A Message From Your Executive Director
Dear Residents and Families,
For a second month in a row, I want to comment on our new residents and how important it is for them to feel welcomed in the community, especially in the dining room, and I want to thank everyone who makes that happen! It was relayed to me recently that a resident told one of our waitstaff “This must really be working – it’s like a party in this dining room!”. Creating that atmosphere is something the leadership team has worked toward for years, and it warms my heart to see it come to fruition.
The COVID outbreak in our Memory Care neighborhood has cleared. All residents who got the virus remained relatively healthy during the outbreak and for that I am extremely grateful. Thank you for your support during a challenging time. Be on the lookout in Memory Care for a complete redesign of the former Wilder Dining Room. The space has naturally transformed into a common area and will soon be able to better function in that way. I’m excited for you to see what is next.
With the departure of Peter as Director of Culinary Services, I am so pleased to formally announce that our new director is Joelle Ash. Joelle has many years of kitchen management experience and has been a true and loyal employee for The Village and our residents for over 3 years. With her dedication and experience, as well as her strong support team in the kitchen, I am confident we will continue the high level of culinary experience that our residents know and expect. Congratulations, Joelle!
We had a big event here over the holiday weekend – our chicks hatched! Russell is working with a local farm and brought in some eggs earlier this spring. This weekend we got baby chicks! (see pics below). This has been a fun project for residents and staff alike. Check them out in the pub on the 5th floor!
Please be aware that there is always an elopement risk for residents on the 2nd floor getting on the elevator unaccompanied. It is important for residents, visitors, and staff to be vigilant and not let anyone on the elevator from the 2nd floor unless staff is aware. Thank you for your help.
Happy 4th of July (belated)!
Be well,
Nikki
Community Connection
July Events:
July 5th — AVA Gallery & Art Center
To inspire, nourish, and display the artistic spirit, AVA cultivates an openness of space and thought. By sustaining potent shows, active artist studios, and providing exciting educational programs for artists of all ages and abilities, AVA Gallery and Art Center fulfills its objective. With a focus on fostering community, AVA also organizes and supports unique events that encourage communication between artists, art lovers, and members of the general public. We prioritize environmental sustainability in all of our work, and we are conscious of how art improves our lives.
July 6th — Summer Concert Series Featuring “The Flames”
Concert in Lyman Point Park
July 7th — Tip Top Pottery Studio Trip
Join us for a fun excursion to Tip Top Pottery Studio. Tip Top Pottery is a paint-your-own-pottery workshop, where you can make a personalized piece of pottery with everything you need right at your fingertips! In no time, you’ll be creating your own masterpiece—all you need is your imagination and a desire to have fun. Everyone is a creative individual! *Extra charge
July 8th — Happy Hour – Special Music – “Guinguette Jazz”
Live music during Happy Hour!
July 11th — River Folk (Festival & Variety Show) / Northern Stage Courtyard
River Folk — Here in the Valley. Folk Festival Variety Show. Presented by Here in the Valley at Northern Stage.
July 13th — From the New Hampshire Woods – First Congregational Church
First Congo’s nine resident musicians are introduced in a lovely taster menu of mixed duos, trios, and a wind quartet, ranging from jazzy to romantic. We will begin with a world premiere written in honor of OHMF’s inaugural season by acclaimed film composer Amotz Plessner. The program takes its title from a suite for solo piano created in 1923 by composer, essayist, and critic Marion Bauer; you’ll hear the first movement of this work, “White Birches.” We’ll finish with Igor Stravinsky’s classic Suite from L’Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale) in trio form.
July 14th — Performance: Jason Tardy – High-Energy Juggling
You may have seen juggling, but you haven’t truly experienced it until you’ve seen the explosive, inventive, high-energy juggling of Jason Tardy. His show is a combination of many years of relentless practice, and virtually on social life whatsoever. His hilarious show includes innovative choreographed juggling to music, fitting his body through a tennis racket, bowling ball juggling, balancing a ladder on his face, standing on a yoga ball, and if you trust him enough; fire eating and fire breathing!
July 15th — Short Story Discussion with Dr. Ed Friedman
Discussion of three short stories
Bio: The Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of the Humanities is Edward H. Friedman. He served as the Bulletin of the Comediantes’ editor from 1999 to 2017 and has served as the Cervantes Society of America’s president in the past. He directed the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt for eleven years. Early modern Spanish literature has been the focus of his studies, with a focus on Cervantes, picaresque fiction, and the Comedia in particular.
July 21st — Lunch Outing – King Arthur Baking Company
July 28th — Quilting Class at Bugbee Senior Center (ongoing program)
The ladies and gentlemen at Bugbee Senior Center want to challenge all residents to a good experience that could change your perspective on quilting by inviting them to take part in their quilting class. Plus, you might make a new buddy for life.
July 28th — Lunch outing – Lui Lui Restaurant (West Lebanon)
Choose from a variety of menu selections at Lui Lui, an Italian-style eating establishment.
Resident Spotlight
Christine Wallace : Bingo Champ
The resident bingo champion of the Village, Christine Wallace, is the subject of this month’s resident spotlight. Christine was born in Sharon, Vermont. Before arriving at the Village, she had short stints at three separate facilities for rehab. Her 11 months at The Village is as close to home as she has been. Stanley, Christine’s husband, is overjoyed that Christine is at The Village, as it is a cozy, welcoming location that is closer than some of the other facilities.
Actually, up until the COVID outbreak, Stanley never missed a day of seeing and spending time with his wife Christine. They were a pair again as soon as he was able to enter. Christine and Stanley Wallace have been together for 67 years as of last week. They met on a Saturday night. Christine and Stanley happened to attend a square dance at a local venue where the band “Woody and the Ramblers” was performing. Stanley said that he was captivated by Christine because of her attractive brown eyes, curly hair, and freckles. As Stanley talked, Christine grinned with pure joy at Stanley’s recollection of their first meeting.
A few months later, in 1954, Christine and Stanley started dating and over the Christmas break, they became engaged. They were married in the Sharon Congregational Church (Sharon Village) on the green in June of 1955. Christine claims that she was certain Stanley was the guy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. After just fourteen months of marriage, Stanley was drafted into the active reserves in 1956. He served overseas for 18 months and domestically for the remaining time, while Christine stayed at home and worked. After Stanley returned home they began a family and never looked back. Happy Anniversary Christine & Stanley.
Memory Care Minute
In the month of June our residents on Memory Care enjoyed recurring activities such as resident-favorite, balloon toss, walking when the weather cooperates, sing-alongs, joke-telling, and daily news. We have also been entertained by live music every Wednesday in Miller Stage. We continue to go on scenic rides weekly and recently stopped for ice cream. The residents also enjoyed a lunch out at Lui Lui in West Lebanon. We ended our month by attending the Summer Concert Series in the Park sponsored by Hartford Parks & Recreation. We were entertained by music from Full House and staff brought popcorn, cookies, and drinks for residents to enjoy. We hope to do this again. In July we will be going to Billings Farm and Museum and will continue to do our scenic rides.
Kathleen March
Memory Care Director
Staff Spotlight
Recently, Joelle Ash was promoted to Director of Culinary Services, a position she has filled on an interim basis twice before. Joelle has been working for us for over 3 years and has worked under 3 different Directors of Culinary. Anytime we have been without a director in the past Joelle has stepped up to perform that role. Joelle has been in the restaurant industry for 25 years, including 8 years of kitchen management experience for Lui Lui, and serving as general manager for the Farmers Table in Grantham for 4 years. She is prepared to continue the positive culinary experience that has been established at The Village. When she is not working, Joelle enjoys spending time with horses and with her two beautiful daughters, ages 6 and 8. She is a 12th generation resident of Grantham, NH. Please help me in welcoming Joelle to her new role at The Village!
Employee of the Month – Kelsie Thibodeau
In June we recognized QLS Kelsie Thibodeau as our Employee of the Month. Kelsie was on light duty for several weeks but did not let that hold her back from learning new skills. She was a tremendous help for us filling in as concierge during the week and she did a great job being thrown into a hectic position. She proved to be calm under pressure and helpful to staff and residents alike. She also took the opportunity to get training toward being a medication technician during the time when she could not work as a QLS. Congratulations and thank you to Kelsie for her hard work and flexibility!
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
