Live Update to Residents-February 23, 2021
Today’s Live Update on our in-house TV970 covered the latest news at Westminster Canterbury Richmond. It featured John Burns, President and CEO; Debra Jacobsen, Administrator Residential Living; Jessica Corbitt, Manager Cultural Arts; and Logan Augustine, Chaplain. The next Live Update will be Thursday, February 25.
The following updates were shared.
John Burns
COVID-19 Updates
Positivity rates around the region are dropping. Thankfully, the new rate for Henrico is 9%, which means that testing for Mary Morton Parsons Health Center employees will go from twice weekly to once weekly. This is a big help to our Parsons Health Center team!
Since the beginning of February, a total of five Independent Living residents in the Tower have tested positive for COVID-19. We learned of three new cases over the weekend. Unfortunately, two have symptoms that are serious enough that they moved to our COVID-19 positive unit. One Tower resident has since recovered. Currently, a total of four residents are in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.
Several other residents are in quarantine due to exposure to these positive cases. Everyone who may have been exposed has been contacted. Some of the residents in quarantine due to exposure were exposed at a small gathering in a friend’s apartment. This type of gathering continues to be discouraged.
Thank you to our Housekeeping team who has been thoroughly disinfecting public areas on an ongoing basis. They have also completed special cleaning and sanitization in the Tower.
Last Thursday, we learned that a Housekeeping employee tested positive for COVID-19. Thankfully, some of our employees have recovered and returned to work. A total of two employees remain out recovering in quarantine.
It is very important that we continue to follow the guidelines that help us with COVID-19 infection prevention. We are grateful that most of our community has been vaccinated but that does not mean that we will not continue to see cases of COVID-19.
Even if you have been vaccinated, please continue to follow these principles. Always wear a mask when around others. Wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. Maintain social distancing of at least six feet. Stay home if you do not feel well and contact your physician. Avoid crowds. Follow quarantine guidance after exposure to someone with COVID-19. We work closely with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) every time we have a case or exposure to determine the quarantine guidance specific to your situation. Maintaining our safe protocols and responsible behaviors is critical as we strive to reopen and restart programs and services.
Vaccination Updates
This week marks our last vaccination clinics in partnership with CVS Health through the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program. Independent Living residents and employees will receive second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday and Thursday.
VDH has a new program that will link us with a provider pharmacy that will provide future vaccination for new residents and employees.
Bank
We have not been able to get a commitment from BB&T about when or if they will be returning to our onsite bank location. We are working behind the scenes with BB&T or other potential bank partners but to date, we have had no success in confirming when our onsite bank may reopen.
Upcoming Project Updates
In the coming weeks, we will begin sharing planning details related to the Promenade Dining Room project and the expansion project which we call Vibrancy! Both projects are in the design and pricing phases.
Debra Jacobsen
Independent Living Vaccination
Independent Living residents received a memo today with the schedule for the Independent Living vaccination clinics scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The schedule has been slightly adjusted since our last vaccination clinics. Vaccination will begin around 10 a.m. Some residents are asked to come early so we are ready to begin on time.
At your scheduled time, please make your way to the Sara Belle November Theater. A staff member will hand you your completed paperwork. You will be asked to take a seat in the theater until your name is called. You will then be directed to the CVS registration table in Foundation Hall and will make your way to the Cochrane Commons to receive your vaccination. After you receive your vaccine, please wait for 15 minutes under a nurse’s observation. The nurse will notify you when your 15 minutes is over. Please plan to dress comfortably.
If you have an essential appointment and cannot attend the vaccination clinic at your scheduled time, please attend on the day your schedule allows. Thank you for your patience as we navigate through this process.
Transportation
The Transportation team works diligently to keep residents safe when traveling to the grocery store. No more than eight residents are permitted on the bus at a time to allow for social distancing. The bus is cleaned as soon as the trip is over. Please remember to wear your mask at all times on the bus, ensuring that it covers your nose and mouth.
Jessica Corbitt
DVD Online Database
Westminster Canterbury has an extensive DVD library of more than 1,300 DVDs available for residents to check out. The DVD library is located inside the McGue-Millhiser Arts Studio. It is stocked with newly released films, art and travel documentaries and many classics. We recently created an online database for the DVDs using the same system as Pastoral Care’s Spiritual Library. More information will be available in The Tales regarding how residents can access the library from home to search for films. Browse the library here: https://wcrdvd.libib.com/
Watch the video to learn about the new checkout procedure.
There are detailed instructions posted in the Art Studio to assist in checking out films. If you have requests or questions about the DVD library, contact Jessica Corbitt at ext. 6695.
Logan Augustine
Thursday Worship
Please join us for our worship service on Thursday, February 25, at 10:30 a.m., on TV970. Rev. Dr. Rebecca Weaver will preach. Resident Susie Frazer will offer music.
Daily Prayer Booklets
The March Prayer Booklet will be available by March 1. If you received one previously, a copy will be placed in your mailbox. If you would like to receive one, please contact Vanessa Perry at ext. 1502 or David Curtis at ext. 5179.
Purple Prayer Ribbons
Purple prayer ribbons are in the Center Business Area, the Tower Lobby and the Sanctuary. Residents are invited to take a ribbon or two and place them on their door, their walls or perhaps in their books. Ribbons may also be tied to the gates leading to the Emmaus Memorial Garden at the Spiritual Center. May these ribbons be a visible sign of our prayers – prayers that withstand the wind, rain, sun, snow, cold and heat.
Prayer
Happy are those whose sins are forgiven,
whose wrongs are pardoned.
I will confess my sins to the Lord,
I will not conceal my wrongdoings.
God forgives and heals us.
We need your healing, merciful God:
give us true repentance.
Some sins are plain to us;
some escape us,
some we cannot face.
Forgive us;
set us free to hear your word to us;
set us free to serve you.
God forgives us.
Forgive others;
forgive yourself.
Through Christ, God has put away your sin:
approach your God in peace.
From the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer, A Service of Holy Communion: For use with individuals or small groups to meet special pastoral needs