Community Update for week of 2/27/2023

February 28, 2023

Update to residents on 2/28/2023

COVID Update

COVID is still present in the greater community. There have been 11 new cases at Kendal in the last week: 10 Independent Living residents and 1 staff person. Contact tracing revealed one common event and some outside events were the primary sources.  Fortunately, everyone has had mild symptoms. Please continue to exercise wisdom and precaution when in larger group gatherings.

What to do if you have been Exposed to COVID

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you had a “close exposure” If you spent more than 15 minutes within 6 feet of an infected person starting 48 hours prior to their developing COVID. 

• Monitor for symptoms, such as fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, muscle or body aches, headache, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, new loss of taste of smell. 
• Only if you have symptoms, using a home test, test yourself for COVID. If you do not have a home test, call the Health and Wellness Clinic, 440-775-9819 during normal business hours or the RN Nurse Manager at 440-775-9800 and request a COVID test.
• Free Government Tests are still available https://www.covid.gov/tests
• The FDA has extended expiration dates of many of the COVID home testing products.  You can look up any extended expiration date at:  https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests#list
• Home tests are also available for sale at most local drug stores.  Please make sure to keep a supply in your home.
• Kendal is not testing if symptoms are not present.  We are only testing those that are symptomatic and have no home test kits. 
• If your test is positive, isolate yourself immediately in your home and report this positive test to Laurie Dupee, Director of Health and Wellness at 440-775-9807 or ldupee@kao.kendal.org. Further instructions will be provided.
• If you share a home with someone that does test positive, and you are negative, you are not isolated at home, but we do advise that you avoid gatherings, communal dining and wear a high-quality mask when in public areas while your home mate is isolated.
• If you have symptoms and your test is negative, continue to monitor your symptoms closely.  If your symptoms worsen, contact the Health and Wellness Clinic at 440-775-9819.  Please wear a high-quality mask when around others.

Virtusense Demonstration

The Therapy Department is excited to announce the installation of some new technology in our department. It is called Virtusense and is a piece of equipment that uses Light Detection and Ranging Technology to assist our therapists in assessing balance, gait, reach, and other deficits that may lead to falls. 

We will be having a demonstration on Thursday, March 2 at 1 pm in the Heiser Auditorium to introduce the equipment and give everyone a taste of what it has to offer. 

We will have our first “Balance Clinic” of the year on March 20 from 10 am until 1 pm.This clinic will be on a sign-up basis.  Each mini assessment will take between 10-20 minutes and will help the Therapy Department to establish if a need for therapy may be present.  A sign-up sheet will be placed at the mailboxes and will be there until filled or the day of the clinic arrives.  If you have any questions, feel free to stop by the demonstration on March 2 and the Therapy Department will do our best to answer them.  The Therapy Department can also be reached at 440-775-9816 or mbaloun@kao.kendal.org – from Matt Baloun, Therapy Manager

Dining Update

Greg Zehe, Director of Hospitality Services & Assoc. Administrator

Time to sign up for new meal plan

Please follow the link below to select your new meal plan for the period of March 19 through June 18, 2023. Meal plans should be selected by March 13 at 4pm. https://fs10.formsite.com/97rJJN/1k6apw9hj7/index.html Thank you! – Your Kendal Dining Team!

Grounds Update

Organic Air Tree and Shrub Care will be on campus this week to apply a deep root-feed treatment to many of the young trees on campus. These trees have been carefully selected and will be marked with a blue flag. For more information on this treatment visit https://www.organicairtsc.com/tree-fertilization/, or contact Rachel Duncan at 440-775-9073 or by email at rduncan@kao.kendal.org.

Kendal grounds staff will be applying fertilizer with Dimension (a pre-emergent) to turf areas starting 2/28/23, weather permitting. This is a granular application to improve turf health and target invasive weeds in our turf. This application will reduce the number of selective herbicides used on campus. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Dan Baker at 775-9849 or by email drbaker@kao.kendal.org.

Other Announcements

Candoo Tech Update

We are getting closer to implementation of The Candoo Tech Pilot program! This program will provide one on one remote training and support to residents, group lessons and a library of content that contains “How-to guides” and videos. Three Candoo Tech “Welcome Webinars” have been scheduled:

The Stephens Care Center will host their Welcome Webinar via Zoom with Candoo Tech on Wednesday, March 8 from 4:00-5:00 during the SCC council meeting.

Welcome Webinar #2 will take place on Thursday, March 16th from 10:00 – 11:00 AM. This webinar will take place via Zoom with Candoo Tech, however, the Education Center training room has been reserved for those residents who would like to participate together. There will also be an opportunity to register for Candoo Tech services after the Webinar.

Tuesday, March 21 from 3:00-4:00 PM will be the final Welcome Webinar. This webinar will also take place via Zoom with Candoo Tech staff; again, the training room has been reserved for those residents who would like to participate together. There will also be an opportunity to register for Candoo Tech services after the Webinar.

Spinners and Weavers

Thirteen members of Lorain County Spinners and Weavers Guild will demonstrate these timeless arts on their looms and spindles on Saturday, March 4 from 3:00pm to 5:00pm in Heiser Auditorium. This is a special event to accompany the Fiber Artistry exhibit in our Community Gallery

Covid News/ Statistics

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

COVID vs Flu: Which Is Deadlier?

(Shared by Don Parker) Here’s a Medscape/WebMD report on a study showing that COVID (Omicron and probably variants) is more deadly than influenza — despite early misinformation that flu was more likely to kill you. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/988548