Live Update to Residents-October 15, 2020
Live updates to residents on our in-house TV970 keep us informed and connected on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3 p.m. Today’s update featured John Burns, President and CEO; Gayle Hunter Haglund, Vice President Resource Development; and Logan Augustine, Chaplain.
The following updates were shared during the briefing.
John Burns
COVID-19 Update
Today we learned that a teacher who is also a parent in our Child Development Center in the Virtual Learning Room tested positive for COVID-19. She and her child were last in the Child Development Center on Monday, October 12, and were tested due to potential exposure to a family member who tested positive. We are following guidance from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and closing the Virtual Learning Classrooms and the Toddler Room until Tuesday, October 27. Unfortunately, six other employees and many children will not be able to attend the Child Development Center until quarantine ends. Many of these children’s parents are employees who will need to stay home with children.
Parsons Health Center First Floor’s quarantine ended today. Family visitation resumed at 10 a.m. It has been fantastic for our families to see their loved ones. Parsons Health Center Third Floor remains under quarantine until Thursday, October 22. For all visitors, and especially Parsons Health Center visitors, it is critically important that you sign the visitation log. This is a requirement. Please see the nurses to sign in when you visit.
Since March, Westminster Canterbury has had confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a total of 15 residents and 34 employees. All residents have recovered. So far, 30 of the 34 employees have recovered, tested negative twice and returned to work.
In VDH’s COVID-19 outbreak data, there is a report of total cases and deaths that has inaccurate data for Westminster Canterbury Richmond. It is reporting a large number of cases and deaths in July, which did not happen. We have been in contact with the state staff responsible for this data. They acknowledged the error and are working to correct it.
Governor’s Long-Term Care Task Force
Much of each meeting is focused on statewide COVID-19 data. The statewide data is important because as community spread increases, so do new cases in senior living organizations. The number of outbreaks in senior living is beginning to increase again in Virginia. Some of these outbreaks, such as the one currently happening in our area at Tyler’s Retreat, are pretty severe. Through September, there were about 11,500 cases of COVID-19 in long-term care in Virginia.
Increases in outbreaks in senior living facilities are a strong reminder of the need to remain vigilant with precautions in order to remain an open and active community. An outbreak will happen if we relax.
The distribution and use of Point of Care devices was discussed. Parsons Health Center received a BD Veritor Antigen Analyzer for testing, which we have put into use when we have a new suspected resident case. There was robust discussion about the false positive problems associated with these devices. Westminster Canterbury always follows a rapid Antigen test with a PCR test to confirm the result.
COVID-19 Immunization Planning at the state level was discussed. There is still no firm timeline for having a vaccine. It has been determined that long-term care staff and residents will be in the priority group 1, which means that we will get early access to the vaccine, before the general public. The planning group is assuming that the vaccine will be administered in two doses, three to four weeks apart. In the coming weeks the Virginia Advisory Council on Immunization Practices will provide the necessary recommendations, and we will need to decide how we wish to manage the immunization process, such as administering it in house versus partnering with a pharmacy provider. We will share details as we have them.
The Visitation Working Group that is providing the state and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with feedback about the long-term care visitation process reported. Visitation at the statewide level is going well, but several facilities are experiencing outbreaks, which suspends visitation for a period of time. It is unknown at this time whether any of the outbreaks were related to visitation.
Core Principles of COVID-19 Infection Prevention
Please continue to follow the principles that have kept us safe and healthy so far. Wear your mask. This is required of all residents, staff, visitors and everyone who enters our community. Please keep it on at all times when around other people. We are starting to see people removing their masks, and it is important to protect ourselves and one another. Wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. Always maintain social distancing of at least six feet.
Anyone entering our community must be screened, and you will not be able to visit if you have signs or symptoms of COVID-19. Stay home if you do not feel well. For residents, if you have visitors in your home, make sure you follow enhanced safety and disinfection protocols. You have done a great job keeping one another safe. Compliance with these simple principles is our best strategy for remaining a healthy and open community.
Gayle Haglund
Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award Nominations
It is time for Westminster Canterbury Foundation to start receiving Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award nominations. Each February, the Foundation honors an outstanding volunteer leader with this award. There is usually a wonderful program and reception. Though we do not know yet if there can be an in-person celebration, we will still grant the award and find a special way to honor the special person. Nomination forms can be found in the Business and Information Centers, or you may contact the Foundation for more information about submitting a nomination. Thank you in advance for your nominations!
Learning at Westminster Canterbury
Westminster Canterbury Richmond is truly a Learning Organization. We place a high value on employee education. Did you know that the Foundation provides scholarships to employees? Fifteen have been awarded so far this year. In the last five years, the Foundation has provided a total of 71 scholarships to employees, thanks to our wonderful donors! The Foundation also supports our own Professional School of Learning, which provides ongoing education to every member of our workforce. The Foundation also supports a full-time Clinical Educator who provides ongoing education to all Parsons Health Center caregivers and new employees in the use of personal protective equipment and infection prevention practices. She also oversees the entire nurse preceptor program. This commitment to learning assures that we have superior readiness to handle the ongoing challenges of this place – perhaps never more important than during this pandemic. Thank you to each and every one of you who have contributed to the W•E•A•V•E program or to scholarships or clinical training. You are making a very real difference in the lives of every employee!
Communications
Over the last seven months, there has been a huge amount of communication. We have been sharing all the pandemic-related news and regularly updating you on all processes. We are sending up-to-date information in many ways, including TV970 and 971, our Blog, our website, Touchtown Community Apps, Digital Signage around campus, group emails, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. We have been tracking our reach to see how often these many forms of communication are reaching you and your loved ones. Amazingly, not including the thousands of views of our Live Updates – over 110 so far – there have been more than 50,000 verified contacts with those who follow our many communications. Our challenge going forward is to keep our communication efforts top-notch, and prioritize the best ways to keep you informed, with staff changes in the Public Relations area.
Over these last months, we have relied far less on our weekly paper publication, The Tales, as a way to get up-to-date information to you because things can and do change quickly. Instead, we have built up many ways of keeping you informed. In order to sustain this huge amount of effective communication, we will be producing The Tales twice a month going forward. The next issue will be out next week.
TV971 and the Digital Signage around campus always show slides of all activities and information.
A great way to access ongoing information is the Touchtown Community App. We will reprint information in The Tales about how to sign up for this. Hundreds are already on Touchtown!
• Family members are welcome to sign up for Touchtown as well. On your smart phone or tablet, download Touchtown Community Apps from your app store. After installing, you can log in with the username –WCRfamily and password – Canterbury.
• Residents will each be given their own login and password.
Spiritual Center
I hope you’re enjoying visiting the new Spiritual Center. The artwork has been installed honoring all of our donors. We appreciate each and every one of you who have been so generous! We are still in need of donations! In a couple of months, we will update the list of donors to include anyone who makes a new gift. Thank you in advance!
Logan Augustine
Pastoral Care Announcements
Join us for the Spiritual Center dedication service which will be aired on TV970 this Sunday, October 18, at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The service will also be shown on TV970 again, Monday through Thursday, during the week of the 18th at 7:30 PM. The 4 p.m. Sunday showing will take the place of A Sermon for Every Sunday.
Bulletins for the service are available at Tower and Center Desks. If you need a copy placed in your mailbox, please call Vanessa at ext. 1502 or David at ext. 5179.
The David F. Peters Lecture airs Wednesday, November 11, at 4 p.m. on TV970. Heath Hardage Lee, author of The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home from Vietnam, is our speaker this year. We have a few copies of Heath’s book in the Spiritual Library if you would like to read it before her lecture. Please contact Vanessa at ext. 1502 if you would like to check out a copy of the book. We would love to hear from our residents if you have any questions Heath may address in the question and answer period following the lecture. Please contact Vanessa Perry with any questions you may have for Heath by Friday, October 23. Because this lecture is prerecorded, we must have your questions in advance.
Genesis 2:1-4
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
Book of Common Prayer, p. 840.
We give thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of the earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your Name, now and forever. Amen.