Live Update to Residents – January 28, 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; Tom Henning, Director Construction Management; and Lynn McClintock, Director Pastoral Care. The next Live Update will be Tuesday, February 2.
The following updates were shared.
John Burns
Vaccination Updates
This morning, a pharmacy had committed to providing our Independent Living residents with a vaccination clinic in the coming weeks. We shared this news with our Corporate and Foundation Board members via email this morning. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, we received a call from this pharmacy informing us that the State of Virginia would not allow them to provide a vaccination clinic for us. This pharmacy could not provide any explanation other than that the request to vaccinate Westminster Canterbury Independent Living residents was denied.
Please know that our state association leaders and Westminster Canterbury leadership have spent the day aggressively advocating for a vaccine clinic, by any provider, to happen here soon. We cannot confirm today when we will have a vaccination clinic or which pharmacy provider it will be. However, we will get a vaccination clinic here soon, hopefully within the next 2 to 3 weeks. We will continue to advocate for you.
When we do confirm a vaccination clinic for our Independent Living residents, we want to be prepared. We expect we will not be given much notice and may have limited time to prepare. On Monday, February 1, all residents in Independent Living will have vaccination consent forms put into your boxes. Please complete these forms and call Resident Services if you need assistance. Starting Monday, there will be secure collection boxes located at the Tower and Center Desks where you should drop off your completed forms. Please return these forms promptly.
Previous Vaccination Clinic Updates
Residents of Parsons Health Center and Assisted Living were vaccinated through our partnership with CVS Health. The first vaccination clinic on January 4 and 5 resulted in 461 vaccinations.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, we held our second vaccination clinic. Over these two days, 443 employees and 232 residents were vaccinated, for a total of 675 total vaccinations. We are very thankful for these vaccinations. On February 15 and 16, CVS will return to complete our Assisted Living vaccination clinic and for those staff needing their second vaccine.
COVID-19 Updates
Yesterday, one of the residents being cared for in the COVID-19 positive unit recovered and returned to their apartment. Sadly, another of our residents who tested positive for COVID-19 has passed away. Please keep the family and friends of this residents in your thoughts and prayers. Two residents continue to be cared for in the COVID-19 positive unit.
We learned today that two Dining employees who work in Mary Morton Parsons Health Center have tested positive for COVID-19. Parsons Health Center Third Floor will remain in quarantine until Wednesday, February 10. Many of our employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered and returned to work. With these two new cases, five are currently recovering in quarantine.
Thanks to all residents, employees and trustees who are working so hard to keep yourselves safe and healthy. We notice and appreciate your sacrifices!
Onsite CVS Pharmacy
Please remember that our onsite CVS pharmacy, led by Beverlee Arnold, is not directly related to the vaccination processes being run by CVS Health. We are grateful to Beverlee and Sharon McKinley for their service to our residents and staff.
Debra Jacobsen
Resident Services Vaccination Appointment Assistance
We have created a process to help those residents who have not yet secured an appointment or do not use email or the internet. Beginning Monday, February 1, we will have employees available to answer your questions and help fill out online forms between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Please call ext. 1570, or from off-campus or cell phones, please call 200-1570. You may call that number beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 1. If we are unable to answer your call, please leave a message. We will return the call as soon as we can.
We are also creating a special phone number and email address, monitored by staff, that we can provide to outside sources who may be assisting you in signing up to be vaccinated. When these outside sources contact us to schedule an appointment for you, we will be able to help those residents who need assistance.
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans who live in Independent Living may qualify to get their COVID-19 vaccination through the Veterans Health Administration (VA). You must be in the Richmond VA Medical Center computer system to be eligible for the vaccine. To check to see if you are eligible, call 804-675-6660. Once you confirm your eligibility, you may call the VA at 804-675-5000 to register for a vaccine appointment. Press 0 to speak to someone without waiting through the prompts.
VCU Health
VCU Health has begun vaccinating existing patients who received care at one of their hospitals or clinics in the past three years and meet the state’s Phase 1b requirements, ages 65 or older. They are starting with their oldest patients first. If you have been a patient at VCU Health within the last three years, you may be contacted directly to make a vaccination appointment, or you may call 804-360-4669 or contact your doctor’s office directly. https://www.vcuhealth.org/covidvaccine
Bon Secours
At Bon Secours, as they receive vaccine from the state, they will begin scheduling COVID-19 vaccination appointments. We have heard from those of you who tried to contact them this week that they do not have any current appointments, but we will continue to share this contact information so that you can try again in the future. If you are a current Bon Secours Medical Group patient, call the Bon Secours COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline Monday – Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to schedule your appointment or to get additional information about the Bon Secours locations which are offering the COVID-19 vaccine. Call 866-624-0366. https://www.bonsecours.com/bon-secours-monitoring-coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-vaccine/virginia
Virginia Department of Health
Sign up through a form on the Henrico County Health Department website. There is a 65+ Interest Form where you can enter your information. Henrico County Health Department will call you to schedule an appointment at one of the mass vaccination clinics. We do not know how quickly you will get an appointment, but they are prioritizing by age and beginning with the oldest people who have filled out the form. When you visit the website, (https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/richmond-city/2021/01/08/10436/) click on the age 65+ Interest Form. Select the option for 65+ years of age, NOT currently residing in or working in a long-term care facility and fill out the form.
Clinic
If you are able to be vaccinated outside of Westminster Canterbury, please notify the Clinic so that your medical record can be updated. The Clinic will need more than just a phone call saying that you have been vaccinated. They will need a copy of your vaccine documentation. We are maintaining a list of all Independent Living residents and noting who has and has not yet been vaccinated.
Transportation
If you need transportation to an outside vaccine appointment, call the Transportation department at ext. 6263 to schedule an appointment.
Tom Henning
Tower Laundry Room Update
Demolition of the laundry rooms on Tower Floors 8, 6, 4 and 2 is underway. These rooms will be closed until the new finishes are completed and the new laundry machines are installed. We will be replacing the old appliances in these rooms with new appliances. These laundry rooms will be completely operational prior to shutting down the remaining laundry rooms on Tower Floors 1, 3, 5 and 7 for renovation.
Many items were left behind such as irons, fabric softeners, laundry detergent and miscellaneous shelving and ironing boards. These items were boxed and placed into storage until the laundry rooms reopen. We will bring these items back for residents to pick up on Monday, February 1. We will set up a table outside the lounge on your floor. Please claim any personal items by Wednesday, February 3. Any remaining items will be disposed of on Thursday, February 4.
The estimated completion date for the laundry rooms is approximately 5 weeks. We will do our best to accelerate this schedule, and we will keep you posted in future updates.
Tower Lounge Update
Work is underway in the Tower lounges on Floors 7 and 6, with the lounge restroom on the remaining floors being demolished for future renovation. All nonperishable items have been moved to storage. Some plants were left behind in the lounges. Please pick these up so we can continue with our construction operations.
Thank you for your continued support of our renovation projects. As further remodeling work continues around the campus, we will provide updates via The Tales. Please contact Tom at ext. 6033 with any questions.
Lynn McClintock
Sermon for Every Sunday
Watch A Sermon for Every Sunday on Sundays, on TV 970, at 4 p.m. Dr. Richard Voelz, Professor of Homiletics at Union Presbyterian Seminary, will preach on March 1:21-28.
February Prayer Booklets
The February Prayer Booklets will be available on Monday, February 1. If you received one previously, you will receive another automatically in your box. If you are a newer resident or have not received one previously, and would like one, please contact Vanessa Perry at ext. 1502 or David Curtis at ext. 5179, and we will be happy to deliver one to you. The Ash Wednesday worship bulletin and all Thursday worship bulletins are included in the prayer booklet.
Suggestions for Getting Through These Times
Focus on those things you can control. Limit your intake of media. Note those news items that are good. Try not to withdrawal from others while still maintaining safe social distancing. Write down one thing that you can do today. Mark it off the list at the end of the day. Realize that you are part of the solution. Keep yourself and others safe. Know that you are a contributing member of this community!
Psalm 40: 1-5
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.
Blessed is the one
who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.[b]
Many, Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
Prayer: “Alpha and Omega” (written by Dr. W. Sibley Towner, professor of Old Testament, 1976-2002, Union Presbyterian Seminary)
O God, Alpha and Omega, Creator and Re-creator,
we strain to look ahead, but we cannot see clearly.
Sometimes we think we catch a glimpse of the shining
towers of your city. Other times, we see only boiling
smoke and tumult. Little by little, God, we have learned
that the path runs only one direction—ahead—and
that we must take it. Little by little, we have learned
that we have no map to guide us—not even within
the pages of the Holy Book. Little by little, we come
to realize that no one—perhaps not even you—can say what will befall us.
But this we do believe—yes, we know it, God—that
you walk the path, too, as Immanuel, and that you will
be there with us as we confront the turning and the
terrors on the way. You shrink back from nothing—not
even a cross.
O God, Alpha and Omega, Savior of this age and joy
of the age to come, help us to trust and to work as hard
as Jesus did out of love for this wonderful world and its
beautiful human creatures.
In His name, we pray. AMEN.(from “Prayers that Sing & Stir the Heart,” p. 94, W. Sibley Towner, 2018)