May Parent Days 4.6.21

April 6, 2021

Dear Parents,

We wanted to reach out to you today to share some exciting news. We will be holding our first in person Parent Days for the 2021 year. We are elated at the opportunity to provide this in person experience for all of our families. The dates for the Spring Parent Days will be Thursday, May 13 – Sunday, May 16th.

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We would encourage those of you that are interested in joining us for the in person event to begin looking at scheduling your travel plans. This is an ‘in person only’ Parent Days; we are not offering a virtual platform for those that are unable to attend in person. We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause families, but at this time we are unable to accommodate both in person and virtual opportunities for all families.

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In the upcoming weeks, we will have a more detailed schedule of events that will be occurring during our parent weekend. We will continue to do everything as an organization to prevent the COVID19 virus from spreading on our campus. Therefore, we will be asking the following from our families in order to attend Parent Days:

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• Proof of a negative COVID test within 5 days or proof of vaccination.

• Only parents are able to attend. No siblings or other family members.

• Masks must be worn at all times while on campus.

• Follow designated rules regarding scheduling of events.

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We know that being away from your child is difficult, especially during these unsettled times. We want you to know that our number one priority is to keep your child safe and provide a validating and supportive environment for them to heal. We will remain diligent in our efforts to keep you, your child and our organization safe and healthy for our Parent Days. It will take all of us working together to ensure that this in person event will be a success.

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We are here to answer any questions you may have surrounding our upcoming Parent Days. Stay tuned for additional information in the upcoming weeks.

Warm Regards,

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Mindy Exon

Program Director

COVID-19 11.20.20

November 20, 2020

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Dear Parents,

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Another week has passed in this battle with COVID-19. As many of you experience the regular changes and challenges related to the coronavirus and its impact upon our collective daily routines, we know you understand and appreciate its current and potential impact on Youth Care’s daily functioning. We experienced what we consider an outbreak in COVID cases on our campus just over two weeks ago. We had multiple staff members and students contract the virus. We are happy to report that most of them have completely recovered and have returned to work and to their communities without any lasting issues. The rest are healing well and will follow in the next week. Our numbers of positive cases are decreasing rapidly and we feel confident that this recent spike is behind us.

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We have been fortunate to receive rapid COVID-19 testing kits, which we are utilizing for our students. If a Youth Care student shows symptoms consistent with COVID-19, our medical team is able to test them and have results right away. If a child tests positive, they are quarantined immediately. We believe that having the ability to test onsite, receive results rapidly, and quarantine quickly has contributed to our decreasing numbers. This has been a very challenging experience for our staff, students, and families. We are grateful for effective protocols, dedicated staff members, support from the local health department, and patience and understanding from our families. We have learned a lot and our confidence carries into our outlook of the future. If we experience this type of outbreak again, we will face it with more knowledge and experience.

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As part of our effort in combating COVID, we continue to expect that students will wear their masks during all waking hours. However, some students struggle with following this expectation. As such, we would like to request that each of you would be another reminder and encourage your children to wear their masks daily.

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As we forge ahead, we note that, like many places around the country, Utah’s daily COVID case numbers continue to remain high. While we had been hopeful to open up visiting for the holidays, given the current numbers, the COVID team and Youth Care Management Team has made the decision to not have any visits for the remainder of 2020. Additionally, it was determined, with the complexity of managing this virus and its impact on resources and time, that the November Parent Days will not be rescheduled, but cancelled.

We are optimistic about the near future and hopefully a reduction in impact of this virus in 2021. Therefore, in anticipation of the coming year we wanted to share the schedule for Parent Days in 2021. They are currently scheduled are as follows:

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o February 10-14

o May 12-16

o August 25-28

o November 10-13

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We hope you have found our daily phone calls from the Admissions Team helpful up to this point. We have heard feedback from you that our daily phone calls have allayed your fears, answered your questions, and kept you up to date on what we are doing on campus to keep your child safe. In the coming weeks, due to the holidays and many of our team members being absent, our Admissions Team will be making weekly (one call per week), instead of daily calls. (If your student is on quarantine, however, you will continue to receive daily calls.) Please continue to check the Parent Portal for announcements and the Patient Portal for medical records and clinical updates. If you are having trouble accessing either portal, please mention it to your Admission Counselor this week on your phone call. We want to make sure you are receiving the most up-to-date information.

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Many of you have requested a copy of your student’s Thanksgiving Day schedule. A copy of their schedule has been included at the end of this letter. Our hope is to make this a day of relaxation and fun day for them.

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While we experience many emotions and feelings related to this pandemic such as frustration, sadness, anger and loss of control often combined with longer work days and exhaustion, we at Youth Care nonetheless are grateful that our students have been able to weather this virus without significant problems, remain safe, and are able to continue their work on many important issues. We are also extremely grateful for your support, patience and understanding as we try to act and react to this daily challenge. So, in this season of thanksgiving, when our current situation presents us with such global and far reaching challenges and when its impact seems so overwhelming and may be difficult to find things to be thankful for, perhaps we should take heart in a statement made years ago by Mother Teresa:

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“Be thankful for the small things; it is in them that your strength lies.”

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So, for our team at Youth Care we will give thanks for the “small things” this season.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

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Dr. Richard Mickelsen

Medical Director

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Thanksgiving Schedule:

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08:00 am - Wakeup, Breakfast, Hygiene, an Chores

09:30 am - Goals Group

10:00 am - Alpine House - Outside Activity of East side of the yard

                 - Alpine House - Outside Activity of West side of the yard

                 - Horizon and Summit house - Holiday Phone Calls (no buying extra time), and Interactive games. 

11:30 am - Thanksgiving Lunch Prep - Arts/Crafts-Coloring/Origami

12:30 am - Thanksgiving Lunch, Lunch Chores and House Chores

14:30 pm - Horizon House - Outside Activity on East Side of Yard

                 - Summit House - Outside Activity on West Side of Yard

                 - Alpine and Brighton - Holiday Phone Calls (no buying extra time), and Interactive Games

15:30 pm - Gratitude Life Skill/Activity, Rotating Houses doing Hot Chocolate and S'mores by Fire Pits, & Dinner Prep

18:00 pm - Dinner, Dinner chores, and House cleanup

19:00 pm - Holiday Movie and popcorn

20:30 pm - Snacks - Pies, Goals Group, and Hygiene

21:30 pm - In Beds

22:00 pm - Lights Out

COVID-19 11.11.20

Dear Parents,

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We know that the past few weeks have been very stressful as many areas in our country continue to experience increased spread of COVID-19.  We also acknowledge that it is extremely challenging and worrisome to have your child far away from you and in the care of others during this time.

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Our team has been working very hard to make sure are kids are kept safe and their needs are met and because of this, we are aware that many of you have had difficulty calling in to the houses, experienced delays in getting your questions answered, etc.  We would like to put a temporary plan in place to help with keeping you all up to date and connected to us to get information regularly.  We are designating one staff member as the “point person” for communication with the families at each home. They will reach out to you daily, Monday-Friday to let you know the following:

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• Any concerns related to the health of your child

• How your child is doing in general in the home

• Any major concerns about the spread of the virus on our campus or any new measures that are implemented

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This call is not intended to update you on therapeutic progress, only to check in as a means of additional support to communicate vital information and triage any needs you have.  We will begin this communication today and it will continue through next week. 

If you have concerns in between updates, please feel free to reach out to your point of contact below organized by house:

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• Brighton House: Brian McDonald @ brian.mcdonald@youthcare.com or 801-358-9454

• Summit House: Claire Roberts @ claire.roberts@youthcare.com or 801-455-4874

• Alpine House: Tanya May @ Tanya.may@Youthcare.com or 801-381-8748

• Horizon House: Brian McDonald @ brian.mcdonald@youthcare.com or 801-358-9454

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We really hope that this will be helpful for you and provide some comfort during this difficult time.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

Warmly,

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Tanya May

Admissions Director

Youth Care

COVID-19 11.3.20

Dear Parents,

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We know that the past week for many of you has been very stressful.  We are living in uncertain times and life with COVID has proven to be a daily challenge for all of us.  Regardless of whether your child is at home, in public school or treatment we are unable to escape the effect that COVID is having on the daily living of our students.  We are grateful that you have entrusted us to assist your child in addressing their mental health needs.  We will continue to do all that we can to assist your child in remaining focused on their treatment goals. 

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 As all of you are aware, Youth Care will be doing onsite COVID testing for all students and staff on our campus.  The testing is scheduled with the Utah Department of Health and will be taking place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 at 10:00 am MST.  Once the testing is completed, we anticipate that the results of your child’s test will be confirmed between two-four days. A member of the medical team will notify all parents once the results have been communicated to Youth Care.

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I am sure you have many questions regarding next steps for your child depending on the outcome of the testing.  Our team has protocols set up and ready to implement for all students regardless of whether their results are positive or negative. The following guidelines will hopefully help you to better understand what will be happening to your child once we have the results.

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• If a student tests positive they will quarantined with other students that have tested positive.  The exact location of where the student will be in quarantine will be dependent upon the number of students that will need to be quarantined.  For example if all students at one of the houses tests positive we will keep all students on quarantine in the house they are currently residing in.  If we have smaller numbers that are positive, we have other areas on our campus identified for them to be in quarantine. 

  • Students will receive remote services depending on how they are feeling.  For example if a student is feeling well they can engage in virtual school work, virtual therapy etc.  If they are not feeling well, therapeutic services will be suspended until they are feeling well enough to engage in programming. 

  • Students will have daily calls with parents.

  • They will have all meals brought to them during quarantine.

  • They will have private toileting areas that are designated only for their usage.

  • All students will be requested to wear masks

  • Staff will be wearing personal protective equipment while supervising students during quarantine.

  • Parents will be in close communication with the medical team and their family therapist regarding their student and their ongoing health needs

  • In the event that a student’s medical needs require a higher level of care, our team will be communicating with you as parents regarding next steps.

• If a student’s test results are negative they will not require quarantine. 

  • They may be expected to change houses.

  • All other programming will resume as usual.

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Youth Care will continue to focus upon tasks that will assist in keeping our campus free from infection. 

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• Professional cleaning service that cleans our houses each week.

• Nightly cleaning by our medical team in high traffic areas of our campus.

• Daily screening for staff and students.

• Hand hygiene reminders and expectations for all students

• Mandated mask wearing for staff and recommended wearing for students

• Limiting visitors to our campus

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Thank you for the ongoing support of your child and their treatment at Youth Care.  Our team is dedicated to meet the ongoing treatment needs of your child during this challenging time in our world.

Warm Regards,

Richard Mickelsen

Youth Care Medical Director

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COVID-19 10.30.20

Dear parents,

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We wanted to reach out to you today to share some challenging news. As the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in our state continues to rise daily, our numbers at Youth Care have increased as well. Over the past two weeks, we have seen a spike in the number of staff members testing positive for Covid. Obviously, this is a concern for our entire company especially the effect this may have on our students. From the beginning of this pandemic situation, we have been in frequent contact with the Salt Lake County Health Department. Due to the increase in cases at Youth Care, they have recommended testing for all students and employees. There will be a team from the health department coming to our campus next Friday, November 6th from 10am-12pm MST to provide this testing. We will need your consent to have your child tested. Please fill out the attached forms and return them as soon as possible. Please email them to .

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In an effort to minimize the worry that will most likely be associated with upcoming testing, we will not be telling the students about it until next Wednesday, November 4th. We ask that you not discuss the testing with your child so that we are able to tell them as a group when the date is a bit closer. We truly appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

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We will continue to do everything as an organization to prevent this virus from spreading. We will remain diligent in our efforts to keep your child safe and healthy. Our practices, which have proven to be successful, will continue with increased awareness around masking, sanitizing and thorough daily screening of all employees and students.

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Many of you have inquired about future visiting. Right now, all plans for visits are on hold until we review the outcome of our campus wide testing event next week. We will have more information about visits during the week of Parent Days.

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We know that being away from your child is difficult, especially during these unsettled times. We want you to know that our number one priority is to keep your child safe and provide a validating and supportive environment for them to heal.

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We are here to answer any questions you may have surrounding this or any other medical issue. Please feel free to reach out to a member of the medical team or your child’s therapist with any concerns.

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Warm Regards,

Dr. Richard Mickelsen

Medical Director

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COVID-19 9.25.20

Dear parents,

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We hope you are enjoying the onset of fall. We welcome the cooler temperatures here in the foothills of Draper, Utah.

We are happy about the number of parents who have been able to travel for local visits with their kids this month. We truly appreciate your patience and cooperation with our guidelines as we strive to balance reuniting families with minimizing risk and keeping our campus safe and healthy. As Summit and Brighton families prepare to visit in the month of October, we would like to share some information that may help guide your activities while you are here:

There are certain places where Covid-19 spreads more easily. In order to stay as heathy as possible we ask that you avoid the 3 C’s:

• CROWDED PLACES with many people nearby

• CLOSE CONTACT SETTINGS especially where people have close range conversations.

• CONFINED AND ENCLOSED SPACES with poor ventilation

**The risk is higher in places where these overlap**

If you have not set up a visit yet please contact your child’s primary therapist.

In addition to our constant prevention of Covid-19, we are also looking ahead to the approaching flu season and working on methods to avoid this virus as well. Due to the living conditions at Youth Care, we always encourage parents to have their child vaccinated against influenza. This year it is especially important to take all precautions to prevent illness. Flu shot consent forms have been sent to all families via email. We appreciate the prompt response of those who have returned those to us.  If you have not received a consent form for vaccination, please contact the medical team at medical@youthcare.com and one will be emailed to you right away.

Warm Regards,

Dr. Richard Mickelsen

Medical Director

COVID-19 9.11.20

Dear Parents,

We again express thanks for your participation in our recent Parent Days. While this event, typically accompanied by in person visitation with your children, was limited to virtual interactions we trust it was nonetheless helpful to your child's treatment and their wellbeing. However, as fall approaches we are excited about the upcoming opportunity for parents to resume off campus, in person, visits their children. In anticipation of your visits during the pandemic we would like to share some suggestions (which many of you are familiar with) from the CDC which may be helpful in your preparation and execution of your travel plans. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends following these steps to protect yourself and others when you travel:

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• Maintain a distance of 6 feet (2 meters) between you and others as much as possible.

• Avoid contact with anyone who is sick.

• Limit contact with frequently touched surfaces, such as handrails, elevator buttons and kiosks. If you must touch these surfaces, use hand sanitizer or wash your hands afterward.

• Wear a cloth face mask.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

• Cover coughs and sneezes.

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Tips to avoid getting and spreading COVID-19 in common travel situations:

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In public:

• Wear a mask in public settings.

• Stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arms’ length) from anyone who is not from your household.

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Bathrooms and rest stops:

• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after using the bathroom and after you have been in a public place.

• If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.

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Getting gas:

• Use disinfecting wipes on handles and buttons at the gas pumps before you touch them (if available).

• After fueling, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. When you get to your destination, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

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Food stops:

• ·The safest option is to bring your own food. If you don’t bring your own food, use drive-through, delivery, take-out, and curb-side pick-up options.

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Anticipate Your Travel Needs

• Bring a mask to wear in public places.

• Pack hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Keep this within reach.

• Bring enough of your medicine to last you for the entire trip.

• Pack food and water in case restaurants and stores are closed, or if drive-through, take-out, and outdoor-dining options aren’t available.

• If you are considering cleaning your travel lodgings, see CDC’s guidance on how to clean and disinfect.

In addition to maintaining Covid precautions, we are also anticipating the upcoming flu season. All parents should have received a consent form regarding the flu vaccination. If you haven’t already done so, please sign the consent form and return it as soon as possible. We will be administering the vaccine at the end of September. Any questions regarding the consent form or the flu vaccine can be answered by our nursing staff (nursing@youthcare.com).

Warm Regards,

Dr. Richard Mickelsen

Medical Director

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COVID-19 9.4.20

Dear Parents,

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We wanted to reach out to all of you to let you know about the results of our positive student COVID case.  We apologize for the delay in communication regarding these results, but we just received our results this afternoon from the Health Department.  As of today, 100% of the staff and students who were tested for COVID had negative results.  We are extremely relieved and happy for all of those that work or reside in our program.  It is a beautiful day at Youth Care.

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We have some additional exciting news to share.  We will be resuming parent visits for September and October, effective immediately.  A letter was sent out to all of you a few weeks ago with the details.  We have attached it for your review, just in case you can’t locate it.  This process will be similar to our last parent visits.  We have made some adjustments to the visiting protocols. This was done to assist our teams with the planning, preparation and implementation of each of these visits.  Please reach out to your child’s therapist as soon as you can to begin setting up a visit.
 

We know these past few weeks have been very challenging for many of you.  We appreciate your patience and support as we navigate this complex world of COVID.  Please know that we are focused on your child’s overall health and well-being. 

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As a reminder the following protocols are still in place for our campus.  We will continue to consult with our local health department agencies as well as the CDC regarding ongoing changes to operations. 

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• Daily temperature checks on staff and students

• Daily screening questions for all staff and students

• Additional cleaning of all high traffic areas

• No visitors are allowed on campus

• All staff are wearing face coverings

• Additional handwashing protocols for students

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We are happy to answer any questions you may have surrounding this situation or other COVID related issues at Youth Care. Please feel free to reach out to the medical team via the following e-mail: 

Thank you for your support.

Warm Regards,

Richard Mickelsen, M.D.

Medical Director – Youth Care

COVID-19 8.25.20

Dear Parents,

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We wanted to reach out to all of you to let you know about a situation that has surfaced on our campus.  In one of our Youth Care homes we have had a positive case of COVID emerge with one of our students.  This student was referred outside of our facility to receive medical attention unrelated to COVID. However, while at the medical facility, and as part of their protocol this student was given a rapid COVID test which was positive. This student does not have active COVID symptoms but remains at a local medical facility where they are receiving psychiatric care.

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If you have not received a call from our medical team then your child has not been directly impacted by this positive COVID case.  We believe that the exposure to this positive COVID case has likely been limited to those students and staff within the house where the affected student resides. However, as noted below, we will continue to do our daily screening for COVID-19 symptoms in students and staff and proceed with follow up or further intervention as is warranted and in collaboration with local health agencies.

We are working with the local health department to have the students in the affected home tested.  In addition, we will be testing all staff that are directly working with the students in that home.  Our local health department is guiding our response to the situation and will be managing onsite testing.  Given the incubation period, the health department has recommended testing occur this Friday, August 28th.  

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We know that this news can be very unsettling for each of you.  Our number one priority is to keep your children safe and provide a validating and supportive environment for them to heal.  We wanted to remind each of you that we have the following protocols in place to ensure we are doing all that we can to keep our campus safe.

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• Daily temperature checks on staff and students

• Daily screening questions for all staff and students

• Additional cleaning of all high traffic areas

• No visitors are allowed on campus

• All staff are wearing face coverings

• Additional handwashing protocols for students

We are happy to answer any questions you may have surrounding this situation or other COVID related issues at Youth Care. Please feel free to reach out to the medical team via the following e-mail: 

Thank you for your support.

Warm Regards,

Richard Mickelsen, M.D.

Medical Director – Youth Care

NEW MAIL GUIDELINES 4.2020

Dear Parents,

We are working on improving our system of customer service. On-line shopping and Amazon have made sending Care packages very easy and there has been an influx of packages this past year. This influx has compromised safety in our facility. 

We encourage you to send notes, letters, and cards, these are great ways for you to show your student you are thinking of them and sending them love and hope.  We have changed our policy on Care packages. Care packages may only be sent for the following: Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Easter/Passover, and Hanukkah/ Christmas. 

The following are our guidelines for Care packages:

• Birthdays – Parents may send a treat or dessert that can be shared and eaten in one sitting by student and peers.

• Holidays -- we provide treats, so when sending Care packages be mindful of the limited space. Do not send: drinks (canned or bottled) or drink mixes/packets, cereal boxes, mac and cheese, ramen, meal items, items with caffeine, protein bars, sunflower seeds, meal supplements, gum, or any perishable items. All unapproved items will immediately be discarded (eligible items will be donated to the local food bank). If the items do not fit into a gallon size zip-lock bag, your student will choose which items they would like, and the excess will be immediately discarded or donated.

Some suggested gift items are:

Journals (no spiral binding or elastic components)

Needed clothing items

Small bags of sweets/snacks

Deck of cards

Fidget toys

Stress balls (foam only; no liquid or gel centers)

Coloring/Puzzle/Activity books

Art pencils

Fun Socks or T-shirts

Please do not send:

Art supplies in metal tins

Pencils/paint brushes with metal parts

“Clicky” pens/mechanical pencils or markers

Notebooks or art drawing pads with spiral binding

Sharpeners for art supplies or makeup pencils

Makeup in glass bottles/compacts with mirrors

Perfumes/cologne (even in a plastic bottle)

Immodest clothing/clothing with drawstrings or scarves (refer to the clothing expectations in the handbook)

Blankets, beanies or anything knitted or crocheted

Yarn/rope or string bracelets

Expensive jewelry/body piercing jewelry

Any electronics

Anything with removable batteries

Caffeinated drinks/any food item in a can or glass container

*Outside of Birthday’s and outlined Holidays- Request for needed clothing items will be made by therapist to parents or guardian.  The Therapist will notify Program Director of this request to ensure the allowance of package for student. All other packages outside of Birthdays and the outlined Holidays will be sent back at sender’s expense. 

* To donate books to the Library, please contact the Academic Director Josh Vineyard. 

If using a third party to send packages (such as Amazon) please identify who the package is from (usually by selecting the gift option). To ensure our students’ safety, only packages sent by individuals on the approved contact lists will be distributed. Any packages from unapproved contacts will be returned to sender and those from unknown contacts will be discarded or sent to the parent/guardian at cost to the parent/guardian. Please identify if the package is a holiday gift so we can set it aside until then.

Please, also note that we don't receive mail deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays, or Holidays.  We are registered with the US Postal Service, Fedex, and UPS as only able to receive mail and packages Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm.  Please DO NOT PAY EXTRA for weekend or holiday delivery because your package will not be delivered until the following Monday.  If you would like to ensure your package arrives before the holiday, please plan ahead and make sure your package is scheduled to be delivered on Friday before 5:00pm. Be aware that if you use a private delivery service (like some Amazon deliveries), and they leave a package on Saturday, Sunday or a Holiday, your package may not reach its recipient, as there is no secure location for the package to be stored.

Lastly, please send all mail, letters and packages, for your student to our street address – 12595 South Minuteman Drive, Draper, UT 84020.  Do NOT send to the PO Box.

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If you have any questions, please consult the handbook or reach out to your child’s therapist or Mindy Exon, Program Director.

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Thank you for your continued support.

BestNotes Patient Portal Troubleshooting 4.2019

Dear Parents:

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The BestNotes Patient Portal has a built in security feature that causes access to the documents to expire after 2 minutes. This is so that if you are accessing patient information in a public place like a library or at work, the information will not be available to everyone should you forget to close and log off.

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When this happens, the following error message (or a similar one) will appear when you try to access the documents/pictures. 

<Error>

<Code>AccessDenied</Code>

<Message>Request has expired</Message>

<X-Amz-Expires>120</X-Amz-Expires>

<Expires>2019-03-29T22:14:02Z</Expires>

<ServerTime>2019-03-29T22:14:42Z</ServerTime>

<RequestId>73EA94B6FF1A882D</RequestId>

<HostId>

4jGG5LYMDUt5GmIqvoTzn3uvenfhx6OnzjV5smDhhf0cbJKaSyDl9Pz87FDQOoLE1/LPtZTiGmA=

</HostId>

</Error>

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If you are trying to access your files and you get this message, please return to the BestNotes Patient Portal home page (the page with your name and your child's name listed) and press the refresh button. This will allow you to see all the documents again. 

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We are also recommending to all parents that they download and save copies of each of the documents and photos to their personal computer as soon as they become available on the Patient Portal. This will ensure you always have access to the files, no matter the internet connection or any technical difficulties that may arise.