Community Update for week of 5/8/2023

Update to residents on 5/9/2023

COVID Bivalent Booster available at local pharmacies and Lorain County Public Health

Independent Living residents are strongly encouraged to go to any of the local pharmacies or Lorain County Public Health to receive a booster vaccine. Be sure to take your Insurance Card and COVID Vaccine Card with you; and inform the Health & Wellness Clinic afterwards. Plans are underway for Remedi Pharmacy to provide COVID Vaccine Boosters to Stephens Care Center residents. 

Drug Mart – 122899 Leavitt Rd, Oberlin, OH  44074    Phone: (440) 774-5212

CVS Pharmacy – 297 S. Main St, Oberlin, OH  44074   Phone: (440) 774-3531

Walmart Pharmacy – 46440 US-20, Oberlin, OH  44074  Phone: (440) 774-6734

Rite Aid Pharmacy – 100 S. Leavitt Rd, Amherst, OH  44001   Phone: (440) 988-5832

  • Walk-in Pharmacy hours – Closed from 1:15pm-2pm for lunch.
    • Mon – Fri 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM, Sat 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Sun 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
    • You may schedule on-line:  www.riteaid.com/pharmacy 

Lorain County Public Health – 9880 Murray Ridge Road, Elyria, OH  44035

  • No walk-ins.  Monday-Friday from 8:30 AM – 4 PM, call for an appointment.
  • Phone (440) 284-3206 to make an appointment. 

COVID Home-Test Kits from CVS

(Shared by Carol Conti-Entin) The CVS pharmacist asked me to spread the word that they are out of COVID home tests. He doesn’t know if they’ll get more before the May 11 deadline, when they will be subject to cost sharing. That said, Medicare beneficiaries have no out-of-pocket costs when they get a COVID home test kit.

Friendly reminder about Masks for Guests

Masks are optional for guests. Masks are encouraged but not required — EXCEPT in the SCC, where masks are still required.

Travel Reminders

Latest Domestic Travel guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html

Latest International Travel guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:  

Those reminders include, but are not limited to:

  • Be Up to Date in your COVID Vaccine Booster https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html
  • Follow CDC’s recommendations for wearing masks in travel and public transportation settings. 
  • Test yourself with a Home COVID test within 3 days before travel after travel if in crowded places without wearing a mask.
  • Monitor yourself for COVID or any infectious disease before, during and after travel.
  • Good advice: be mindful that many of our residents at Kendal have weakened immunity. Be considerate of them when returning from travel regarding social distancing, masking, and sharing space to avoid any potential spread during the first 5-10 days after your return. Remember, you can spread COVID even before you experience symptoms.   

Coffee Hour

Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 10, at 9:30 am in the Langston, on KOTV and via Zoom.

Implications of Kendal-Crosslands leaving as an Affiliate

As Kendal residents across the Kendal System continue to mull over the impact of Kendal-Crosslands leaving, know that The Kendal Corporation is hard at work doing the necessary planning to strengthen and preserve the Kendal System through this transition and beyond. A resident sent out an email to Administration and KORA officers seeking more detailed and assuring information. Kendal Corporation is doing a financial 5-Year Proforma to assure confidence in their sustainability and feel confident in their ability to operate successfully even without Kendal-Crosslands. And it will recognize the added income from Enso Village, the new affiliate opening this fall. If you would like to see the email and response, they have been posted on the Admin Bulletin board. Barbara and Joan Villarreal will be in Delaware at the end of this week to meet with all the Kendal affiliates and will be returning with more to share on how we will move forward under the circumstances.

The Age Well Study

Over 90 residents began the 5-Year Study and over 60 residents were able to complete it every year. We’re now studying the data and anticipate sharing a summary with everyone soon. Most favorable were the unique questions and survey responses in Year 4, demonstrating how our residents coped extremely well during the pandemic by engaging in opportunities to serve/volunteer.

Recording of Afternoon Exchange

Many of you have asked for the recording of Barbara’s Afternoon Exchange on April 26. Unless there is a special presentation, Exchanges generally are not recorded. However, this one was! Excerpts of it may be viewed at the YouTube link below. These excerpts include 1) a one act play about the transition from Slow Medicine to Thoughtful Conversations; and 2) changes to our COVID related policies that will go into effect on May 11. Thank you, Joyce Benjamin, for all your video editing work! The link is https://youtu.be/atU3fem9-yE

Nurse’s Week

Nurse’s Week 2023 is celebrated May 6 – May 12 (Florence Nightingale’s birthday) – is here. According to the American Nurses Association, this year’s theme is “You Make a Difference.” We celebrate and express our gratitude for all of our nursing professionals at Kendal at Oberlin…Thank You for the Difference You Make Every Day!

Dining Update

Greg Zehe, Director of Hospitality Services & Assoc. Administrator

Reminder of the Fox & Fell dinner service hours

We want to provide you with prompt attention and ask you to remember that the 4:45 pm to 5:30 pm time slot is reserved for carryout service. Carryout service is also available after 6:30 pm. If you arrive at other times, our focus is serving the dining room and you will likely experience a delay until a server is available to take your order.

Waited service is available beginning at 5:30 pm through 7:00 pm. You may arrive early and take a seat at your table but depending on the number of carryout diners you will likely experience a delay until your server is available. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Mother’s Day Buffet Reminder

Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 10 is the deadline for reservations for the Mother’s Day Buffet this Sunday. We hope you will plan to attend! By making this a very special occasion, we need to call on all our staff to be able to pull this off. Putting all our available staff at this special event does not allow for the dining room to be open later for supper. We suggest you do a carry out on Saturday (or Sunday) if you wish to have your meal later in the day on Sunday. We list all the “special events” at the beginning of the quarter when you choose your meal plan so you can be aware of the F&F being closed for dinner/supper on those days.

Other Announcements

Go Wish cards

With warmer weather and family get-togethers this summer, Thoughtful Health Conversations (THC) suggests it’s time to consider and share your thoughts about your end-of-life wishes. The Go Wish cards are a fun and easy way to do that. Each one of the 36 cards has a very short sentence with a simple wish like “I want my family nearby” or “I don’t want to be alone.”  You sort the cards into piles indicating your late-in-life priorities. 

The game can be played alone with a photograph sent to your family and friends. Cards are available for sign-out in our Library. You can also play online with family at a distance (see the link below.) Better still, play the game while visiting family or friends this summer. Family conversations generated by the game often become warm, gratifying and deeply meaningful. 

Once you have played, THC will reward you with an ice cream cone for each player, up to 5 scoops per game. (Sorry, we can’t provide the refreshments for the whole family reunion!) Most importantly, have fun working with your family and friends to better understand and share your late-in-life preferences. https://codaalliance.org/go-wish-game/

If you have questions, ask Priscilla Steinberg #118.

Reminder: Auditorium CLOSED May 15-16

Floor maintenance. Please stay out of the Auditorium during this time.

Resident Handbook will be Updated

We’ve been getting a number of comments from Residents that the Resident Handbook is badly out of date. Yes, it most certainly is! It is a project that has been on the backburner for quite a while – but a process is being developed for how to tackle and update the many sections of the handbook. Stay tuned. -Dale Preston, Office Manager.

COVID NEWS / STATISTICS:

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

Repeating this from last week as it is so important: May 11 is the Official End of the Public Health Emergency

Thursday, May 11 will mark the official end of the Federal Public Health Emergency. As such, many of the requirements of the Health Emergency will begin to unwind. The following will be effective starting Thursday:

Masks

  • Masks will continue to remain optional in the Heiser Community Center. If necessary due to any significant outbreak on or off campus, they will be required again.
  • Kendal staff are to ask Independent Living residents, “Would you like me to wear a mask”? when entering an Independent Living home.
  • Masks will continue to be required for a time in the Stephens Care Center (SCC). We have now changed from requiring the KN95 mask to permitting a medical procedural mask in the SCC. These are available at each entrance to the SCC.
  • Independent Living residents passing through the SCC still need to wear a mask.

Kiosks

  • Kiosks will still be used for visitors to sign-in. We will be removing the health screening questions. These will be replaced with signage at each Kiosk of what to do if you have any signs/symptoms of COVID or any infectious illness.
  • Independent Living residents passing through the Stephens Care Center will no longer have to check-in at the Kiosks, however, all Independent Living residents will need to have their Kendal name tag prominently worn. SCC residents and staff want to know other residents by name, and some SCC residents have voiced that they want to make sure someone belongs in their home when seeing them pass through.
  • Staff will no longer need to use the Kiosk.
  • Volunteers, private duty staff, contractors, construction workers, et al non-residents and non-staff will still need to register their presence at Kendal through the Kiosk and prominently wear their sticker badge to signify to all their registration on campus. 
  • Kiosk locations will be re-evaluated.

Community Activities in the Stephens Care Center

  • We will begin to slowly reintroduce community activities in the Stephens Care Center where Independent Living residents will be free to participate and enjoy.
  • Independent Living residents and visitors will be welcome to dine with SCC residents in the Friends Corner Dining Room.
  • Intergenerational Activities in the SCC between Early Learning Center students and SCC residents will begin to slowly resume.

Attention readers: This is the final week for reporting COVID statistics in the News Update

Most communities have not been doing this for months and nowhere to the level of detail Kendal at Oberlin has provided. After May 11, many of the regulated reporting requirements are no longer mandatory. Kendal will continue to keep COVID-related statistics about residents and staff (of course!) but we won’t be publishing this form of data unless there is a significant outbreak of COVID. 

COVID STATISTICS as of 5/9/2023  
VACCINATIONS# VaccinatedPopulation% of Pop
Kendal at Oberlin vaccinations 
Residents Vaccinated347347100.0%
Staff Vaccinated (some have Medical or Religious Exemption)23523898.7%
Total Residents + Staff vaccinated58258599.5%
Lorain County (Vaccinations Started)214,11869.1%
Ohio (Vaccinations Started)7,584,06964.8%
  
KENDAL AT OBERLIN – COVID CASES (Cumulative)5/9/2023Increase 
Residents 
Independent Living Resident Cases963 
Stephens Care Center – Residential Care420 
Stephens Care Center – Skilled Nursing40 
   Residents Subtotal142 
Staff 
SCC Staff and Volunteer Cases1211 
Other Staff Cases840 
   Staff Subtotal205 
Total Residents + Staff3474 
Current # in Isolation, COVID Positive1 
Total # of COVID, Beyond Isolation385 
  
LORAIN COUNTY – COVID CASES (Cumulative)5/1/2023Increase 
Total in Zip Code 440742,9128 
Total Lorain County91,41980 
Current CDC Lorain County Positivity Rate4.8%MODERATE
Deaths 
Total Lorain County1,0070 
Age Range Breakdown:  20-29: 6.  30-39: 7.  40-49: 24.  50-59: 78.  60-69: 193.  70-79: 283.  80+: 416
Note: Cumulative = since start of pandemic. Increase = since last week.

Contact Information


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