghan (Thad) Landers of Shellrock, IA; and a plethora of great and great-great grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and longtime friends, David and Janie Gates and Justin Smith and family.

He was preceded in death by his parents; siblings, Vera Ewing, Vivian Yates-Shelton, Verl Stevens; half-siblings, Luella Stevens, Delores Brookes, Crystal Hillman, Eleanor Rawlings, Clarence Stevens and Russell Martin and great-grandson, Stephen Johns.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Monday, March 8 at Roberson Funeral Home, Eagleville, MO. Burial with Military Rites will follow in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Blythedale, MO. The family will receive friends from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home where social distancing will be observed and masks are recommended. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Harrison County Hospice in care of Roberson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 46, Eagleville, MO 64442. Online condolences may be left at www.robersonfuneralhome.com

Amber Alert Wakes Numerous People Up in Area

An Amber Alert sent out Friday at 4 am in St. Louis woke up numerous people in the area when their phones went off. 

KMOV reports that police in St. Louis County found a 34 year old woman, a 13 year old boy, and a 6 year old girl fatally shot near St. Louis just before midnight Thursday. Subsequently, the Amber Alert was issued at around 4 am Friday for one year old Zoe Page Hurst McCulley, allegedly taken from the scene by her father, Bobby McCulley III. She was subsequently found safe with family members at around 4:45 am. Police are still searching for McCulley. He was last seen in a 2010 Silver Dodge Charger with Missouri license plate ZC6T3V.

Mayoral Candidate Philip Hanks Seeks to Bring Businesses to Grant City

Write-in candidate Philip Hanks, who is running for Grant City Mayor, told the Express Thursday that he wanted to see more businesses come into Grant City. For that to happen, he said that if elected, he wanted to focus on roads, water lines, and sewer. He said he found a company that sells recycled plastic, which he says lasts 10 times as long as conventional material for roads. For water lines and sewers, he says he wants to pursue all possible avenues of funding for replacing all the old water lines and sewers in town. Currently, the city is in the process of paying off a voter-approved bond issue that recently replaced the 11 mile line going to the Middlefork Lake. Hanks said that as a last resort, he would pursue another bond issue. He said he feared that there was not enough water in Middlefork.

Regarding ordinance enforcement, he said that some enforcement went too far, and other aspects didn't go far enough. Regarding code enforcement, Hanks said that he would respect the property rights of owners and that he would enforce violations only if it was on city right of way. "A lot of these people are old and have fixed incomes and can't necessarily do it themselves," he said. He said that if the city must act on a property, the least they could do was help to clean up such properties for a fee. "There are some properties that I don't like, but it's still their property," he said. He said that one problem he wanted to see enforced was speeding. "I hear people driving by at 2 and 3 in the morning all the time," he said. He said he wanted to bring back the 1950's curfew that was set for midnight. Hanks said he wanted to see the city hire two deputies and share costs with the Worth County Sheriff's Department. 

Until about 10 years ago, Grant City used to have cable service; however, that company went bankrupt. Hanks said he wanted to see cable TV brought back to town. He said that he had talked to a company, and they said they were open to coming, but they would have to be invited. Hanks said he wanted to see local channels like KQ2 and the Kansas City and Des Moines stations. He said they could offer it for cheaper than Dish or DirecTV. 

Another thing Hanks wanted to see was to bring back both the County Fair and the Fall Festival. Back in 2006, the county had both; now, they have neither, although the Livestock Show is still held annually. He wanted to see a community center built like they did in Albany several years ago, and more after-school activities for kids, to give them something to do. "Right now, the Skating Rink closes in March, and the kids have nothing to do," he said. 

Hanks promised to be a full-time mayor if elected. "My office door will always be open for anyone who has ideas for improving the city," he said. He said he wanted to work with other mayors and the county to make these ideas happen. "If we can get some of these things off the ground, the whole county would benefit," he said. Hanks said that the current mayor, Debbie Roach, was doing a good job, saying the city was doing a good job of providing services. "I think we can do more to attract more people and business to Grant City," he said.

Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office Hiring Jailers

The Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office is currently accepting applications for full-time Jailers. The applications are being accepted to establish a one year eligibility list.

The Jailer is required to make inquiries, enter warrants, missing persons, stolen property and other computer entries. Starting salary is $13.37 per hour.

Jail primary duties include processing and booking inmates, releasing inmates and overseeing care and safety of inmates. 

Training will be provided by the Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office. Eligible candidates must be available to work all shifts, weekends and holidays, possess a high school diploma or GED and have no criminal history.

Applications must be picked up at the Nodaway County Jail, 404 North Vine Street, Maryville Missouri 64468. Or you can go to our website at nodawaycountysheriff.com to print one out, but the application must be turned in at our office. Applications sent online or on Facebook will NOT be accepted. You must come to the office.

Five Shamrocks Get Postseason Honors

Five Shamrocks were named to postseason honors Thursday following the completion of the season for all schools.

Emma Craig was named unanimous First Team All-Conference and All-Conference Defensive Team. By her senior year, she got to the point where she was a threat to have a double double every time out, regardless of the strength of the opposition. She went beast mode in North Harrison’s win over Tri-County. Under her efforts, North Harrison won 15 games and was in most of their games this year. She got her 1,000th point this year. She will be missed.

Camden Castleberry was named Second Team All-Conference. Coach Aaron Long had been looking for her to score more, and she did, getting into double figures regularly by January, with a high of 20 against Grundy County. She will return next year.

Jayliegh Robins was named Second Team All-Conference and All Conference Defensive Team. She was one of the leaders on the team in assists and steals and was constantly on the floor diving after loose balls. She is a sophomore and will only get better.

On the boys side, Brett Emig was named Unanimous First Team All-Conference. He was a constant threat to push the ball up the court anytime he got a defensive board. Against Mercer, the night after Jerry Armstrong passed away, he put together a performance Armstrong would have been proud of, scoring 41 points and getting 16 boards. He will be missed.

Wade Briggs was named to Second Team All-Conference. He can shoot from anywhere from 30 feet in, stretching out defenses and fueling North Harrison’s offense. He will return next year.