Community Update for Week of 8/15/2022

February 3, 2023

Update to residents on 8/16/2022

Ohio Department of Health Survey Underway

An Ohio Department of Health Survey Team arrived on campus Monday for their annual survey of our Skilled Nursing Facility in the Stephens Care Center.  These surveys are always unannounced and routinely occur 9-15 months since the most recent unannounced annual survey.  Due to the COVID pandemic, these regulatory compliance surveys are behind schedule.  Our most recent survey of our Skilled Nursing Facility was conducted in August of 2019. We will share the results of this inspection with the community in next week’s Tuesday update. 

Neighborhood Super Screen Movie Night – Aug. 26, 8:30 pm

Summer is flying by! We are pulling together a fun evening for interested Kendal Residents, Staff (family) and Neighbors. Remember when we used to do an Ice Cream Social pre-COVID out on the Maple/North Pleasant Lot for all our neighbors?  Now we are a bigger family including College Village. During COVID we had a chance to show outdoor movies on the Kendal apartment lawn and it worked pretty well. We are planning a movie (TBD) Friday evening, Aug. 26 starting about 8:30 pm for all our Kendal family and neighbors. And we’ll still serve ice cream (novelties). Movie is still being determined but it will be something all ages to enjoy. Plan to join the fun. Flyers will be distributed to our neighbors by the end of this week. You’ll need to bring your own chair (or blanket). Borrow one if you need to but don’t miss the fun!

Link-Age Survey on Entertainment Devices and Consumption

Linkage is fielding a client survey on how seniors use electronic devices for entertainment, apps, internet, or streaming purposes. This was previously sent out but quite a few residents were not confident they ever saw the request.  Participation will take about 10 minutes. The survey is accessible from August 1-31. If you do not have a computer, you could complete it on the library computer. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EntDevCons2022

If you are not comfortable responding electronically, you are welcome to ask for a PDF from the front desk and we will scan and return. Electronic submission is the most efficient and cost-effective way for Kendal to participate.  As you consider the questions, keep in mind when it refers to “apps”, that apps are available on smart phones, iPads, smart tv’s, etc. There is a great variety of technology use at Kendal. Some residents even “cast” with their phones, allowing them to mirror what is on their phone on their TV or other device. In any case, thank you in advance for supporting Link-age Connect, our market research consultancy.

If you have any questions or concerns about a survey or request, please let Michele Tarsitano-Amato or Judy Miller know.

Mowing Schedule

The grounds staff have been skipping mowing as needed throughout the summer.  This has allowed them to work on other tasks around campus.  This also gives everyone and the environment a break from the mowing equipment.  Sometimes when there are long patches in the lawn the grounds staff mows over the whole area quickly to even it out and give it a neat look since it will not be mowed until the next week.  Dan Baker, Grounds Manager lets his staff know if an area does not need to be mowed and that they can skip it as long as it looks acceptable.  Dan and the grounds staff have done a great job this year prioritizing their large workload.  If you have any questions or concerns about the mowing in your area, please don’t hesitate to contact Dan Baker. Thank you.

Ryan Stalzkowski, FMP
Assistant Director of Facility Services

Oberlin City Environmental Dashboard Content

Hi Environmental Dashboard partners:

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Jenny, and I’m a team member of the Environmental Dashboard. As you may or may not be aware, you can use your phone to control the content displayed on your screen and the screens around Oberlin, including the screen at Kendal across from the receptionist. For example, if you are standing in line at IGA, you could use our phone controller to change the screen to display the community calendar. This summer, our team has created QR code banners that people can scan to take them to our phone controller. This banner aims to increase people’s awareness that the screens are interactive. The banner would be the screen’s width and ideally go underneath the screen. Some screens will need the banner to go above. Here is a link to an example banner, but your banner would have your location’s logo and QR code. We will print the banners on durable cardstock and install them for you. Please let me know if you have any comments or concerns before we print them. If not, we will plan to install this banner in late August/early September.

Thanks,

Jenny Rowlett

Oberlin ’24

Reminder: Women’s Equality Day 

Women’s Equality Day will be celebrated on Friday, August 26, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, at the Elyria YWCA. A Kendal Bus will take and return you (or you may drive yourself and friends). The Keynote Speaker will be Laura Irvin of Moms Demand Action: Make America THINK Again – A Common Sense Gun Discussion. To register, write a check to LWVOA (League of Women Voters Oberlin Area) for $15 and put into Box # 157 (Elizabeth Aldrich). Write “Reg” or “Veg” in the memo line to indicate “regular” or vegetarian lunch. There is a bus sign-up sheet by the open mailboxes. The bus will leave at 10:45 am and return here about 2 pm. (Submitted by Sandi McClennen)

Tour of Oberlin Preserve

You are invited to join a discussion and tour of the prairie at Oberlin Preserve, at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, August 24th. This tour has been organized specifically for Kendal at Oberlin and will be led by Kate Pilacky and Elizabeth Grace, of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. The 30-acre prairie was first planted in 2017 and opened to the public in 2020. Prairies are a rare habitat with many ecological and environmental benefits. Please join us to learn about the advantages of growing prairies, different strategies of management (including controlled burning), and to simply enjoy the beauty of wildlife among these gorgeous, native wildflowers and grasses.

• Shaded benches and folding camp chairs will be available.

• For those needing a ride, a Kendal bus will be available – space is limited to 20-passengers maximum, so reserve your seat on the sign-up sheet across from the mailboxes in Heiser.

• A ‘rain date’ is reserved for Monday, August 29^th at 9:00.

• Please RSVP to Rachel Duncan (rduncan@kao.kendal.org) – although not necessary, it will help in planning.

Volunteers still needed for “Storm Day Emergency Coverage for Children” (submitted by Donna Baznik)

Prior to Covid, we had a volunteer program to provide Storm Day Emergency Coverage for the children of Kendal staff between the ages of 5-13 so that their parents could still come to work.  Older children may volunteer to help. We want to see if there is interest among residents to reinstate the program for children who are masked and have been vaccinated against the COVID virus. Volunteers must also wear masks while participating.

Please email Donna Baznik if you are interested in becoming a part of such a team. If we do have enough interest, we would provide coverage in minimum one-hour blocks from 8-4 pm on days when schools are canceled due to weather conditions. Children would wear masks when they are with us and would have a lunch break with their parents at 11:30 am. 

Parents would send favorite games, books, snow gear (if winter) and individual snacks. Activities can vary by age of children. Kendal will provide a box of games, crayons, blocks, etc. as well as a TV to show DVDs. Since we can no longer be based in the Game Room of Stephens Care Center, we would use the Education Center or an available meeting room.

Please let us know of your interest and any concerns about restarting this highly valued program. Thank you.

COVID NEWS / STATISTICS:

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