Live Update to Residents-June 19, 2020
Live updates to residents on our in-house TV970 keep us informed and connected. Today’s update featured John Burns, President and CEO; Barton Campbell, resident; Scott Jonté, Director of Dining; Debra Jacobsen, Administrator Resident Services; 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:
• 509,930 people have been tested for COVID-19, including 10,331 since yesterday. Positive cases total 56,793, an increase of 555 since yesterday.
• The rolling seven-day positivity rate in Virginia is 7.1% (decrease of 0.1%), Henrico is 8.0% (decrease of 0.3%) and Richmond is 9.6% (decrease of 0.3%).
• Chesterfield has 2,456 cases, with 81 new cases since yesterday. Henrico has 2,368 cases, an increase of 26 since yesterday. Richmond has 1,929 cases, an increase of 34 since yesterday.
• 862 people are currently hospitalized with 251 in intensive care units and 121 requiring ventilator support.
• There have been 1,602 deaths associated with COVID-19.
Nature Trail
As of today, the Nature Trail is open. There are parts of the fence line that are awaiting repair and have temporary fencing in place. Please be careful in these areas and stay on the trail. In the next few weeks, the trail will be closed for one day when the repairs take place.
Barton Campbell
On behalf of the Resident Dining Committee, chaired by Turner Richardson, Barton thanked the Dining Services team for the phenomenal job they have done during the pandemic. Thank you for taking care of the residents.
As communal dining resumes, please abide by the rules put into place by Dining Services. They have worked hard to create new protocols for dining. If residents can follow them successfully, it will be easier to proceed into our next steps.
Please don’t forget your mask when coming to dine. Don’t be offended if you are gently reminded to wear your mask to help protect yourself and others. We look forward to seeing you in the Promenade!
Scott Jonté
Dining Updates
Residents received a Saturday and Sunday menu during the transition to the Promenade menu’s Monday through Sunday format. New Promenade pricing takes effect on Monday. Breakfast is $6, lunch is $7 and the Sunday midday meal is $11.00. The Pantry has ended, but Wine Delivery is still available by calling ext. 1510. Orders placed by Thursdays are delivered on Fridays.
Declining Balance Plans
If you are on a $150 or $300 per month declining balance plan and have a credit balance (money left over) as of June 30, 2020, the Business Office will post a credit to your statement. Westminster Canterbury is making this exception in order to avoid special programming costs. We do not anticipate making exceptions going forward. Please review your declining balance plan and adjust accordingly for the quarter beginning July 1, 2020. Please call Kim Briggs at ext. 6093 if you have questions.
Dining Reopening Frequently Asked Questions
Will breakfast and lunch be the same when we reopen? Will you have the same offerings?
We will have the same offerings; however, omelets and pancakes will not be available until the second week we are open. Lunch will be a similar format to what we had in the past.
When will you open for dinner?
We are opening our dining venues with an abundance of caution. Each new step hinges on how well we progress, so we have not yet determined a date for dinner to resume. We will update you.
When will we be allowed to have more than two people per table?
Because many residents have been traveling off campus for essential business, we will use an abundance of caution as we progress. There is no firm date yet, but we will continue to monitor this and update you.
Who do I call or email with questions?
Contact Scott Jonté at ext. 6356 or sjonte@wcrichmond.org. Scott or one of the dining supervisors will respond to your questions.
Debra Jacobsen
See the details of these programs here.
Independent Living Visitation Begins Tuesday, June 23
Independent Living family may begin visiting campus for scheduled visits on Tuesday, June 23. Family visits will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. by appointment only. If residents want to register for an appointment or have further questions, contact Whitney Woodruff at ext. 6058.
Changes to Deliveries from Family and Friends
On Wednesday, June 17, we started the new process of deliveries from family and friends being made on campus on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1-3 p.m. at the Center or Tower Entrances. Independent Living residents were able to briefly see their family or friends who are making the delivery. Courtyard and Homes on the Green drop-offs take place at the Center Entrance. Tower, Garden and The Glebe drop-offs take place at the Tower Entrance. Assisted Living and Parsons Health Center items are dropped off at the Center Entrance, and staff deliver the items to the appropriate apartment. Ukrop’s and Libbie Market deliveries will be dropped off at the Center and Tower Entrances where residents should arrive to pick up their orders shortly after 1 p.m. If you have questions, please call Resident Services at ext. 6082.
Changes to Publix Grocery Program
The grocery-ordering program is being reduced to three days per week. Grocery delivery days will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Residents may continue to place phone orders by calling ext. 6262 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning at 9 a.m. or by emailing groceryrequest@wcrichmond.org. The phone line will close each day once 25 orders are received. We ask that you categorize your items by Produce, Dairy, Meat, Canned, Frozen, etc. Limit your list to 15 items. Please note that some items or brands may not be available. Please indicate whether you will accept substitutions. Publix includes a $5 shopping fee on each receipt for this service. Resident accounts are charged.
Family Transportation for Residents
Beginning Friday, June 19, Independent Living residents are permitted to have family pick them up for transportation to essential business off campus. No Uber, Lyft or taxi drivers are permitted at this time. Those providing transportation must stay in their car during pick up and drop off. Residents will be screened at the Gatehouse upon return.
Overnight Travel
If residents travel off campus overnight, for personal or medical reasons, they will go under quarantine and be tested for COVID-19 after five days. Once they receive a negative test result, their quarantine will end. If residents do not want to be tested for COVID-19, they enter a 14-day quarantine when returning to campus. Please notify Resident Services at ext. 6082 if you plan to be away overnight.
Venue Transportation
We have not determined plans for resuming transportation to Richmond venues in the fall for the Richmond Symphony, Virginia Rep and others, but we will update you when we have more information.
David Curtis
This Sunday, at 4 p.m., watch A Sermon for Every Sunday on TV970. Rev. Courtney Allen Crump, Senior Pastor at Grace Baptist Church, Richmond, will preach on Matthew 10:24-39. In that passage, Jesus tells the disciples to tell their stories, but he also gives them words of comfort: “Do not be afraid for you are of more value than many sparrows.” Pastor Crump says, “We long to tell our most authentic stories and yet we fear telling our stories.” Come and listen about how we are called to tell our holy stories.
Isaiah: 58:9-12
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
Prayer by Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent
enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
Which is another way of saying that
The Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that should be said.
No prayer fully expressed our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
Knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produced effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything,
And there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
A step along the way,
An opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
But that is the difference
Between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
Ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future that is not our own.
Amen.