Live Update to Residents-May 15, 2020
Daily Live updates to residents on our in-house TV970 have become a popular way for us to stay in touch while social distancing! Today’s update featured John Burns, President and CEO; Patti Pickering, Fitness Specialist; and David Curtis, Chaplain.
The following updates were shared during the live briefing on TV970.
John Burns
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reports:
• 195,700 people have been tested for COVID-19, an increase of 10,000.
• Total positive cases are 28,672, an increase of 859.
• Percent positive of those who have been tested is 14.9%, a slight increase.
• In total, 3,659 people have been hospitalized. Approximately 1,500 people are currently in the hospital. 362 are in ICU and 195 require ventilation support.
• There have been 977 deaths.
• There have been outbreaks in 167 long-term care facilities in Virginia, accounting for around 4,000 cases and 570 deaths.
Reopening Plan
Many residents are eager to have freedom to leave campus, while many others are afraid of what will happen when a resident gets COVID-19 from the greater community. We are preparing operations to allow for this increased risk. It is complicated to ensure that we can keep the campus safe while also supporting resident needs and wants. Thank you for your patience and trust. Next week we will lay out a plan to restart some programs and services on campus in a safe way.
Vibrancy!
Yesterday we shared that we have paused all the work related to the Vibrancy! Expansion project. Work on the Spiritual Center continues. We will share an update on Spiritual Center progress next week.
Masks
Currently, it is not mandatory for residents to wear masks, but it is highly encouraged, especially when you are around others.
Nature Trail
The nature trail will reopen by 5:30 p.m. today.
Reminders
Thank you to everyone who is following the rules and distancing themselves from their loved ones, both residents and employees, in order to stay well. Thank you to all the family and friends who bring groceries and other items to Azalea for us to deliver to your loved ones. This process has worked very well. Thank you for your patience and assistance.
Please be safe this weekend, continue to social distance at least six feet apart, wear your mask when around others, wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face. These rules are intended to keep this campus safe and healthy. Keep it up!
There is no briefing this weekend. The next briefing will be Monday at 3 p.m.
Patti Pickering – Fun Friday
Watch the video to see Patti offer a tango demonstration.
David Curtis – Pastoral Care
The preacher for “A Sermon for Every Sunday,” on Sunday, May 16, at 4 p.m. on TV970 will be Ryan Ahlgrim, Pastor of First Mennonite Church, Richmond, Virginia. The sermon text is Acts 17:22-31 and asks the question, “Does what you believe or not believe matter?”
Jeremiah 29:10-14
For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
“Prayer for God’s Love”
– By Rabbi Rami Shapiro, from Mishkan R’fuah: Where Healing Resides
We are loved
by an unending love.
We are embraced
by arms that find us
even when
we are hidden from ourselves.
We are touched
by fingers that soothe us
even when
we are too proud for soothing.
We are counseled
by voices that guide us
even when
we are too embittered to hear.
We are loved
by an unending love.
We are supported
by hands that uplift us even in
the midst of a fall.
We are urged on by eyes that meet us
even when
we are too weak for meeting:
We are loved by an unending love.
Embraced, touched, soothed, and counseled . . .
ours are the arms, the fingers, the voices;
ours are the hands, the eyes, the smiles;
we are loved
by an unending love.