A Message From Your Executive Director
Dear Residents and Families,
Happy National Assisted Living Week! All week we will host special events for our residents and staff to celebrate Community, Caring, and Compassion. It is a special community that has been created here and I thank you all for being part of it.
In case you did not see my email on Thursday, all of our COVID tests from last week came back negative. I truly appreciate the diligence of our staff, residents, and families that allows us to minimize the effects whenever a case does pop up.
Do you know anyone looking for a fun and engaging job? We are searching for a couple of people to serve in our Assisted Living dining room. The job offers reasonable hours and a bunch of great people to serve!
Next Friday, 9/24, we will throw an employee appreciation celebration in the parking garage. Our staff have been working so hard and I look forward to honoring them. Please note that the back section of the parking garage will be closed to vehicles that day.
Interested in continuing education? Check out all the offerings from Osher at Dartmouth here.
Thank you for your continued support and enjoy the waning summer weather.
Nikki
Community Connection
Greetings everyone!
I hope you have all enjoyed the summer days and are ready to venture into autumn with us here at The Village.
The Life Enrichment team has taken resident feedback on programs from our resident/family survey and resident council meetings. We appreciate everyone’s suggestions! Our programming in September includes some interesting new ideas, while maintaining our most popular events. Katie and Jenn are active throughout the community with Katie spending more time on Memory Care and Jenn focused on Assisted Living. We still have more new ideas to introduce!
Good times are coming with our new book group, community-wide events, evening dance, bridge group, our new resident meet and greet, and the introduction of speed friending.
Change is not always easy. Thank you for your patience as the 3 of us have been learning a new computer system and software. We are getting better at the daily schedules, providing more descriptions, and communicating upcoming events. We are doing more in Caremerge and hope that our families are enjoying the increased attendance tracking.
The Village family and caregiver support group are now part of the Vermont Alzheimer’s Association. We now meet the 4th Tuesday of the month in Smith and Sons Kitchen. Our group is open to community members as well as Village residents and families. We are meeting in person but will change to a Zoom format if Covid forces changes to our visitation during the winter months.
Resident Reminders!
Assisted Living residents have in-house mail cubbies. Your cubby is in the resident mailroom, past the mailboxes, on the left-hand side. This cubby is used for in-house reminders, special events, and updates. Please check it regularly so you don’t miss out on some great things happening at The Village.
Residents are reminded that the Resident Council meets every other Friday at 10:00AM in Miller Stage. There is a suggestion box for your ideas and topics that you want to discuss across from the resident cubbies. Our next meeting is scheduled for September 17, 2021.
Bus Trip Sign Up Process
After evaluating the bus trips and getting feedback from residents and staff, I have decided to change the sign-up process. Many times, residents wait until the day of the trip to sign up. This process does not enable our team to make reservations, request special accommodations, make sure medication is adjusted, etc.
The Bus trips will now be posted on the community bulletin board near the in-house resident mail cubbies starting the week of September 19th. The trips are first come, first serve and we will be reserving space for our residents who reside in memory care on specific trips. We will continue with having destination trips (such as to restaurants, shopping, museums, etc.) and we will increase our scenic drives.
Our goal is to have as many Village residents enjoy the bus trips as possible. If you need special help signing up for a trip, please contact one of the Life Enrichment staff. We will be happy to assist you!
My very best to all of you for a wonderful week.
Gretchen Cole Memory Care/Life Enrichment Director
Community Connection – Vaccines
We recently announced to our staff that vaccines will be mandated for all staff by October 16, 2021. We believe this will go a long way to keeping us all safe this fall and winter.
We are watching for guidance from the state and logistical information from our pharmacy about the possibility of providing booster doses of the vaccine to our staff this fall. As soon as we know more, we will communicate that to all.
CDC Frequently Asked Questions
Family and Caregiver Support Group
The Village Caregiver Support Group
Our support group meetings will be the 4th Tuesday of each month in the Smith and Sons Kitchen. (2:00PM-3:00PM)
Please contact Gretchen Cole with any questions.
Team Member Spotlight
Shanya Spaulding – Quality of Life Specialist/Med Tech
Shanya joined The Village in the spring and quickly became an invaluable part of the QLS team. Over the summer she did the training to become a med tech and now fills that role as well as being promoted to Lead QLS. We appreciate Shanya’s dedication, hard work, and leadership within her team. When she is not at work Shanya enjoys reading and baking. Thank you for all that you do, Shanya!
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, September 15th. 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 8pm.
- 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
