Community Updates Week of 4/12/2021

Calm, Proactive Preparedness

April 16, 2021: Update to Residents

DeWine: Coronavirus variants driving increased cases, hospitalizations

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise statewide, largely due to the presence of variants of the coronavirus, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a news briefing Thursday.

The state added 2,164 new cases, 181 hospitalizations and 31 intensive care admissions from Wednesday to Thursday, all exceeding the 21-day average of 1,997, 100 and 11, respectively.

Also, there were 1,305 people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Thursday afternoon, reflecting a steady increase since the end of last month. The hospitalizations are particularly troubling, DeWine said, because they are lagging indicators. The statewide COVID-19 incidence rate is at 200 cases per 100,000 population over a two-week period. Anything above 100 per 100,000 is regarded as high incidence per guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

Lorain County remains under the Level 3 “red” advisory because it exceeds the high-incidence threshold for new COVID-19 cases. Until the county drops below 100 cases per 100,000 over a two-week period, it cannot be downgraded to an advisory below the red level. As of Thursday, Lorain County was meeting the levels required for the following alert indicators: new cases per capita, sustained increase in new cases and proportion of cases not in a congregate setting. Lorain County’s infection rate is 14th-highest in the state at 232.1 cases per 100,000 population over a two-week period. DeWine said most of the 11 counties with the highest infection rate over the past two weeks have all been in Northern Ohio, including Erie, Cuyahoga and Summit counties. —The Chronicle-Telegram

Virtual Dining Charrette scheduled for Tuesday, April 20^th at 4pm

The Dining Charrette will be a collaborative session facilitated by representatives from HD&S Architects and the Scopos Hospitality Group. The objective of the Charrette is to provide Kendal with the ability to Plan for the Future of Dining and incorporate the vision into the overall Master Campus Plan. Preparation is encouraged by watching this 32-minute video on Dining Trends.

For Tuesday: The Zoom Session has been set up with the following information: Join Dining Charette Zoom Meeting. OR if you don’t have a computer…..you may view the session on your television on WSCC channel 96-100 or 20-1 if you have a cable box and 921 if you don’t have a cable box.

Dining Listening Post Reminder

We are offering a “listening post” to hear and respond to residents in person. The schedule is from 11:00am-12:30pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the doorway of the Langston at the Kiosk. This will continue through next Friday, 4/23.

Buckeye Harvest Market

If you like buying locally produced food, you are lucky to be living in Oberlin. Buckeye Harvest Market works with local farmers and the Oberlin Food Hub to aggregate and distribute fresh produce, meat, dairy products, eggs, grains, beans, pasta–even soaps and lotions.

Effective May 6, 2021, Chet Bowling of Buckeye Harvest Market (and Black River Organics) will deliver orders to Kendal. He will be in front of Heiser at 3:30pm each Thursday with any orders people have made for that week. There will be no notification leading up to Thursday, so please mark your calendars to be in front of Heiser if you have placed an order. An information sheet explaining how to register is available in the Heiser Lounge. Thanks to Arlene Dunn for her past service on this and helping it to continue.

A Good Read

A Tiny Number of People Will Be Hospitalized Despite Being Vaccinated – We have to learn why! This Medscape article reports on efforts around the country to identify reasons why a few, rare cases of SARS=CoV-19 are occurring in fully vaccinated people–typically immuno-compromised people. —from Don Parker

The Return of the Annual Bird and Amphibian Hike

Wednesday, May 12, 9:45am – Oberlin Great South Woods Right of Way

Kendal nature lovers – Meet outside the Heiser Center for this Field Trip! Kendal folks are ready to get out and enjoy spring, and we are in the midst of the Big Spring Bird Migration! If you have questions, please contact Kate at the Land Conservancy’s Oberlin field office at 774-4226. Please sign up by open mailboxes by noon on Monday, May 10. We want to make sure we have enough vehicles to accommodate all interested individuals, but parking is limited. We will do our best to accommodate walk-ins. If it is raining steadily we will try to reschedule another date. COVID precautions will be followed and a signed waiver will be required.

Miscellaneous Updates from the New Normal Planning Committee

• Be advised if you or your guest (IL living) requires a COVID test from Kendal, there is a $35 charge. We do not charge for tests related to SCC visits since those are provided by the State.
• Memorials – as of this time, if anyone plans for a Hybrid Memorial, the only persons permitted to be in the Auditorium (up to 25) would be residents (outside family/friends may attend by Zoom). It was recognized that while we could consider being outside, there really is not a suitable space, and sound equipment would complicate it. We promise to review this regularly as circumstances change.
• Sanitation of Surfaces in Meeting Rooms – While research shows very little risk of picking up COVID from surfaces, our rooms will remain supplied with cleaning supplies. Our weekly Zoom Poll showed most participants are willing to clean spaces before/after use for the benefit of themselves or others.
• FAQs – We will continue to keep our document up to date. The original concerns about how to share food have been removed. Enjoy sharing, but keep washing your hands and use good common sense.

When is a quarantine needed?

There is lots of CDC advice and some imposed requirements for Ohio based on licensing for Nursing Homes and Residential Care Facilities. Our practices are a mixture of what we have to do for the licensed areas mixed with what seems to make sense as extra precaution for our senior living campus. In the last weeks we have been mixing licensed residents in common spaces and this week in resident rooms.

This can change from week to week with exposure to COVID and positive test results.

For ALL

Domestic travel with no overnight stay will not require any test or quarantine.

For VACCINATED Residents:

• Domestic travel with an overnight stay will not require quarantine, but residents will be required to have a negative antigen test in the Health and Wellness Clinic before returning to Heiser, meeting, or fitness spaces on Kendal’s campus. (HWC is open only M-F 8-4:30).
• Residents will be asked to self-monitor for any COVID symptoms for the first 14 days back from traveling and immediately report any symptoms to the Health and Wellness Clinic.

For UNVACCINATED Residents:

• Domestic travel with no overnight stay will not require quarantine.
• Domestic travel with an overnight stay will require a 7-day quarantine.
• On quarantine days 3-5, a PCR test must be administered, preferably at Mercy Allen Hospital, unless an exception has been made for a different location for testing.
• When the negative-result PCR test has been received (approximately by the 7^th day), the resident can return to Heiser, meeting, or fitness spaces on Kendal’s campus.
• The resident should self-monitor for symptoms of COVID for 14 days and immediately report any symptoms to the Health and Wellness Clinic.

International Travel (Vaccinated and Unvaccinated):

• International travel will require a 7-day quarantine for both vaccinated and unvaccinated residents.
• After international travel, a PCR test must be administered on the 5^th day from Mercy Allen Hospital, unless an exception has been made for a different location for testing.
• When the negative-result PCR test has been received (usually the 7^th day), the resident will be off quarantine and can resume normal activities.
• The resident should self-monitor for symptoms of COVID for 14 days and immediately report any findings to the Health and Wellness Clinic.

Hospital Stays (Vaccinated and Unvaccinated):

• Independent residents who have been hospitalized overnight will need a negative antigen test on day 3-5 after being discharged from hospital.
• The resident should stay quarantined away from other residents (other than outside walks) and out of Heiser, meeting, or fitness spaces until they have had their antigen test to end their quarantine.
• Other residents who live in the same household should also follow the same guidance.

Guests staying overnight in cottages/apartments.

For ALL Guests

Overnight Kendal visits must be approved by the CEO or CHSO. This is done to allow a review origin city of the guest to review the rating of the County. Areas outside of Ohio that are RED and inside Ohio that are purple will not be approved.

For Vaccinated Guests

Vaccinated guests staying overnight should schedule an antigen test at the Health and Wellness Clinic when they arrive at Kendal.

If the vaccinated guest arrives after normal Health and Wellness Clinic office hours (M-F 8-4:30) during the weekend, they should remain quarantined with their resident host until a test can be administered on the following Monday.

Test and documented results may be obtained locally over a weekend, if available. When the negative-result antigen test has been received, the vaccinated guest can visit with the resident in their home or on walks while masked. No guests are permitted to enter the Heiser, meeting, or fitness places on campus.

For Unvaccinated

Unvaccinated guests must remain in the resident’s home in quarantine with the resident (other than outside walks while masked and avoiding other people).

On the day of the arrival of the unvaccinated guest, a 7-day quarantine will begin. After the 7-day quarantine the resident must schedule an antigen test with the Health and Wellness Clinic to end their quarantine. After 7 days, continue to monitor your symptoms for a full 14 days.

More Good Reads

Looking back at The 50’s –Shared by Jim Walsh

What Gender is Your Computer?

Today’s Statistics

Kendal at Oberlin (KaO)

Lorain County (as of 4/15/2021) – Level 3 RED

Cuyahoga County (as of 4/15/2021) – Level 3 RED

State of Ohio (as posted on 4/15/2021)

April 13, 2021: Update to Residents

Good Reads

Opinion: Why the Johnson & Johnson Pause Should Bolster Confidence in Vaccines

“The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a joint recommendation on Tuesday to pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on the basis that it could be associated with a rare blood clotting disorder. I am a doctor and a participant in the Johnson & Johnson clinical trial who received the vaccine myself less than two weeks ago; here is how I’m processing the news:

First, federal health officials made exactly the right decision. Any concerning safety signals should be investigated immediately. Even with an incidence of one in a million (there have been six cases of this clotting disorder out of nearly 7 million doses administered), the FDA and CDC made the right call to recommend this vaccine be put on hold.”–The Washington Post (free to all)

Traveling while Vaccinated- Expert Tips Before You Head Out – Medscape –from Don Parker

Reminder: Stephens Care Center Remains Closed to Casual Visitors

As a reminder, by State Order, the Stephens Care Center is closed to casual visitors. All visits must be scheduled through SignUpGenius. Please follow all of the instructions on SignUpGenius when scheduling a time to visit a resident in the Stephens Care Center and make sure the person you wish to visit is expecting you.

Independent Living residents are prohibited from entering the Stephens Care Center unless they have a visit scheduled and have been properly screened before entering the Stephens Care Center.

Thank you for understanding as we all work to keep our campus safe and follow all associated regulations.

Virtual Dining Charrette scheduled for Tuesday, April 20, at 4pm

This Dining Charrette will be a collaborative session facilitated by representatives from HD&S Architects and the Scopos Hospitality Group. The objective of the charrette is to provide Kendal with the ability to Plan for the Future of Dining and incorporate the vision into the overall Master Campus Plan.

A Zoom session has been set up with the following information: Join Zoom Meeting. An email with more information will be distributed tomorrow.

Open Visitation Hours in The Penn Dining Room are Changing!

Beginning soon we will be ending the open visitation time slots at 2pm so this space can be used for dinner service. The Penn will still be available for visitation as now earlier in the day. Thanks!

Dining Listening Post Reminder

We are offering a “listening post” to hear and respond to residents personally concerning their dining plan questions. The schedule will be from 11:00am-12:30pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the doorway of the Langston at the Kiosk. This will continue through Friday, 4/23.

Oberlin College Student Discussion on Societal Relevance of Timing and Time Perceptions

Sunday, April 18, 3:00pm – Zoom Discussion: Join Zoom Meeting

“My name is Golara Malaki (they/them), and I’m a third-year Neuroscience and Economics major at Oberlin College. At the start of my second year, I learned about the neuroscience of timing and instantly fell in love. Though time is essential to most behavior, the brain’s timing center is unknown. Since the summer of 2020, I’ve been diving deep into the timing literature for my honors project. Throughout this spring, I’ve been sharing my neurobiology of timing adventure through weekly videos that explore neural elements of timing. For the last week, I’d love to facilitate a discussion about the societal relevance of timing and how time perception has molded our culture.” 

Fitness Center News

Please make sure you look at the pool time slots. With the extended hours, the times have changed.

For the PowerPoint orientation, you need to ”save as”, then you can open it, answer the questions, sign it, and send it back to Jill at jtvaroha@kao.kendal.org. It’s nice to save it as a file, then you will have it for future reference. If you have trouble or don’t have a computer, you can contact Jill so you can view the PowerPoint at the Fitness Center.

There are still some class spaces in Yoga, Meditation, Stretch, Beginning Tai Chi, and Water Aerobics. Contact the Fitness Center if you are interested in one of these classes.

SignUpGenius for the pools begins on Friday, 4/16, at 9am. Anyone signed up before this date and time will be deleted. Please consider the expanded hours and try to avoid the 9am rush. As stated in the email, this will be the last appointed sign-up time. We will just continue to add dates to the current link as time goes on. You can check periodically and sign up when you know your schedule. Please plan carefully so you don’t take spaces that you are unsure about. That takes time away from everyone.  Thank you for your flexibility and patience as we move through these changes. —Shared by Jill Tvaroha, Fitness Coordinator

Entry to Kendal by Bike or Walking

If your guests are local and want to bike or walk to Kendal, our entry staff will accept them as long as they bring a completed pass filled out in advance.

Oberlin Connector

Carrie Handy and Diane Ramos from the City of Oberlin met with us last week on the Exchange about the special large grant Oberlin received to promote and enhance the Oberlin Connector. It now runs every weekday from 6am to 6pm and 9:30pm to 12am to many places in Lorain County. They printed a very informative wallet card with everything you need to know about the bus. It will cost Kendal residents $1.00 each way. Cards are by the open mailbox. Do use this means of transportation. At the end of the year the number of riders going with the increased hours and destinations (currently Amherst, Amherst Twp., Lorain, Sheffield Twp., Elyria, Carlisle Twp.) will be calculated to determine renewal of the grant. Kendal donates $5000 each year in a combination contribution from the budgets of Administration and KORA to support this program. Pick up your personal Oberlin Connector card in Heiser near the open mailboxes.

KORA COUNCIL Webinar

Thursday, April 15, at 10am – Join Zoom Meeting – KORA Council, the Webinar ID is 923 5902 8778

Artist Talk with Ryn Clarke

Friday, April 16, at 4pm – Join Zoom Meeting – Ryn Clarke – Meeting ID: 814 7157 0532, Passcode: 933001

Clay Artists at Work

Don’t miss the ceramic garden scene displayed in Heiser and made in the IL Art Studio. It is displayed on the long drop-leaf table behind the Heiser sofa. Artists include

Jim Underwood, Marilyn Carson, Nick & Lillie Long, and Anne Wardwell. Garden arrangement by Joyce Parker.

Today’s Statistics

Kendal at Oberlin (KaO)

Lorain County (as of 4/13/2021) – Level 3 RED

Cuyahoga County (as of 4/13/2021) – Level 3 RED

State of Ohio (as posted on 4/13/2021)