A Message From Your Executive Director
Dear Residents and Families,
I’m happy to let you know that we are prepared for our COVID booster clinic to be held in conjunction with our pharmacy, Health Direct, tomorrow May 3rd. We’re pleased to be able to offer this level of support and safety to our residents without having to leave the community.
With recent high levels of transmission in our wider community, we have not yet authorized the dining room to be open to guests. I know how important this is to many of you and it’s important to us too. I will let you all know as soon as we can open.
Last week we welcomed our new Director of Life Enrichment, Russell Hardeman, to the team and to Vermont. Check out our Staff Spotlight below to learn more about Russell and all that he is bringing to the team, all the way from Tennessee!
I also want to draw your attention to the Resident Spotlight section below where we are highlighting our Resident Art Exhibit that is currently displayed in Crockwell Gallery on the 4th floor. Many thanks to the Life Enrichment staff for putting together this profound display and to our residents for being so willing to share.
A reminder to visitors and guests that the area in the front of the building is for short-term pick-up and drop-off only. We want to be sure that the area is clear for emergency personnel and vehicles to the best of our ability. Please do not park there for long periods of time. Thank you for your cooperation.
Be Well,
Nikki
Community Connection
Firstly, I would like to welcome our new Director of Life Enrichment, Russell Hardeman. His positivity and infectious energy are welcome additions to the The Village. He has already met many residents and will continue to meet with everyone to build our programming around what speaks to their interests and to assure that everyone has a say in what is offered here at the community.
We started the month of April off with our first annual “Resident Exhibit” which is in the Crockwell Art Gallery until May 5th. What precious and interesting entries we have received. The response has been overwhelming. I plan to make a video about this project and will share the link in the next newsletter.
Our weekly Saturday afternoon showings of Metropolitan Opera performances, Broadway musicals, and world class plays have been a big hit. In April we enjoyed the MET’s Turandot and Aida, Musicals Carmen Jones and West Side Story, and play The Little Foxes. We also enjoyed the annual Boston MFA Art in Bloom. In May we will show the play Glengary Glen Ross, Met Opera’s Eurydice, and the musical Cats.
Master Classes have been a big hit. We will wrap up April’s Inclusive Leadership with Bill Clinton and move on to Architecture with Frank Gehry.
The ongoing Rick Steve’s Europe series continues to be a big hit and a great opportunity for residents to share their own personal travel stories.
Our first High Tea was very well attended. We will plan on teas every other month. The next Tea will be in June. A big thanks to Sharon and Stacy Cook for volunteering and for Ruth and Joelle for preparing our sumptuous table of traditional Tea fare. This month we have a Kentucky Derby celebration planned which will include making bonnets for the event. Join us on the terrace on May 7th for mint julips, sweet teas, and nibbles.
The weekly movie theme (based on residents’ interest) for every day of the week appears to be meeting our residents’ interests. Genres include History, Classic B&W Movies, Comedies, Documentaries, Travel Shows, Period Films, Mysteries, Romance, Westerns/War and History. If we are missing a category, please let us know and we will add it to the mix.
We will wrap up the Our National Parks series narrated by Barack Obama this month and will pick up a new series to play.
Native son David Briggs joined us to present “White River Junction – Cycles of Community” on April 18th. It was so well received that we are working on another presentation by David for May or June.
We continue to have several live musical performances scheduled for May, some familiar and some new. Cooie, and Classical pianist Henry Danaher entertained us in April.
It has been my pleasure overseeing Life Enrichment while we waited for Russell’s arrival. Thank you all for your input, support, and love.
Carol
Virtual – Food for Your Soul: Reading Poetry Together Fridays 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm |
| Register Here |
This is a virtual event. If you have questions about how to connect to the event, please contact the event host. Leader: Lori Fortini. See all of their virtual events here. Poems offer ways to look at our world that are relevant for our time and give rise to deep thoughts and feelings. Join us as we read poems together. We will share and discuss our responses to the poems to feed our souls. You will receive a zoom link for this class 60 minutes before the class starts. The zoom link will be sent directly to the email you registered with. |
Resident Spotlight
Resident Exhibit – Crockwell Gallery
During the month of April, and continuing into May, we have been honored to have the opportunity to display our Resident Exhibit in Crockwell Gallery. Through their incredible generosity, our residents have allowed us to display some prized possessions and pieces of art, some purchased, some created by a resident.
The exhibit includes everything from original paintings to quilts and handmade furniture and bowls. We have lamps on display as well as awards of achievement received by residents and pieces of writing. There is even a giant giraffe.
The display is very moving and such a testament to the talent and generosity of our residents. The Village is a great community of people and this exhibit is a wonderful opportunity to show that.
Thank you to our life enrichment staff who worked diligently to gather the items as well as the stories associated with them.
Memory Care Minute
The Month of April on Memory Care was a fun one. We are implementing some new activities. The residents are enjoying visits from our “resident dog”, Buddy. Residents look forward to giving him treats and a scratch whenever he visits. We have also enjoyed attending live musical entertainment on Wednesdays and twice weekly scenic drives. An outing to 99 Restaurant for lunch this month was well-received as well. Our gardening has not gone as well this past month as the weather has been rainy and cool, but we plan to start planting flowers on Gates Garden in May.
In the month of May we are going to continue to add different activities such as a walking club twice a week as well as a mens’ group and a ladies’ group. We are hoping for nicer weather in May so we can do some outside outings too. This week we will celebrate Cinco de Mayo on Thursday and Mother’s Day throughout the weekend. Bring on the warmer weather!
Staff Spotlight
We are thrilled to welcome to The Village, new Director of Life Enrichment, Russell Hardeman. Russell comes to Vermont from Tennessee where he was born and raised. After working for many years as Director of Life Enrichment at communities in the Memphis and Nashville areas, he decided it was time for a change in his life and came to Vermont. Among his many interests and pursuits, Russell is most proud of his role as First Tenor in the Memphis Symphony Orchestra Chorale. He also sings jazz, classical, and gospel and on day one at The Village had several residents singing showtunes during lunch. He is an honor student in his Masters’ program for Public Administration. He has been working
in Life Enrichment for 10 years and is excited to bring his knowledge and skills to the residents of The Village. Please help me in welcoming Russell to The Village!
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.
- Currently we do not allow guests to eat in the dining rooms.
- 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; It is currently recommended that fully vaccinated visitors keep their mask on when in a private area, even with a fully vaccinated resident.
- 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
