A Message From Your Executive Director
Dear Residents and Families,
I am pleased to welcome several new residents to The Village. We recently saw the arrival of Lyman, Mike, Syd & Carolyn, and Marilyn. Soon you will meet Catherine and MaryAlice as well as other in September. Please help us welcome them to our community.
As you already know, our Director of Culinary Services, Adam Coulter, will be leaving us this week. I would like to thank Adam for his hard work, long hours, and great food over the past 2 years and I wish him the very best in the future. I have hired a new Director of Culinary Services who will begin work with us shortly after Labor Day. I’m excited to tell you more about him over the next several weeks and to create opportunities for you to meet him in September. Watch here for more information.
During the time between when Adam leaves and Peter starts I ask for your flexibility and patience with our dining services. We are hiring staff as quickly as we can but things will be tight for a couple of weeks. Watch for postings about a couple of nights where we will have takeout from local restaurants, as well as a couple of meals with boxed lunch delivery. We will continue to provide you with 3 meals daily but the format may look a little different here and there. Thank you for your understanding as we build the culinary department back up.
As of today we are not making any changes to our COVID-19 protocol but we are watching the positivity rates closely and meeting regularly with state agencies as well as our corporate partners to monitor the situation with the COVID variants. Should any changes need to be made I will communicate them right away.
Be sure to check out the photos below to see how our residents have been enjoying the summer and follow us on Facebook for more updates.
Thank you for your continued support and enjoy the summer weather.
Nikki
Community Connection
Over the past two weeks at The Village residents have enjoyed daily fitness sessions in Latham Gym including Spine Health & Somatics with Occupational Therapist Kate Gamble from Open Door Integrative Wellness, coffee & conversation socials in Edson Bistro, daily movies and documentaries, lunch discussion groups, live music with Jes & Jakob, culinary demos in Smith & Son’s Kitchen, and walks around downtown White River Junction. Outings included Walgreens Pharmacy, Calvin Coolidge Historic Site for a picnic lunch, Billings Farm & Museum, lunch at Koto Japanese Steakhouse, and resident Patsy Highberg’s garden in Woodstock, VT. Be sure to check out the photos below!
Coming up residents can look forward to continued fitness classes with Open Door Integrative Wellness and chair yoga with Swan Drsti, Happy Hour in Teddy’s Pub, trivia, scrabble group, wine tasting, a breakfast Waffle Bar in Windsor Dining Room to celebrate National Waffle Day, and live music in Miller Stage on Wednesday, August 18th with our very own QLS Angie Hunt, accompanied by Ethan Lawrence! Angie attended Johnson State College where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree. Her degree focused on vocal jazz and contemporary performance. She enjoys singing with her friend Ethan Lawrence, an exceptionally talented guitarist from the Upper Valley. He has booked solo gigs at local venues as well as played with his band Jack in the Pulpit.
Outings will include bowling at Meyer Maple Lanes, the Hood Museum of Art, Weathervane Seafood Restaurant for lunch, and shopping at the Co-op Food Store!
On Saturday, August 21st Northern Stage has welcomed residents of The Village to attend their current show, Million Dollar Quartet – the musical that drops you into December 4, 1956, when icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins gathered for the first and only time at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest jam sessions ever. Million Dollar Quartet brings the legendary night to life, featuring a score of rock hits including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” and “Hound Dog.” Million Dollar Quartet features a cast of multi-talented actor-musicians for a musical event audiences won’t soon forget. If you are interested in attending, there are a few tickets left! Please sign up with the concierge as soon as possible. There is an additional $40 per person charge for this event.
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 encourage all residents, staff, and visitors to get vaccinated against COVID-19. If you have questions about the vaccines these links may be helpful to you. CDC and Johnson & Johnson.
Family and Caregiver Support Group
The Village Caregiver Support Group
Our support group meetings will be on Tuesdays in the Smith and Sons Kitchen. (2:00PM-3:00PM) We will meet person.
Please contact Gretchen Cole with any questions.
Team Member Spotlight
Krystle Liskowacki – Quality of Life Specialist
Krystle joined The Village recently as a Quality of Life Specialist and has proven to be a very valued employee. She always has a positive attitude and is willing to go above and beyond to help our residents and her coworkers. We are so happy to have her on the team. Welcome aboard, Krystle!
Talk Time
Join Nikki every other Wednesday at 10:00 am.via Zoom for COVID and community updates and have an opportunity to ask questions. The Zoom calls will occur the same week as the newsletter is published. We will have a call this week, August 18th. I look forward to seeing you virtually!
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:
- We will gather name and contact info for contact tracing for every visit.
- Visits may occur between 8am and 7pm.
- Vaccinated guests may eat in the dining room at a table with only the resident they are visiting.
- 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
- 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
