Live Update to Residents-November 17, 2020
Today’s Live Update on our in-house TV970 covered the latest news on COVID-19 at Westminster Canterbury Richmond. It featured John Burns, President and CEO; Debra Jacobsen, Administrator Resident Services; Whitney Woodruff, Manager Life Enrichment; Marty Glen Taylor, resident; Jeanette Ucci, Annual Fellowship Fund Specialist; and David Curtis, Chaplain. The next Live Update will be Thursday, November 19.
The following updates were shared.
John Burns
COVID-19 Updates
Please refer to recent memos for the latest news.
As our friends and neighbors have tested positive for COVID-19, we have taken steps to close our campus again in order to contain the spread and protect the safety and wellbeing of our residents and employees. Thank you for your understanding. We know it is difficult to have some programs and services suspended, but we are very hopeful that these steps will help us move quickly toward reopening when possible.
Most importantly, visitation in all areas of living is suspended, except in end-of-life and compassionate care situations. Please stay in touch with your friends and loved ones via phone and video chat. It’s important to stay connected even when we cannot see each other in person! Please contact the social worker or recreation in your area of living to set up a compassionate visit or a video chat.
We currently have 14 residents who tested positive for COVID-19. Three are from Independent Living and 11 from Parsons Health Center. Ten are being cared for in our COVID-19 positive unit and four are currently in the hospital. Our experience is showing how much we still have to learn about this coronavirus. Three of our current cases had previously recovered and are now testing positive for a second time. While we strive for transparency in everything we do, please know that we are bound by federal guidelines under HIPAA, which protect the privacy of our residents, who may not want their condition known.
We completed contract tracing for our new Independent Living case, and a few residents were asked to quarantine due to exposure to this resident. Thankfully, the risk of exposure appears to be relatively low.
Fourteen employees have currently tested positive for COVID-19. Others are out awaiting test results after being exposed to someone who tested positive or because they have experienced symptoms. This is difficult for our teams, but they are very strong and working hard. We are grateful for your support and encouragement.
Point Prevalence Survey
We have a plan to get to a position where we can reopen the campus and restart our programs. This week, all Westminster Canterbury residents and employees will be tested for COVID-19, either through routine weekly testing or through a Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) in coordination with the National Guard. We did a PPS in July, and we will be testing again this Thursday, November 19. This will help us learn whether we have asymptomatic residents and employees and determine our next steps.
We will share a memo with more information this afternoon, including the schedule for Independent Living residents and employees to be tested on Thursday, November 19. We need 100% participation to help us in our next steps to reopen. If you are not available to be tested on Thursday, please refer to the memo for instructions on how to be tested at another time.
Thank you to the National Guard and Virginia Department of Health for working so quickly to arrange testing this week.
Follow the Core Principles of COVID-19 Infection Prevention
It is critical to commit to following these guidelines.
• Wear a mask at all times when around others. Please make sure it covers your nose and mouth. Do not lower or take off your mask at any time when you are out of your apartment. While it can be uncomfortable and difficult to communicate, masks are our best defense when we need to be near others. Our staff will remind you if they see you wearing your mask improperly, and please know it’s out of care and concern for you to protect yourself and others.
• Wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer.
• Always maintain social distancing of at least six feet. We strongly discourage social gatherings right now. Keep your distance from staff whenever possible to reduce your risk.
• Please stay home if you do not feel well and contact your physician or the Clinic.
We are thankful for our incredible community that is working together. Please stay strong. We will get through this together!
Debra Jacobsen
Current Service and Guideline Changes
Yesterday we shared a memo explaining our current services and guidelines in your in-house boxes. We received some calls asking for clarification on a few items, outlined here.
• Visitation in all areas of living is suspended until further notice, except in end-of-life and compassionate care situations.
• Small group, Pastoral Care, Recreation and Wellness activities are suspended. This includes the Billiard Rooms.
• The Fitness Center and Aquatic Center will remain closed until further notice. Please take advantage of fitness classes available on TV970 daily at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Other exercise videos are available through the Touchtown app under Videos. If you have questions, please call ext. 6669 and leave a message.
• Salon Services in all areas of living are closed. Products are available for delivery by calling ext. 6281.
• The Arts Studio and Woodworking Shop are closed. Contact Sarah Abernathie at ext. 6268 if you need art supplies or ideas of projects to consider while the studio is closed.
• Social gatherings in lounges, apartments, hallways, apartments and other spaces are strongly discouraged for now. Please remember this is just for now as we try to fight the recent increase in COVID-19 cases.
• Residents may be picked up by family members for off-campus appointments. Your family member should pull up, pick you up and exit campus.
• The Galleria is closed to in-person shopping. You may place orders for delivery by calling ext. 1523.
• Virtual performances from the Sara Belle November Theater will continue.
• CVS Pharmacy will be open to one customer at a time. The area is well marked to support social distancing.
• Outpatient therapy services will continue by appointment only, including massage therapy.
• The Clinic is open by appointment only. Call ext. 6231.
• While in-person dining in the Promenade is suspended, delivery meals will be available. Instructions for placing orders for meals were placed in resident boxes.
Deliveries from Family and Friends
Independent Living residents who can meet their family and friends to accept deliveries may meet them at the Tower or Center Entrance. Those making the delivery are not permitted to exit their cars and are required to wear a mask. Ukrop’s deliveries continue to arrive at the Center or Tower Entrance for resident pickup on Fridays around 1 p.m.
For deliveries for Assisted Living, Parsons Health Center or residents who are not able to collect their delivery, family and friends may come to the Tower Entrance. Courtesy Services will be available to accept the delivery and take it to the resident. This service is available Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Transportation
Transportation will be available for essential medical appointments only. We ask residents to postpone any routine appointments until further notice. Residents must wear a mask and distance from drivers during transport. Grocery runs continue, Monday-Friday, with limited capacity due to social distancing. Signups are available at the Tower Desk. Please follow social distancing protocol when entering and exiting the bus.
Outside Contractors
At this time, Westminster Canterbury asks residents to avoid hiring outside contractors and ordering items for your apartment that require service or delivery by outside sources. Limit those who spend time in your apartment to preapproved essential caregivers. Contract personnel providing essential services, such as private duty, housekeeping or time-sensitive financial services must be authorized via registration through Resident Services by calling ext. 6082.
Whitney Woodruff
Unique Boutique
In a normal year, the first weekend of November starts the holiday buying season with our Annual Fall Craft Fair. Though this wasn’t possible due to the pandemic, many residents continued their work, crafting a variety of items that are for sale through the Unique Boutique. There is jewelry, woodworking products, cards, ceramics, books and more! To see what is available, please look for the built-in bookcase in the lobby outside of the Clinic. All or part of the proceeds from these sales support the Foundation’s Fellowship Program. Thank you to our many artists, whose dedication to their craft and to the Fellowship Program is so commendable!
A new addition to the Unique Boutique is an original book by resident Marty Glen Taylor. The cost is $30 and 100% of the proceeds will be given to Westminster Canterbury Foundation’s Fellowship Program. Checks should be written to Westminster Canterbury Foundation.
While we will not be doing in-person sales for the book nor the Unique Boutique at this time, if you are interested in making a purchase, please call Sarah Abernathie at ext. 6268. She can work with you on payment and delivery.
Marty is a published poet and retired educator. The new book, Benton Point Moments, is beautifully illustrated by members of the Tappahannock Artists Guild. The book’s design is by Westminster Canterbury resident, Beverly Nelson. The book draws from Marty’s life on the shore of the Rappahannock River in Tappahannock, Virginia. Her neighbor, Lucy Negus, wrote the following to describe the book:
“In her poem, The River Like a Satin Ribbon, Marty writes, ‘The river like a satin ribbon wraps around this country town / in sunshine and in moonlight it becomes a haven for wildlife…’ With spiritual sensitivity, Marty shares that wildlife of the river through twenty-one poems telling of osprey, eagles, geese, hawks, kingfishers, swans and the great blue heron.”
Marty Glen Taylor
Marty Glen Taylor read a selection from Benton Point Moments.
Jeanette Ucci
Thank you to Marty Taylor and to all the artists whose work is created for the purpose of supporting the Foundation’s Fellowship Program. It is so important to keep our Fellowship Program strong so that each year more than 100 residents receive the support they need. Each and every resident here can know the security and peace of mind that assures no one will ever be asked to leave for financial reasons that are no fault of their own. Thank you to everyone who contributes to our Annual Fellowship Fund through your gifts and your purchases!
David Curtis
Pastoral Care
Please join us for live worship this Thursday, November 19, at 10:30 a.m. on TV970. There has been a change for this service, and Rev. Deacon Logan Augustine will preach.
The David F. Peters Lecture with Heath Hardage Lee will air again on TV970 on Thursday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m. Pastoral Care has a few copies of Mrs. Lee’s book, The League of Wives, in the Spiritual Library. We encourage you to check one out.
Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Prayer
“Mi Shebeirach,” a Jewish prayer for healing
May the one who blessed our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, bless and heal those who are ill, especially all who suffer from COVID-19. May the Blessed Holy One be filled with compassion for their health to be restored and their strength to be revived. May God swiftly send them a complete renewal of body and spirit, and let us say, Amen.