A Message From Your Executive Director
Dear Residents and Families,
Thank you to all of you who have so generously donated to our employee appreciation fund this holiday season. We are using those funds to put together and distribute to all staff the fixings for a turkey dinner, plus other goodies, in a basket. This is an annual tradition that we look forward to each year. If you have not yet donated and would still like to contribute, we would welcome your donations. Please direct all donations or questions to me (a check made out to The Village and given to me is the best way to donate).
In the spirit of giving back, Samantha Tracey, Business Office Manager, is working with residents to participate in a community service project monthly. In November residents used Smith & Sons Kitchen to make lasagna which was then donated to The Haven homeless shelter for a meal. In December, we have committed to sponsoring a local senior for Christmas through the Listen Center. Her name is Lois and she is 77 years old. Between residents, staff, and families we hope to fulfill all of her needs/wishes from her list. If you would like to participate you may bring donations to The Village to the attention of Samantha. Items must be new and unwrapped. Please ask the store for a gift receipt. Items must be turned in to Sam by December 11th. If you would like to participate but not shop, we would welcome monetary donations and we will shop with residents.
Here is the wish list:
- Crossword puzzles
- Sudoku puzzles
- Women’s small winter gloves
- Women’s medium sweatshirts
- Women’s medium winter jacket
- Winter socks
- Any other nice items you can think of for a senior
Christmas is approaching and so is our need to know which residents won’t be here for our midday Christmas dinner. In order for us to appropriately plan food and staffing, please let the concierge know if you will be enjoying Christmas dinner here at The Village (served at 12:30pm) or if you will be out of the building that day. Thank you for your help with this. A reminder that on major holidays we serve the main meal at 12:30pm and then offer a boxed meal for the evening meal. This allows for our culinary staff to spend part of the day with their families.
The Vermont Department of Health has asked us to share some information from the CDC about Antibiotics Awareness. This valuable and important information can be found here.
We have spent that past week decorating The Village for the upcoming holidays. I hope families get a chance to see the building while it’s decorated. I love this time of year! Residents are welcome to decorate their own apartments and entryways of course but please be aware that per the Hartford Fire Department, the only live tree or wreath we are allowed to have in the building is the tree in the lobby. Residents shall not have real trees or wreaths as décor as they are considered fire hazards. Please see Director of Plant Operations Geoffrey Tuller if you have any questions.
Last week our bus sustained some damage during an unfortunate meeting with a guardrail. No people were injured but we are currently operating with a rental vehicle while we await appraisals and repair dates. We ask for your patience while we work through this. We will still be able to get residents to their appointments but are likely to have fewer group outings for a little while. Please reach out with any questions.
Have a very happy and safe holiday season!
Be well,
Nikki
Community Updates & Activities from Russell Hardeman
December Events 2022
Senior Exercise Class w/ Russell (3x a week) – 12/2/22
Participants should exercise for 40 minutes finish Side Raise + Low Kick / Seated Twisting in 50 minutes (starting with 7 to 10 minutes of stretching). Punches from side to side while seated and extending your legs Seated arm crosses, side steps, seesaw rows, etc. light to moderate stretching both before and after.
Holiday Open House – 12/4/22
The Village opened to the public for our Open House! You are invited to participate if you choose. There will be live music, a baking demo in Smith & Son’s Kitchen, libations, and community tours.
Lunch Outing – Jesse’s Steak and Seafood – 12/8/22
Short Stories with Joan & Dianne – 12/7/22
When compared to novels, short stories frequently go unnoticed as an art form, but these unique literary creations merit great friends and examination of wonderful short stories…, Short tales offer readers all the engrossing characters, dramatic action, and poetic language of great fiction. So, what is the formula for such powerful, expertly crafted gems? For this club, once a month, Joan and Dianne will distribute two short stories for members to read.
Ukrainian Christmas Celebration at the La Salette Festival of Light – 12/11/22
Ukraine and its people continue to suffer as we approach almost 9 months from the invasion of their land by Russia. With American Thanksgiving and the holiday season of Hannukah and Christmas approaching we need to continue to remember and to celebrate the people and culture. The Ukrainian dinner will offer an assortment of Ukrainian food; kutia, borshch, varenyky and more. All representing part of the 12 course traditional Christmas eve traditions of Ukraine. Come eat, celebrate, learn, and enjoy caroling with the Christmas lights of La Salette in Enfield, NH.
Christmas Lights at the Joseph Smith Birthplace in South Royalton – 12/14/22
A bus ride to see the lights (tentative)
Dolly (Holiday Cooking Demo) – 12/15/22
Dolly’s coming back with a great cooking demo for all for the holidays
Upper Valley Music Center Messiah Sing— 12/18/22
Organized by UVMC, this annual performance of G. F. Handel’s beloved oratorio features student soloists and a chamber orchestra. All are welcome to join the chorus (scores available!) or just listen. The fee is $15 for choral/orchestral participants; the suggested $10 donation is for the audience. More at uvmusic.org/event/messiah-sing
Bugbee Holiday Craft Fair 12/9- 12/10/22
Bugbee’s annual Craft Fair attracts a loyal, dedicated following, and the fair will showcase the beautiful work being done by local makers. This free event also includes a café with food and refreshments. It’s one of our most popular traditions with a lot of foot traffic. A much beloved event at a much beloved community center. Put it on your calendars and shop local this year.
OUTING – Lui Lui 12/29/22 11:30am
Resident Spotlight
David Dowds
David was born in Urbana, Ohio to father Dalton, a County Agriculture Agent and owner of Dowds Agricultural Services, and mother Helen, a housewife.
David is an Army veteran who served his country from 1960-62. While stationed in Fort Knox, KY, he received recognition as soldier of the month.
As a child David’s mother would sit with him at the radio on Saturday nights and listen to classical music, primarily opera. These Saturday night gatherings began his life-long passion for opera.
During his high school years David worked for the Checker Movie Theaters as a Magician. He performed in various theaters in Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia.
David attended Ohio state and received his MBA. He initially worked for Standard Oil then moved to the furniture business, owning his own furniture company, McKinney Furniture, up to his retirement.
David met the love of his life, Sarah, at church where their parents were friends and they were married in 1962.
David and Sarah have two daughters, Pat and Eva, and two grandchildren Isabel and Charlotte.
During their years together, David and Sarah traveled extensively through the to destinations such as Africa, China, Mexico, Turkey, Galapagos Islands, Peru, Bali, Western Europe, and Russia. When travelling they enjoyed immersing themselves with the local community which enriched their experiences.
David and his family are members of the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College where David served as a Deacon.
David’s passion for the arts, most importantly Opera, continued to evolve while he lived in New York City from 1962-68. Upon returning to Ohio, he founded Opera Columbus with a group of other likeminded supporters.
David loves NPR, bridge, and Happy Hour.
Staff Spotlight
Jeremy Perkins and Ruth Turner – Cooks – Employees of the Month
Our November Employees of the Month are our fantastic cooks, Jeremy and Ruth. We simply couldn’t pick one over the other for this honor. We have been understaffed with cooks for over a year now as we navigate this new world of labor that we now live in. During that time Joelle and her team have developed a trust and a family-like atmosphere that has them helping, guiding, supporting, and humoring each other. The team in that kitchen is truly astounding. We honored Jeremy for his dedication to The Village, his amazing cooking skills, and his fabulous plating. Ruth was honored for her creativity and her engagement with residents and activities in the community. To say we couldn’t be successful without them is an understatement and we are so grateful to have them as part of The Village. Congratulations to them both!
Memory Care Minute
Memory Care had an awesome November. Residents were amazed at how different our scenic rides were as the leaves were changing, making room for winter. With this change we were able to see more of the scenery than usual. Our memory Care residents enjoyed being entertained by Jim Hollis as well as Cooie and Mark Harding. Mark and one of our new residents, who plays the harmonica, preformed a song together. It was awesome to see and hear.
We have been working on making Christmas Cards and decorating canvas bags. Residents had a great time at Thanksgiving. A big shout-out to our kitchen for providing an awesome Thanksgiving meal and to our staff who made Thanksgiving a special time. We have decorated for Christmas and are looking forward to doing holiday crafts and baking as well as celebrating Christmas with gifts and music.
Memory care has started doing walks through different cities such as Philadelphia and a town in Colorado. We use an interactive video that walks the viewer through a city, teaching about the city and showing the sights. There are fun facts and light exercise involved with this series. We are looking forward to doing more of these videos in December as well as introducing some new exercises.
Kathleen March
Memory Care Director
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:
- Currently we do not allow guests to eat in the dining rooms.
- Core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention will be enforced. These include:
- 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
