LIVE UPDATE SUMMARY – JULY 7, 2020
Live updates to residents on our in-house TV970 keep us informed and connected on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3 p.m. Today’s update featured John Burns, President and CEO; Bev Beck, Resident; Debra Jacobsen, Administrator Resident Services; Jessica Corbitt, Manager Cultural Arts; and David Curtis, Chaplain.
The following updates were shared during the live briefing on TV970.
John Burns
As of today, the COVID-19 data for Virginia includes:
- 725,327 have been tested for COVID-19. This is an increase of 12,977 since yesterday. Test results are taking a long time to return.
- Positive cases total 66,740, an increase of 638 since yesterday.
- The rolling seven-day positivity rate in Virginia is 6.0%, trending down since June 28. Henrico is at 4.8%, Chesterfield is at 7.8% and Richmond is at 4.9%, all trending down since June 28.
- There have been 6,512 hospitalizations.
- 1,881 people have died from COVID-19, including 28 new deaths since yesterday.
- Nearly 9,000 people have recovered.
Testing/Investigation Update
During the past few days, we have learned of some additional cases of COVID-19 in one resident and two staff members. The resident lives in the Mary Morton Parsons Health Center and tested positive yesterday. As part of our routine testing of residents and staff in the Parsons Health Center, this resident had previously been tested twice with negative results. She was tested again on June 30. We received a positive result yesterday. This resident has been asymptomatic, and we are pleased to report that she is doing well.
We have tested all residents in the Parsons Health Center for COVID-19 who reside on the same floor as this resident as well as each employee who has worked on this floor since June 30. At this time, communal dining on the affected floor will cease, with residents eating meals in their apartments. All staff currently working throughout the Parsons Health Center continue to wear personal protective equipment, and we continue enhanced cleaning measures. All Parsons Health Center residents are monitored daily with temperature and symptoms screenings and checking lung sounds and oxygen levels.
Additionally, we have had two Housekeeping employees test positive for COVID-19 in the past few days. One employee is primarily assigned to The Gables and Monticello areas of Assisted Living, and last worked on June 26. This employee sought testing after developing symptoms at home. Another family member of this employee’s household also tested positive for COVID-19.
Yesterday, we began testing all residents in The Gables and Monticello for COVID-19 as well as each employee who has worked in these areas since June 22. Residents of The Gables and Monticello have been instructed to stay within their area of residency until test results are received. Salon Services and family visits in The Gables and Monticello have been suspended pending test results.
This morning, we learned that another Housekeeping employee tested positive for COVID-19. This employee was tested on July 1 as part of New Employee Orientation. This employee has not had any interaction with residents; therefore, we believe the risk of exposure is low. Both of these Housekeeping employees are recovering at home. Please be reassured we are taking all precautions in preventing the spread of COVID-19, including wearing proper personal protective equipment, handwashing and enhanced disinfection practices.
Currently, we are awaiting results for 10 staff, who have developed symptoms and are at home, and 304 residents and staff as part of our routine testing.
Point Prevalence Survey
Last week, we shared details about an upcoming Point Prevalence Survey, or PPS, that will be conducted at Westminster Canterbury Richmond on July 20 and 21 in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health and National Guard. Our goal is 100% participation for residents and staff. If you are away from campus overnight on July 20 and 21, you will need to be tested upon your return to end your mandatory quarantine. Please let staff know you will be away so we can plan to test you once you return. We need 100% testing of residents and staff to meet the VDH standard for the PPS.
Mandatory Quarantine Following Overnight Stays off Campus
Independent Living residents who leave campus overnight, either for pleasure or a medical procedure, will be required to be under quarantine until negative test results are received. Some residents have been resistant to these rules, but this is not negotiable.
COVID-19 Test Results
It is taking 7 to 10 days for COVID-19 test results to come back. We are working with our partner, LabCorps to obtain results as quickly as possible. Many other long-term care facilities are also doing a great deal of testing as part of their process to reopen, and this is contributing to the longer turnaround time. We will update you as we have more details to share.
Bev Beck
Employee Christmas Fund
On behalf of the Employee Christmas Fund Committee and Ambassadors, thank you for all of your gifts so far. Gifts may be made in honor of residents and staff. Please watch The Tales for information regarding “Christmas in July,” which will include details about an ice cream event for residents on July 29. Also in The Tales will be information about a fun contest to name Bucky Bear’s cubs! Special thanks to resident Bill Blake for his new Employee Christmas Fund song. We will share the words in a future issue of The Tales. Finally, thank you to our employees for their inspiring articles about how the Employee Christmas Fund helps them. Please note that gifts to the Employee Christmas Fund are not tax-deductible. (Westminster Canterbury Foundation’s W·E·A·V·E Program supports employees all year; gifts to W·E·A·V·E are tax-deductible.)
Debra Jacobsen
Wellness
All Independent Living exercise classes have been postponed to next week. If you were signed up for any of the classes this week, you have been automatically registered for the week of July 13 and should have received a call from a Wellness staff member. Due to this change, you will not be able to register for any additional classes until Tuesday, July 14. The Fitness Center and Aquatic Center appointment slots continue with the same processes.
Salon Services
For residents in any area of residency, please call ext. 6281 for all appointments. Please note that neither the Salons nor the Barber Shop accept walk-ins. All services are by appointment only. You will receive a phone call 10 minutes prior to your appointment telling you to come to the salon. Please do not arrive early, as we cannot allow you to enter the salon until your stylist completes proper sanitation. We are scheduling appointments one week out at a time. This allows us to make necessary changes based on community needs.
Our stylists are adhering to an abundance of caution and social distancing guidelines in the salons. These important guidelines do not allow us to honor weekly standing appointments because we are unable to have as many clients in our Salons at one time. We appreciate your patience as the stylists work through all the challenges of social distancing and advanced sanitation.
Courtesy Services
Please remember that drop-off hours for family and friends are Monday and Friday only, 1 to 3 p.m. We love seeing you all come out and speak to your family and friends, but we ask them to remain in their cars and allow our staff to collect the items they are delivering. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to keep everyone safe and healthy.
Jessica Corbitt
Summer Nights Series
The show goes on here at Westminster Canterbury, with a few innovations! We are excited to announce our new summer music series, “Summer Nights at Westminster Canterbury Richmond.” These will be outdoor evening concerts from 7 to 8 p.m. in July and August. The concerts will be held in different areas of campus, so be sure to check the location via The Tales. Dining will have a portable bar, and you will be able to purchase beverages. In case of inclement weather, the band will be moved inside the Sara Belle November Theater, and the performance will be broadcast live on TV970. Updates regarding any changes to these performances will be on TV971, as summer weather can be unpredictable.
“Tunes on Tuesday” will continue, with a slight change. For the next six weeks, the Richmond Symphony’s Summer Beethoven Series will be on TV970 each Tuesday at 11 a.m. The series is made up of six casual, one-hour concerts spotlighting a single instrument with piano. This year’s theme is Beethoven, in honor of his 250th birthday. Be sure to tune in to those performances each week. The first program will be next Tuesday, July 14, and will feature Joanne Kong on piano and Ronald Crutcher on cello.
David Curtis
Please join us for worship on Thursday, July 9, at 10:30 a.m., live on TV970. Rev. Deacon Logan Augustine will preach, and Rev. Jenny te Velde will lead worship.
Isaiah 25:6-10
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
Prayer
Gracious God, in you we move and live and have our being. We give you thanks for this day, ripe with hope and possibility. We give you thanks for the sun that shines and the rains that fall. We give you thanks for gardens producing flowers and food. We thank you for vineyards with grapes growing fat upon the vine. In this time of hope and this season of growth, we wait for you. We wait for the coming of your Reign on Earth. Come swiftly and come quickly. Bring your kingdom where the last will be first and first will be last, where no one will go hungry, where no one will suffer, where no one will be cast out. And, until your kingdom does come, in glory and in might, give us the grace and the foolishness to bring about your reign, one small moment at a time. Amen.