Community Update for Week of 5/23/2022

Update to Residents 5/24/2022

Don’t Miss the Afternoon Exchange This Week

Wednesday, May 25 at 4 pm (Auditorium, KOTV). We’ll cover how we are progressing in areas of CARF accreditation. One area to be reviewed annually is Resident Rights & Responsibilities so our Social Services team will provide an overview for Independent Residents. Come learn about developments to engage residents and staff in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. We always look for KORA updates and an opportunity for Q & A.

A helping hand for “Welcome to Oberlin”

This past weekend, many volunteers including Scouts and Rotarians helped weed and plant the Martin Luther King Jr park in Oberlin.  We also worked on the welcome sign at the corner of Maple and Rt. 58. These signs in several parts of the city are a part of Kendal since they were designed at least 10-12 years ago by Kendal Founder and much loved artist Paul Arnold. If you and maybe a partner friend might be willing to be a “foster parent” to keep the Maple and Rt. 58 plantings weeded occasionally, let Barbara know.

From The Met- An Anthology of Fashion with Andrew Bolton

This exhibit is well thought out and a feast for the eye as well as the intellect. Enjoy the 9 minute tour online

Fitness Center Updates

From Jill Tvaroha, Wellness Coordinator

Fitness Survey

We are extending the Fitness Survey return date to June 1 so disregard the previously advertised date. We now have 188 responses. Keep them coming!! Three ways to take it:

Take the Fitness Survey using this link! link to survey or ask Jill for a paper copy, 440-775-9851.

The Fitness center is open to residents and staff only at this juncture.

Family and guests are currently not permitted.

Memorial Day Classes

Monday 5/30: There won’t be any Fitness Classes (taught by staff) on Memorial Day.

Dining Update

From Greg Zehe, Director of Hospitality Services & Assoc. Administrator

Memorial Day Celebration

Please remember the reservation forms are due back by tomorrow, Wednesday, May 25. After feedback from several residents, we are trialing a “Community Solos” table to accommodate residents who wish to join a large table and attend the meal, similar to the Solo Diners program. If you decide to try this new option, please share your experience, thanks.

Job Fair at Elyria High School

Today, we are participating in a job fair, from 10:30am-2:00pm. This is a great time of year to meet with students as many are seeking summer employment. While we do lose some of the students in the Fall, we are very flexible and work hard to support each student’s schedule. The students also build relationships with all of you and this makes retention much more likely.

Housekeeping/Laundry Update

Upcoming cleaning for May

This year, Open House will be the first weekend in June. We have several projects scheduled to help Kendal shine.

Tuesday May 24th

We are planning to complete the Service Corridor strip and wax project. This project will begin around 7pm when the least amount of traffic is expected.

The Auditorium Floor Project has been postponed

The Auditorium Floor was scheduled to be professionally sealed and polished beginning at 7am, Monday May 23.However, a group of residents suggested that the wheelchair zones currently marked with blue tape be painted onto the floor before the floor is sealed creating a permanent solution. This was discussed and approved by KORA. Thus the work is postponed until this work can be completed.

Thursday, May 26 and Friday, May 27: H&B Window Cleaning

will be on campus to clean the windows in the main community areas and apartment building. More information will be coming later in June regarding cottage window cleaning.

A Request from your Housekeeper

This past week, we had some extremely warm days. Several residents had lowered their home’s temperature before their housekeeper arrived. This thoughtful act makes a big difference to our housekeepers. Thank You!

Laundry News

The next laundry tour is scheduled for Thursday, May 26th. There are still some openings on the signup sheet by the mailboxes at the Front Desk. If you miss this tour, there will be another one in June.

Spring cleaning

Spring Cleaning is underway, and we want to remind residents that the laundry has a limited supply of cleaning rags available, just stop by and pick some up. This is much less expensive than using your towels and turning them into rags!

Other Announcements

Are you a Pet Owner?

The Pet Committee is holding a Bulletin Board contest in July and asking that pet owners submit a picture of each one of your pets and a separate one of yourself. Photos should be submitted to Kathy Caldwell or Gerry Findlan.

A Unique Experience

(Submitted by Lynn Killean) This spring a female duck decided to nest in the Greenleaf/Whittier Garden. Last Saturday, she set out to lead her four freshly hatched offspring to water but was stymied by the lack of an exit from this courtyard. By chance, I chose to cut across that garden going to get my mail that afternoon. As the automatic double doors opened, I found the mother duck and the little ones trying to escape through that door. I was terrified – suppose the door closed on them once I was through? I hurried ahead to alert Sandi Bockmore, then on duty as nurse manager, of the emergency. She knew of the nest and found Becca and Sue Rogers to help solve it. The question was – how to keep the door from closing automatically and more importantly, how to open the locked outdoor maintenance door facing the courtyard. Fortunately, Becca had a key to the door and also figured out how to lock the sliding doors open. Sandi rounded up the little family in the flower beds and Sue and I positioned ourselves so the ducks would not enter Whittier or Patterson. The sight of the five, waddling along toward freedom was inspiring. The little ones were confused by the carpeting under foot and began to huddle together upon which Mama scolded them loudly until they lined up again in true duck fashion and followed her out.  Last seen, they were parading toward the Education Center. Afterwards, when we relaxed again, we realized that no one had been able to get a picture, much less a video of this incredible experience. The memory is precious but undocumented, but it is a reminder of how quickly we can improvise when it is needed.

Covid News/ Statistics

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

Local Information about Test Kits and Antiviral Availability

(Shared by Lynn Ayers) This past weekend I did some serious investigation of the pharmacies in the Oberlin area. I uncovered some local Covid prevention information, so I thought I’d share it with our community.

Testing for COVID: If you have symptoms of COVID, please contact the Health and Wellness Clinic (440-775-9819) to schedule an appointment to schedule an appointment for COVID Test. On weekends and holidays, please contact the Stephens Care Center at 440-775-9800.  

If you use a home test kit and think you have a positive result, please contact the Health and Wellness Clinic right away and we will repeat the test with one of our antigen test kits and then a PCR if the strip is positive with our test kit.

Getting Home test kits for Covid: You can get 8 free home test kits supplied by the Federal Government at https://www.covid.gov/tests. You should also be able to buy home test kits from CVS’s web site www.cvs.com. On the CVS site, you can get COVID home tests “for free”– meaning that most insurance plans will cover them. CVS has several brands at different prices. Or you can just walk into the CVS in Oberlin and buy one. Our Oberlin CVS has a selection of test kits at different prices at their front counter. Walgreens at 5411 N Leavitt Road (next to Cooper Foster Park Road) also has home test kits for $23.99. Our Oberlin Drug Mart does not have any test kits in stock as of this writing.

What to do if you test positive: Notify the Health and Wellness Clinic (unless they notified you), follow the direction of the Health and Wellness Clinic staff and your health care provider, including following the Kendal quarantine guidelines given to you. Consult with your health care provider or the Health and Wellness Clinic if they think an COVID antiviral would be helpful. There are certain parameters the health providers must follow before prescribing a COVID antiviral medication. If your health care providers prescribes and COVID antiviral medication, know at this time, Walgreens and Drug Mart do not have antivirals for COVID in stock. The CVS in Oberlin does have an ample supply of the needed antiviral drugs, but remember, you will need a prescription.

The pharmacist explained to me that you have options if you want to be considered for COVID antiviral treatment: 1) You can contact your health care provider and ask if he/she will send the CVS in Oberlin a prescription for the COVID antiviral.

2)  You can go to the CVS Web site and schedule a virtual “Minute Visit” with a health care provider at www.cvs.com/antiviral. Under “Products to support you” toward the bottom of the page, select “Minute Visit”. Then select “Video visit.” That will get you a virtual appointment with a licensed provider. It will take approximately 15 minutes and cost $59. If you meet the criteria and other set parameters for a prescription, the provider will then send a prescription to the CVS of your choice. Our CVS at 297 S. Main Street in Oberlin is next to McDonald’s. The phone number at CVS in Oberlin is 440 774-3531. Their voice mail is not user friendly, but the people who work at the Oberlin CVS are really lovely, helpful folks when you visit in person.   

Chronicle-Telegram interview with Harry Kestler, Professor of Microbiology at Lorain County Community College on the Future of COVID. 

COVID surges once more

(The Chronicle-Telegram Editorial Board) May 24, 2022 – It’s time to start paying closer attention to COVID-19 — again. We suspect that’s as dispiriting to read as it was to write. After the brutal omicron wave receded several months ago, the nation had time to catch its collective breath. The pandemic never really went away, of course, but the numbers were low; public health measures, including mask mandates, fell largely by the wayside; and many acted as if the virus had been vanquished or at least reduced to a minor annoyance. Yet people continued to fall ill and die.

The national death toll recently passed the 1 million mark and is still climbing, albeit slower than in the darkest days of the pandemic. For the record, as of last week, Ohio had recorded 38,590 COVID-related deaths, including 908 in Lorain County, since the pandemic began. Deaths in Ohio have dropped from 65 three weeks ago to 57 two weeks ago to 40 for the week ending Thursday, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Unfortunately, the number of infections is ticking up again thanks to a subvariant of omicron, dubbed BA.2 (which has its own subvariants), making the rounds. It appears to be more transmissible, even if the symptoms for many who become infected don’t seem quite as bad.

Lorain County Public Health Commissioner Mark Adams said Friday the county was heading into the fifth week of an expected nine-week surge. Two weeks ago, the county was rated on the nation’s virus heat map as having a green, or “low,” transmission rate. Last week, it jumped past the yellow “medium” transmission rate to the orange “high” rate. “We knew it was fast-spreading,” Adams said. “We knew there was going to be a surge again. There’s still a pandemic going on.” Ashtabula County was the only other county in Ohio listed as orange by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week. Another 16 counties were yellow and the remaining 70 counties were still green.

The situation well could change for the worse. There were 11,013 cases reported in Ohio three weeks ago. That climbed to 15,970 cases two weeks ago and hit 19,536 cases for the week ending Thursday. The actual numbers no doubt were far higher because many people who fall ill and take a home test don’t report their diagnosis to local health officials. Others might be asymptomatic and not even know they should take a test.

Read more:  https://chroniclet.com/news/303853/covid-surges-once-more/

COVID STATISTICS as of 5/24/2022  
VACCINATIONS# VaccinatedPopulation% of Pop
Kendal at Oberlin vaccinations 
Residents Vaccinated337337100.0%
Staff Vaccinated (some have Medical or Religious Exemption)22422699.1%
Total Residents + Staff vaccinated56156399.6%
Lorain County (Vaccinations Started)207,10966.8%
Ohio (Vaccinations Started)7,327,58162.7%
  
KENDAL AT OBERLIN – COVID CASES (Cumulative)5/24/2022Increase 
Residents 
Independent Living Resident Cases140 
Stephens Care Center – Residential Care90 
Stephens Care Center – Skilled Nursing20 
Residents Subtotal25 
Staff 
SCC Staff and Volunteer Cases743 
Other Staff Cases502 
Staff Subtotal124 
Total Residents + Staff149 
** Current Isolation, COVID Positive5 
** Total COVID Beyond Isolation142 
  
LORAIN COUNTY – COVID CASES (Cumulative)5/23/2022Increase 
Total in Zip Code 440742,10434 
Total Lorain County – Probable and Confirmed Cases69,211830 
Current CDC Lorain County Positivity Rate (measures entire population with results to ODH)14.2%
Deaths 
Total Lorain County908 
Total Deaths in Long Term Care Settings3020 
Age Range Breakdown:  20-29: 5.  30-39: 7.  40-49: 22.  50-59: 71.  60-69: 188.  70-79: 253.  80+: 362
  
CUYAHOGA COUNTY – COVID CASES (Cumulative)5/20/2022  
Cuyahoga County (excluding Cleveland)196,121 
Cleveland Cases86,597 
Total Cleveland + Cuyahoga County282,718 
New Cases for Cleveland + Cuyahoga County6,144 
Deaths 
Cuyahoga County (excluding Cleveland)3,005 
Cleveland983 
Total Cleveland + Cuyahoga County3,988 
Total Deaths in Long Term Care Settings971 
  
OHIO 5/19/2022% 
21-Day Average of New Cases15,506 
Total Cases2,743,577 
Age Range of all Cases 
Median Age of all Cases38 
Total Hospitalizations (cumulative)116,307 
Median Age of all Hospitalized65 
21-Day Average of Hospitalizations374 
Total ICU Admissions (cumulative)13,566 
21-Day Average of ICU Admissions32 
Total Health Care Workers Diagnosed105,1674% 
Total Tested in Ohio22,272,602 
Total Ohio Resident Deaths38,590 
Median Age of Deaths76 
21-Day Average of Deaths54 
Total Deaths in Ohio Long Term Care Settings9,088  

Contact Information


If you have any questions or concerns,  please contact Stacy Terrell, Chief Health Services Officer, at 440-775-9811