Community Update for week of 10/3/2022

October 5, 2022

Update to residents on 10/4/2022

Masks in Public Areas are Now Optional

Good news, everyone! With a decreasing COVID positivity rate (currently under 9%) and revised guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kendal at Oberlin in consultation with our Medical Director, Georgia Newman, is making the wearing of masks/face coverings in public areas (i.e., the Heiser Community Center, meeting rooms, and dining rooms) optional for residents, staff, and visitors. Note that:

• Unvaccinated individuals are still required to wear a mask in public areas.
• All guests are still required to be screened at the kiosk upon entry into Kendal.
• Dining Room guests are still required to provide proof of being fully vaccinated for COVID.
• Dining staff are still required to wear masks at all times.
• Residents and staff are reminded to inform the Health and Wellness Clinic or the Stephens Care Center immediately if they experience any signs or symptoms of COVID.

Masks are still required in the Stephens Care Center, however, as the SCC falls under different rules and regulations that we must abide by – and for the best protection of the most vulnerable among us.

• All staff and visitors in the Stephens Care Center are to remain masked at this time.  
• All residents and staff members passing through the Stephens Care Center are to remain masked at this time. 
• All staff working in the Stephens Care Center are to remain masked at all times.

All staff working in resident homes and in close proximity to residents (i.e., Housekeepers, Facility Services and Dining staff) are still required to mask. 

We appreciate your cooperation – and ever-evolving adaptability – regarding these latest responses to the pandemic.

Insurance Workshop #3 – Traditional Medicare with Retiree or Commercial Insurance

Wednesday, Oct 5, at 10 AM. Please join us for this virtual session offered by Ann O’Malley and Donna Weber. Join the Zoom Meeting at https://kendal-org.zoom.us/j/81758693761 Meeting ID: 817 5869 3761

PS Salon Update

While the contract with PS Salon is ending on Friday, we are still seeking another contract arrangement. We will alert individuals who have made appointments in future weeks – at least a day ahead – if we can keep those appointments while we finalize an arrangement that will work best for Kendal’s needs.

Package Notices

There is a new notice being used if you have a package delivered to Kendal. The new notice has your specific apartment/cottage number. It’s important to return the notice to the Front Desk. If it’s not returned, or it is left in your box, we’ve had people think they have another delivery. Kindly, just return the notice to the front desk to avoid confusion. Thank you!

Safety Tips: Slips, Trips, & Falls

We want to raise awareness once again regarding the potential risks associated with travel, visiting unfamiliar places, and exposure to new situations. Falls and fall-related problems are serious concerns. Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) are among the leading causes of occupational injury and often lead to fractures. Most STFs can be prevented! Inside floor surfaces account for 55% of all STF accidents, while another 24% are due to wearing improper shoes. Provided below is an overview of common hazards and how to increase personal safety through prevention.

• Common behaviors that lead to STF accidents: running instead of walking, taking shortcuts or avoiding designated walkways, running up/down or not using handrails on stairs, not cleaning up spills, wearing improper and inadequate shoes, carrying too much, and inattention.
• Common locations for falls: doorways, ramps, cluttered hallways, areas with heavy traffic, uneven surfaces, areas prone to wetness or spills, unguarded heights, unstable work surfaces, and ladders.
• Follow these fall-prevention tips: secure electrical and other cords out of trafficked areas; remove small throw rugs, or use non-skid mats to keep them from slipping; remove trip hazards (e.g., paper, boxes, toys, clothes, shoes) from stairs and walkways; periodically check the condition of walkways and steps and repair damage immediately; never stand on a chair, table, or other surfaces on wheels; and clean up all spills immediately.

Dining Update

Greg Zehe, Director of Hospitality Services & Assoc. Administrator

Souper Supper, This Wednesday 10/5

Our traditional Souper Supper is this week. The event was started perhaps a decade ago by a group of residents who suggested we forego our elaborate anniversary meal for a modest meal and donate the food cost saved to support food donations at Oberlin Community Services. Kendal is 29 years old. Next year we’ll want to plan a special occasion for Kendal at Oberlin’s 30^th Anniversary.

Another component to this event is the “soup kettles” placed outside the entrances to the dining rooms by the resident volunteers. These volunteers manage the kettle collections and ensure that the funds get to OCS. 

Job Fair at Amherst High School

This Friday, the school has invited us to hold our recruiting event over the lunch periods. This is our first Fall event, and we are glad to get this important initiative started. As we reach out to the schools, we are excited to find the contacts we have made over the past year are now aware of Kendal and the opportunities we bring for students. Our focus is to work as partners with the schools and we have several events already scheduled.  

Holiday Catering

Please be aware that our catering calendar is filling up rapidly this year. If you are planning an event that you would like catered or a large reservation, please reach out to Lisa Wilken, 440-775-9801 or lwilken@kao.kendal.org, to secure your spot. 

Housekeeping/Laundry Update:

Our housekeeping team wishes to remind residents how much your preparation prior to their visit is appreciated! Removing and clearing breakable objects out of the way before we arrive allows us to do a more thorough job and may also help with maintaining social distancing. Every little bit is welcomed and helps your housekeeper to make the most of their time with you.

Other Announcements

OC Professor looking for volunteers to talk with students about music in their lives

My name is Emily Laurance, and I am a Visiting Associate Professor of Musicology at Oberlin. This fall I am teaching a course in the first-year seminar program called “Folk Music Then and Now” A significant portion of the course is also given over to reflections about how music shapes us in our lives, particularly music that we experience in community and/or in relatively unmediated ways, such as through oral tradition, in our families, in small circles of friends, and in groups tied to particular identities (churches, camps, schools etc.).

I am hoping to have my students interview older adults about the role that music played in shaping them. To that end we are seeking 14 people to be willing informants in 2–4 one-on-one Zoom interviews of approximately 60–90 minutes each. We are not looking for professional musicians (although you certainly may be). The students are open-minded, curious, and eager to consider the role that music has in forming identity. Many of these students will be visiting (via Zoom) the song-share group hosted by Judy Cook on Wednesday at 7:00 at Kendal, so will be meeting a few residents in that context.

I would like to be able to set up initial meetings in the next week or so. You can contact me directly at elauranc@oberlin.edu. Please let me know what kinds of questions you might have, what kind of schedule works for you, and if you would like to have any kind of preliminary “get-to-know-you” meeting either with me or with the student you will be paired with.

Interested in Flower Arranging?

Stop by the Heiser Lounge tomorrow, Oct 5, at 10:30am to learn what Kendal’s volunteer flower arrangers do!

Voter Information for the November 8, 2022, General Election:

(Shared by Mary Van Nortwick)

Check voter status, see ballot, and find early voting hours at: https://www.voteloraincountyohio.gov

Find non-partisan information on candidates, issues at: https://www.vote411.org

Watch Oberlin community candidates’ night 2022 at: https://youtu.be/zua8i1u3xpy

Consult the LWVOA paper voter guide in:

• Oberlin Public Library/ Kendal Library

• The Chronicle Telegram (daily newspaper)

• The Community Guide (weekly paper)

Find information on judicial candidates: https://www.judicialvotescount.org

Covid News/ Statistic:

Governor Mike DeWine’s regular COVID Press Conferences: https://ohiochannel.org