Live Update to Residents-November 5, 2020
Live updates to residents on our in-house TV970 keep us informed and connected on Thursdays at 3 p.m. Today’s update featured John Burns, President and CEO; Gayle Hunter Haglund, Vice President Resource Development; and Lynn McClintock, Director Pastoral Care.
The following updates were shared during the update.
John Burns
Mary Morton Parsons Health Center
Yesterday, Westminster Canterbury Richmond learned that a Dining employee from Parsons Health Center First Floor tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing. Due to this new case, Parsons Health Center First Floor West residents are under quarantine until Tuesday, November 17, per guidelines from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Communal dining and other activities in this area are suspended. If we receive additional positive test results, the date of quarantine may change.
Additionally, a private sitter from Parsons Health Center Third Floor tested positive for COVID-19. Those affected are being contacted directly. The private sitter’s resident will be in quarantine, and anyone else determined to be impacted through contact tracing is being contacted directly.
Parsons Health Center continues to test employees, including private duty employees, weekly, per the guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and based on positivity rates in Henrico County. Due to these new cases, Parsons Health Center residents will also be tested.
Unfortunately, this means that family visitation for all areas of Parsons Health Center is suspended until Thursday, November 19, except in end-of-life and compassionate care situations. Please remember to check our website before you visit. That is the fastest way for us to let you know when we suspend visitation.
COVID-19 Update
Since March, we have had confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a total of 37 employees. Currently, four employees are off campus recovering until they test negative twice and return to work. In addition to the two referenced above, two employees of Assisted Living continue to recover.
Every case of COVID-19 is different, and we are still learning about it. One Assisted Living employee had previously recovered, tested negative and returned to work. She has now tested positive for COVID-19 again. Westminster Canterbury follows the latest guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Virginia Department of Health (VDH) in how to handle new situations.
Holiday Considerations
As we enter into the holiday season, we are receiving many questions. The pandemic is not over, and we have to continue following the same rules and be even more vigilant as cases rise.
Tomorrow, we will share updated written Family Visitation guidelines. Our current Visitation Guidelines and limits on the number of visitors will apply throughout the holiday season. We hope that you can visit with your families in safe ways, staying vigilant in following the principles of infection prevention that are keeping us relatively healthy so far. Wear a mask at all times when around others. Always maintain social distancing of at least six feet, even when visitors are in your homes. Wash your hands and use hand sanitizer.
Nearly every day we hear about new cases due to family gatherings. This holiday season needs to look different than in past years. Please encourage your families to take precautions to protect all of you and this community.
A new guideline is that Parsons Health Center residents who leave our community for holiday gatherings will be required to quarantine for 14 days upon return. Because of the risks and in collaboration with Virginia Department of Health, we are discouraging in-person holiday gatherings and meals beyond our current visitation guidelines.
Next Live Update
At the next Live Update, we will share additional plans related to the holidays, departmental and project updates, and other bits of news from behind the scenes.
It’s a beautiful week! It is great to see residents enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures on the Tower Green and around campus. We know that the pandemic and the election are weighing heavily on our minds. Take time to get outside and get some fresh air.
Gayle Haglund
Foundation Update
Westminster Canterbury Foundation has been hosting small gatherings with new residents. Hopefully if you are a new resident you received an invitation. If you have not signed up yet, please call the Foundation at ext. 6066. It is exciting that many have joined our community this year, even during the pandemic, realizing this is a wonderful and safe place to live. It is a challenge to get to know neighbors and staff as well as we normally would, so each of us can do our part by extending a welcome, inviting that newer person to join us for a walk, or answer questions. If you are new – please feel free to reach out! We are truly glad you are here.
This week’s edition of The Tales offers information about ways to make a difference through Westminster Canterbury Foundation. The last two months of the year are very important to all aspects of giving to the programs you care about the most. The Fellowship Program is feeling the pain of the Shops on Main needing to stay closed for safety reasons. I hope you will consider Westminster Canterbury Foundation as we move into this season of thanks giving.
Thank you to everyone who has given to the new Spiritual Center. Up until Tuesday, you had given $3 million of the necessary $4 million goal. On Tuesday, we received incredible news. The Lettie Pate Evans Foundation decided to honor our request for a generous gift of $500,000! They are supporting the Spiritual Center because they know Mrs. Evans would have been so pleased about this. Deepening our faith inspires us to help our neighbors. The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation is our biggest annual donor to the Fellowship Program. Spiritual growth and our Fellowship Program response truly are intertwined. We have $500,000 left to raise for the Spiritual Center. If you have not already done so, please walk through and enjoy the new space.
Lynn McClintock
Three Worship Opportunities
There are three regular worship offerings on TV970 each week. Our Thursday worship service at 10:30 a.m.; A Sermon for Every Sunday at 4 p.m. on Sunday; and Evening Prayer at 4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. Next Thursday, November 12, the preacher will be The Rev. Dr. Bill Blake.
Sermon for Every Sunday
The Sermon for Every Sunday preacher this Sunday is The Rev. Amy Staff Redwine, pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Richmond. Rev. Redwine will be preaching on Amos 5 and how the kingdom of God can be within our reach.
All Saints’ Service Rebroadcast
The November 1 All Saints’ Service will be rebroadcast tomorrow, November 6, at 3 p.m. on TV970. At the beginning of the service, you will see water being poured into our new baptismal font. There is no more meaningful time than when we are remembering the lives of people whom we loved to be reminded that God has claimed us through the Holy Spirit—and that we belong to God.
Mini Concerts for Independent Living Residents
We have been holding mini concerts for Avalon residents in the new Sanctuary. There are three opportunities for Independent Living residents to enjoy a mini concert on Mondays at 3 p.m. – November 9, November 16 and November 23. Reservations are required. Please call Chaplain David Curtis at ext. 5179. Thank you to Annette Sparks, Nancy Bain and Sally Maynard for sharing their talents with us.
2020 Peters Lecture
The Peters Lecture will air on Veterans’ Day, Wednesday, November 11, at 4 p.m., on TV970. Heath Hardage Lee, author and historian, is presenting, A League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home. One of those wives was Phyllis Galanti, the late wife of resident Paul Galanti, who was a POW in the Vietnam War. The author and Mr. Galanti have a wonderful conversation after the lecture.
Thought for the Day
Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them! Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.
Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
Prayer
You call us, O God. You call us to walk in your way. You show us in Jesus how to live. You give us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and guide us. And we are grateful. Keep us faithful and focused in these days. Love and justice are what you require of us, God – love for you and love and justice for ourselves and our neighbors. And we try. And sometimes we get it right and sometimes we fail. Keep blessing us and guiding us, with your Spirit, your mercy, your grace, your love. We trust you. We belong to you, forever. Amen.
Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Mid-Week News