Covid-19 Updates

Due to Covid-19 we've had to adapt all programming accordingly and continue to respond to changing safety guidelines while providing the year-round immersion that is at the core of our mission. In a rural community where youth live far away from each other and our organization, the biggest barrier we face in providing our programming are the barriers faced by the youth themselves.

Our Outdoor Mentorship Program is an opportunity for caring adults in our community to support youth in getting outside while building a long-term supportive relationship. If you are able to donate in these times please consider donating to our Access Fund for the direct relief of families of the youth we serve. Your donation will be cash on hand for families who don’t have health insurance, or safety nets, or who have lost employment. Sadly, this is the picture for the majority of the families of our youth. CultureSeed can’t adequately support youth if their families are in distress—this had been a strategy before the pandemic, but is now a widening of our mission that is here to stay. 

CultureSeed Covid-19 Policy (updated May 2022)

COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheets for Recipients and Caregivers

Prevention:

Questions asked before and at the beginning of CultureSeed gatherings:

  1. Exposure: Have you, or anyone in your household, come in close contact (within six feet) for a prolonged period of time (15 minutes or more) with someone who has a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis? 

  2. Are you or any member of your household currently under self-quarantine or self-isolation orders by your healthcare provider or a public health official?

  3. Symptoms. Are you currently experiencing: 

  4. Fever (temperature of 100.4°F or greater) or chills

  5. Cough 

  6. Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing 

  7. Fatigue 

  8. Muscle or body aches 

  9. Headache 

  10. Loss of taste or smell 

  11. Sore throat 

  12. Congestion or runny nose 

  13. Nausea or vomiting 

  14. Diarrhea 

  15. Thermometer - no touch (ask questions while taking temp)

  16. Mandatory - Maintaining minimum six-foot separation

  17. Reminder - all participants should wear masks during gatherings (outing & peer groups)

If they would like, staff and attendees can wear well-fitting masks that fit completely over their nose and mouth.

Outdoor gathering protocols

  • Masks are optional if you are closer than 6ft apart.

  • Masks are not required if further than 6ft apart.

Indoor gathering protocols: Masks are optional based on comfortability.

Driving Youth Protocols

If a traveler requires the assistance of a driver (e.g., family member), precautions should be in place to protect the driver. The driver should be informed of the potential exposure risk and provided with information about preventing transmission of COVID-19.

  • Driver and passenger(s) should discuss the comfortability surrounding masks during the transport.

  • Drivers should avoid using the recirculated air option for the car’s ventilation during passenger transport; use the car’s vents to bring in fresh outside air and/or lower the vehicle windows.

  • Driver and TWO passenger(s) should sit in the back seats of the vehicle; open middle seat between them, and vehicle windows down in this scenario.

  • Hand sanitizer containing at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol should be available. Driver and passenger should practice good hand hygiene.

Additional steps you can take to keep yourself and other around you safe from COVID-19 include:

  • Frequently washing your hands with soap and water, especially before eating, after using the bathroom and upon returning home

  • Covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze and then wash your hands

  • Avoiding touching your eyes, face and mouth

  • Using a mask in indoor public spaces

Contact Tracing Specific Policy & Process

If someone is ill:

  • A person who is exposed to COVID, or otherwise sick, will be advised that even if you test negative for COVID-19 or are feel healthy, CDC recommendations are you should stay home (quarantine) for as long as you have symptoms—typically 2 to 14 days. Participants can return to programming once they are no longer sick.

  • CultureSeed internal guidelines: youth and staff self-quarantine from CultureSeed points of contact and/or avoid any indoor contact for 7 days, or until symptoms subside. 

If there is a positive test:

  • Contact Tracing slows the spread of COVID-19: Points of contact within the organization are alerted to positive test and unvaccinated people are advised to self-quarantine, contact their healthcare provider and self-monitor for symptoms.

    • What counts as close contact?

      • You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more

      • You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19

      • You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them)

      • You shared eating or drinking utensils

      • They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you

  • CDC May 2022 guidelines for vaccinated people: If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.

  • Although the risk that fully vaccinated people could become infected with COVID-19 is low, any fully vaccinated person who experiences symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should isolate themselves from others, be clinically evaluated for COVID-19, and tested for SARS-CoV-2 if indicated. The symptomatic fully vaccinated person should inform their healthcare provider of their vaccination status at the time of presentation to care.

Options to reduce quarantine:

Reducing the length of quarantine may make it easier for people to quarantine by reducing the time they cannot work. A shorter quarantine period also can lessen stress on the public health system, especially when new infections are rapidly rising.

Your local public health authorities make the final decisions about how long quarantine should last, based on local conditions and needs. Follow the recommendations of your local public health department if you need to quarantine. Options they will consider include stopping quarantine

  • After day 10 without testing

  • After day 7 after receiving a negative test result (test must occur on day 5 or later)

After stopping quarantine, you should

  • Watch for symptoms until 14 days after exposure.

  • If you have symptoms, immediately self-isolate and contact your local public health authority or healthcare provider.

  • Wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet from others, wash your hands, avoid crowds, and take other steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

CDC continues to endorse quarantine for 10 days and recognizes that any quarantine shorter than 10 days balances reduced burden against a small possibility of spreading the virus. CDC will continue to evaluate new information and update recommendations as needed. See Options to Reduce Quarantine for Contacts of Persons with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Using Symptom Monitoring and Diagnostic Testing for guidance on options to reduce quarantine.

CultureSeed’s Covid-19 approach is aligned with the Washington Department of Health Covid-19 behavioral health recommendations: 

  • Focus on developing social CONNECTIONS big or small

  • Reorienting and developing a sense of PURPOSE

  • Becoming adaptive and psychologically FLEXIBLE

  • Focusing on HOPE

Do you have a RESILIENCY PLAN to get through this and other tough times?

Let’s try some PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID:

SAFETY

  1. Protect yourself from misinformation and fearful stories: Have a “Corona Free Zone”

  2. Plan moments to be present: See if you are ok right now (try it while brushing your teeth)

  3. It’s ok to take time to take care of only yourself and your family 

  4. Protect yourself from the virus

CALM

  1. Be active: shower, exercise, go outside

  2. Sleep: It’s restorative, boosts our immune system and processes stress

  3. Breathe: It only takes 2 minutes of paying attention to your breath to feel better

  4. Turn off electronics, or at least notifications and just check phone on a schedule

CONNECT

  1. Schedule connection: create a text group with friends, join a virtual call

  2. Get old school!: write a letter, make art for your neighbors etc

  3. Plan check-in’s: with a small group of people who care about you

TAKE ACTION/HAVE HOPE

  1. Make a plan: for a project you can do at home, for a meal you want to cook etc

  2. Help others: Play a game with someone you know needs a distraction, share and inspiration

  3. Plant a seed: watch it grow

  4. Practice gratitude: journal, last thing you think about before you fall asleep

From NOLS Wilderness Medicine
Laura McGladrey, PMHNP, FNP, MSN, FAWM