A Message From Your Executive Director
Dear Residents and Families,
This week we will continue our celebration of Nurses Week with a pizza party for the nursing staff. I am so grateful for all that they do for our residents and families.
I hope you all saw my email on Friday outlining some updated COVID-19 protocols for our residents. I’m so excited that residents are able to spend large parts of their days without masks now. What a relief. If you have any questions about any of the updated protocols please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
More new faces join The Village team this week. Today we welcomed to the first day of orientation our new Director of Health Services, Suzette Barbour, QLS Madison Safford, and Concierge Brigid Stiller. Welcome aboard to them all!
Thank you for your continued support.
Nikki
Community Connection
Last week at The Village residents enjoyed group walking, coffee & current events, an ice cream social, scenic drives, and a shopping trip to Walmart. We had a fun Kentucky Derby party complete with Mint Juleps and fancy hats, and each resident chose which horse they thought would win. Congratulations to Bill Birkmaier for choosing the winning horse, Medina Spirit!
On Cinco De Mayo we learned about the history of the holiday and how it is celebrated around the world, drank Margaritas with lunch, and even danced along to the Macarena! On Friday we celebrated National Cosmopolitan Day by serving Cosmopolitans at Happy Hour. We have increased Happy Hour to twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays at 4:30.
This week residents can look forward to group fitness and walking, daily movies and documentaries, root beer floats on the terrace, and scenic drives. Over the next few weeks, we will resume outings to museums, AVA art gallery, and restaurants in Vermont – be sure to keep an eye out for these events on the calendar and sign up with the concierge.
NOTE: As always, Skype calls are available to keep everyone connected. To schedule, please sign up at https://teamup.com/kszegtj8g4jco615xw and reach out to Sam with any questions.
Community Connection – Vaccines
Our pharmacy has resumed distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
We understand that you may have questions about this process as well as the vaccines themselves, for that reason we are sharing below the links to the CDC and Johnson & Johnson websites to help answer some of your inquiries.
Memory Care Minute
By Gretchen Cole, Director of Memory Care
Hello friends,
This past week I had the opportunity to work in the dining room with Mio! I have had many experiences over the years working in kitchens, preparing food, and serving, but there is always something new to learn.
Having the perspective of “walking in someone else’s shoes” is invaluable in any business. It helps to understand that someone may not have an easy job just because it looks that way. What are their challenges? What makes it hard? Why do they do it that way? These are all some simple questions that can help us to better understand how it takes “A Village” to ensure high quality services and care. Just because it is “not my job” does not mean that I should not understand the value of a team member and how everyone provides needed perspective and skills in their role.
As I stated earlier, May is National Older Americans Month, and the theme is Communities in Strength. I hope that more people will take the opportunity to help or even job shadow someone for a few hours in their own places of employment or volunteer. Community strength can only grow in a positive direction if we all lend a helping hand.
Have a great week everyone,
Gretchen
Family and Caregiver Support Group
The Village Caregiver Support Group
This week’s meeting has been postponed.
Please contact Gretchen Cole with any questions.
Resident Spotlight
The Kind Boys
Our very own Bill Birkmaier, Joe Ammatuna, Jon Appleton, and Anne Harris are featured in the current issue of the Vermont Standard, showcasing their kindness and generosity toward their fellow Village residents (and staff!). If you get a chance, be sure to read the article.
We’re so proud to have these outstanding people be part of our community. Way to go, Kind Boys (and Lady!)!
Talk Time
Join Nikki every Wednesday at 10:00 am via Zoom for COVID and community updates and have an opportunity to ask questions.
This Week’s Menu
This Week’s Activities
COVID-19 In Our Community
We are committed to keeping you informed of how COVID-19 is impacting The Village at White River Junction. We continue our robust commitment to following the guidelines from both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health authorities by:
- Based on our current Phase and the positivity rate in our county, the following protocols for visitation are in place:
- All visits must be scheduled ahead of time. We need to record the time you enter the community.
- Residents may have up to 4 visitors per day
- We will gather name and contact info for contact tracing for every visit.
- Visits may occur between 9am and 7pm.
- Core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention will be enforced. These include:
- Screening before each visit
- Hand hygiene
- Mask use for all visitors and staff; fully vaccinated visitors may remove their mask when in a private area with a fully vaccinated resident
- Visits can occur in the resident’s apartment or outside.
- Requiring all staff to wear surgical or procedural masks and adhere to screening processes
- Maintaining the frequency and rigor of cleaning and sanitizing all surfaces
- Reviewing our emergency preparedness and response program
- Asking residents and employees to adhere to the State of Vermont travel restrictions
- Coordinating best practices across our large partner network
- Group activities are held
Helpful Links
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html
- www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/index.html
LCS COVID-19 website
Local health department website
From the Governor
