President Bryan Slaba was back from a work vacation and rang the bell to bring our Wagner Rotary members to order. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance and Pastor Bill Herrmann offered up a prayer of blessing for the food which gives us nourishment to go about serving our Wagner community as Rotarians.

Rotarian Ken Cotton drew the lucky ticket from the can and got awfully close to winning the Queen of Hearts. He drew the King of Hearts. There are only about a handful of cards left in the deck. Someone is going to get incredibly lucky soon.

Rotarian Ken then went to the podium for the Membership Minute: The Object of Rotary-- In some areas of the world weekly Rotary club meetings begin with all members standing and reciting the Object of Rotary. This statement, which comes from the Constitution of Rotary, is frequently seen on a wall plaque in the place of business or in a Rotarians office.

The Object of Rotary is “to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise.” The statement then lists four areas by which this Ideal of service is fostered: through the development of acquaintance as the opportunity for service, the promotion of high ethical standards in business and professions; through service in one’s personal, business and community life; and the advancement of international understanding good-will and peace.

The “ideal of service” is the key phrase in the Object of Rotary. This ideal is an attitude of being a thoughtful and helpful person in all of one’s endeavors. That is what the Object truly means.

Business matters were approached with President Bryan announcing that Rotarian Craig Krsnak will be assuming the duties of Secretary/Treasurer by the next meeting. Rachel Woods contacted the Wagner Speedway Association and obtained information on Rotarians selling 50/50 tickets at the races in the upcoming season. Scott McAdaragh also informed the group that we would be selling brats at his business location on June 25th from 10:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Save the date!

Dr. Michaela Koenig was the program chairman of the meeting and in her absence, Craig Krsnak introduced our two guests who were Whitney Podzimek and Kelsey Schochenmaier from the Wagner Good Samaritan Home. Whitney is the CEO at WGS and proceeded to give us some facts on how our nursing home in Wagner dealt with the Covid epidemic this past year and a half. She stated she will never forget some of these dates. Last year on March 10th the home closed their doors because of an influenza case even before Covid had arrived in Wagner. They had their first scare on March 21 and 22. Thus began their planning with the Wagner Community Memorial Hospital and other institutions and the particularly important CMS which is Center for Medicare/ Medicaid Services. The Center for Disease Control also played an important part in all the regulations that were passed down to WGS. They managed the first scare and quickly put in place measurers to be sure that all residents were doing social distancing at mealtimes etc. The summer months were quieter which is typical of most summers. All nursing homes are subject to an abundance of regulations and if a deficiency is found there is a fine. Whitney was happy to report that the WGS has never received a deficiency. There are other institutions that have received heavy fines in the State of SD, and it is exceedingly difficult for a nursing home to pay those fines when they are all operating on a very thin margin.

By August, the regulations became tighter. The staff worked together to provide a visitor’s wall that allowed residents to see their loved ones. The need was always there to provide for residents to see family without endangering any one’s rights. They also started testing all staff and workers from the outside twice a week instead of the previous once a week from October on.

They developed “zones of color” to always be able to identify how care should be administered according to the severity of their illness. In November, the pace quickened at the home just as it did in Wagner and the nation. Numbers began to go up and they brought in extra caregivers to help. There was an outbreak of 30 positives and by contacting the WCMH and cooperating with a new treatment called “Bam” they were able to treat everyone. The staff at both institutions worked around the clock and in bad weather to ensure that everyone was treated and recovered. Everyone has different levels of infection, but they estimated that they saved at least 14 to 15 people who might have had a different outcome.

The normal mortality rate for a Covid infection in a nursing home is about 50%. The WGS has only lost 2 residents and compared to surrounding nursing homes that is exceptional. Almost all residents have been vaccinated for the first time and some for the second time.

The latest regulations they have received were about visitations. It is allowed with some restrictions such as wearing a mask. Always call and make an appointment before trying to visit. The staff are all looking forward to a break from all regulations.

Admission to the nursing home is down also. They were not allowed to admit new patients since last year in March. Normal occupancy is 55 to 58 and a maximum of 60 residents. They are now at 38. Some residents passed away due to old age and other diseases.

Wagner can be proud of our nursing home and the staff. Be sure to give them a thank you and a smile and keep all in your prayers. The meeting was adjourned with a recitation of our 4-Way Test.

Sergeant at Arms Becky Brunsing levied the following fines:

• $2 each to Jeff Doom for his wife delivering the meals and some flowers; to Jerry Henke for getting flowers to surprise his wife Kathe, to Linda Soukup for forgetting her phone outside at home; and to Rotarians Ken Cotton, Joe Stedronsky, Roger Wiltz, Jerry Weber, Jamie Soukup, Scott McAdaragh, Kathe Henke and Bryan Slaba for not appearing for the Community Cleanup over the past weekend. A $2 fine was also given to Bill Frei who sent his daughter to take his place cleaning up the Rotary Mile ditches east of Wagner and to Francis Doom for taking up more than one parking space outside the building

Happy Fines were offered by

• Francis Doom, $2 for those picking up the ditch garbage

• $5 from Becky Brunsing for having their last child graduating from high school

• $8.00 from Roger Wiltz for catching an 8-foot Marlin and having the thrill of a lifetime reeling it in

• $7 from Jerry Henke in thankfulness for his wife Kathe coming back to him from a vacation