Community Updates for Week of 6/27/2022

Updates to Residents on 6/28/2022

Fourth of July Celebration Details

Good news! Kendal will have as close as possible to our Traditional July 4^th all-day celebration again this year. Starting at 10 AM, the Parade will be marching around Heiser Circle. Join in the Parade or sit on the sidelines to watch and wave to your friends and neighbors.

Right after the Parade, attend Robert Taylor’s stirring Patriotic Program delivered with readings and singing — in the Auditorium and on KOTV.

From 11:45-2:00, Lunch will be a picnic on checkered tablecloths in the Fox & Fell. Be sure to make a reservation based on if you prefer to eat early; or go to our new event, a Trike-A-Thon at noon, and eat a little later.

From 12:00-1:00, Dan Reiber and Jack and Kathy Secrist will organize tricycles in an obstacle course of challenges. At 2:00, Dan will have his radio-controlled sailboats and motorboats on Triangle Pond. At 3:00, join friends on the grass for an ice cream treat. More details can be found on the Around KENDAL bulletin board. See you there!

Kendal Pool

We share your disappointment that the lap pool is still not able to be re-opened. Despite other minor repairs and maintenance, we know we have a leak, and cannot open up until some other steps have been taken. We are in contact with a specialized company in Cuyahoga County that was involved in the past. They have the expertise to identify/solve leaks. We will reopen the lap pool just as soon as we can with the potential use even before repairs are complete. Thank you for your patience. Remember, we have an excellent pool  available in Splash Zone that allows for single visits at an affordable rate.

When Should You Expect to your We Care Connect Survey?

If you have been at Kendal a year or longer, expect to get your Resident or Staff Survey on your anniversary date and then again 6 months later (you can figure out the month/date).  Approximately 25% of the residents report that they did not expect this survey. On the staff side, 40% report they did not know they would be getting a survey. We greatly appreciate the cooperation in everyone taking a few minutes to complete their survey. The surveys are not anonymous so you may receive a call as a follow-up to a comment or rating, helping us to assure continuous quality improvement.  Residents and staff in their first year at Kendal will get a survey within 2 week, 45 days, 6 months and 1 year.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Workshop

We had a wonderful turnout of close to 50 people on Tuesday morning for a more intensive look at how we can be more engaged in issues affecting our campus and larger community. Most importantly, almost everyone left behind something in writing about how they can personally help here at Kendal or beyond our walls. This session is only the beginning of good things to come. Stay tuned for opportunities to help us continue on this path that was started in 2006 with our first resident, staff and board involvement. We had resident and staff leadership active right through 2020 when the pandemic put things on hold. With the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan having a dedicated goal to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, we look forward to engaging all who would like to help.

The Hearing Opportunity in Senior Living- Part III

We promised to share the final and third article on hearing aids in a series appearing in Senior Living Foresight. This final article makes a point of the inadequate design of hearing aids to offer much help in congregate dining rooms, resulting in fewer people willing to dine-in. The article makes a lot of sense! As we continue to look at our own Kendal dining spaces to make spaces more inviting, attractive, and most importantly, effective acoustical design for conversations. Your thoughts and suggestions for Kendal are always welcome. Here is the article: The Hearing Opportunity in Senior Living, Part 3 – Senior Living Foresight

Construction work in parking lots 1 and 2 continues.  Last week, Smith Excavating removed all covered walkway structures leading to Lot 14. The asphalt parking surfaces have been removed to allow for the installation of concrete footers. Footer work in lots 1 and 2 should take place during the week of June 27. Temporary access walkways have been installed in two areas (next to Cottage 5 and at the end of the fire lane) for resident safety. Please watch your step!

Dining Update

Greg Zehe, Director of Hospitality Services & Assoc. Administrator

The Langston Reopens

The Langston has reopened for breakfast and lunch service to residents and staff. The hours will be the same as pre-pandemic, 11:30am – 1:30pm, Monday through Saturday. We will be serving only carryout meals to staff for the present time.

We are introducing exciting changes, moving to a menu with lunch fare and lots of opportunity for you to create your own specials. For example:

• The Margherita Flat Bread is on the menu for the week as the special, but we will have lots of ingredients available at the flatbread station, and you can order a Veggie Flat Bread made with the ingredients you select, baked in the stone oven, and delivered to your table.
• The Turkey Club is on the menu for the week as the special, but we will have lots of ingredients available at the sandwich station, and you can also order a Grilled Ham and Cheese or a Chicken Salad Wrap, etc.
• The salad bar will be open plus specialty salads made to order, so you can customize as you wish.
• Finally, the Vegan Burrito Bowl is the Bowl Special for the week, but you can create a bowl with the ingredients you wish to have. Don’t be afraid to ask for ingredients from any station to be included.

After we get rolling, your feedback and suggestions will be crucial to evaluate this concept!

Here are a couple of important things to keep in mind:

• We will be serving breakfast and lunch in the Langston and dinner in the Fox & Fell every day except on Sunday when the Fox & Fell will be serving an upscale menu for both lunch and dinner.
• Please allow some extra time for your food to be prepared; sometimes we will invite you to sit down and bring your special to you.

CommUnity Picnic Returns Tuesday, July 12

After a two-year absence, we are having our summertime CommUnity Picnic next month.  It will be held from 11:30am-1:15pm in front of the Heiser entrance.  Tents and tables and chairs have been rented and will be set up in the Heiser circle nearest the entrance and on the lawn west of the entrance.  A picnic buffet that will feature lemonade, iced tea, soda, burgers (beef and veggie ones), hotdogs and brats, and assorted salads and fresh fruit, finishing with warm fruit cobbler and ice cream for dessert.  Yum!  At 11:15am we have our Stephens Care Center residents visit the picnic buffet first to ensure they can get their food and settle under a tent before the rest of the crowd begins at 11:30am. If you wish to help transport an SCC resident to the picnic, please contact Michele Tarsitano-Amato at 775-9890 or email her at mtars@kao.kendal.org.    

This is our time for residents from the entire community and staff members to fellowship and enjoy being together.  We hope you will all come and enjoy.  In the event of rain, we will set up our picnic gathering in the Auditorium.  The Heiser Circle entrance lane will be blocked off beginning at 10am with the exit side left open for vehicles departing from Lot 11.  We look forward to coming back together!

Housekeeping/Laundry News

Window Cleaning Update:

The window cleaning company will be returning on Wednesday, June 29^th to finish the job! They will clean the outside windows on the classic cottages that they were unable to finish during their last visit. This will complete their scheduled work. Remember that Housekeeping will get the remaining windows during your scheduled deep clean, so please reach out to Crystal Hall to get that scheduled. If you have any other questions at this time, please contact Crystal Hall at cyhall@kao.kendal.org or by phone: 440-775-9199.

COVID News / Statistics

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

Medscape Reports on Moderna’s new booster

Moderna’s booster greatly improves protection against the new Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5. (Thank you, Don Parker, for sharing this).

Moderna released new study results today showing a fivefold increase in neutralizing antibodies for its combination COVID-19 vaccine booster. The new booster in development contains the original mRNA-1273 (Spikevax) vaccine and one specifically designed to target the more recent BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants. The announcement comes at a time when the proportion of BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in the United States is growing. These two strains now account for about 35% of those circulating in the US, according to CDC data.

The combination vaccine also boosted neutralizing antibodies by more than sixfold among seronegative people in the study. In addition, neutralizing titers against BA.4 and BA.5 were approximately three times lower than previously reported neutralizing titers against BA.1.

Moderna submitted this data to the US Food and Drug Administration as part of a request to update the composition of their booster. The company anticipates initial shipments of this product, known as bivalent mRNA-1273.214, as early as this summer.

BA.4 and BA.5 “represent an emergent threat to global public health,” Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, stated in a news release. “We will submit these data to regulators urgently and are preparing to supply our next generation bivalent booster starting in August, ahead of a potential rise in SARS-CoV-2 infections due to Omicron subvariants in the early fall.”

Long covid symptoms are often overlooked in seniors (shared by Andrew Unger)

The “long covid” ailment in older adults has received little attention, even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop it than younger or middle-aged adults.

COVID Stats Correction from last week

Last week we inadvertently left off the Independent Living, Self-Reported Covid-Positive data. Two IL residents tested positive during a trip away from Kendal during that week and dutifully reported that information to the Health & Wellness Clinic. Those numbers are now reflected here. Sorry about the oversight!