Dear Residents, Families, and Associates of First Colonial Inn,
First and foremost, I want to say thank you to all who are Veterans and to the spouses and family members who supported their loved ones who served our country. This afternoon we will be honoring those veterans and/or their spouses who have joined the FCI community since last year’s Veterans’ Day Pinning Ceremony. We will be videotaping the ceremony so we will be sure to send you a link so that you may view this tribute as well.
In regards to our routine Pooled Testing for Covid-19 I am happy to share that the results of our 5th round of COVID-19 Pooled Testing came back negative and FCI remains COVID-free! In this round we collected saliva samples from two groups on Monday, a total of 157 people. One group was comprised of residents who have left the community within the last 2 weeks while the second group was comprised of our associates along with the employees of Silver Strands Salon and Genesis Rehab. As we continue to receive negative results this allows us to keep the shelter in place restrictions lifted for any resident who leaves the community, whether on their own or in our transportation, as long as they participate in the Pooled Testing twice weekly (Monday and Thursday) for two weeks following any outing. Residents who choose to stay within the community are asked to participate in the Pooled Testing once per week (Thursday).
We thank everyone for their continued participation in this testing program as this, along with proper social distancing, mask use, hand hygiene, and ongoing health monitoring, can provide an excellent line of defense in the fight against Covid-19. With the Shelter in Place restrictions lifted we are seeing more residents coming and going from the community, and we have heard from some of our residents that they are making holiday plans off-site. Our resident population remains very vulnerable to this virus, so please remember to take safety precautions both inside and outside the community. While outside of the apartments all residents are required to properly wear a mask, fitted over your mouth and nose, at all times. If you are not able to comply with this requirement you are to refrain from any common area usage to safeguard other residents and the associates. We also require all visitors to properly wear a mask at all times while on the property, both outside and inside, and we ask that the front entry way/drop off table area remain free and clear from congregation so that there is safe ease of access in and out of the community.
Regarding Thanksgiving here at FCI, we thank all the residents who completed their recent surveys relating to Water’s Edge Dining Room seatings for Thanksgiving and the future reopening of the Dining Room. We are excited to be able to plan for serving the Thanksgiving meal in the Dining Room to all residents who choose to do so. More info on the specifics regarding seating times will be shared next week. Ashley Rosado, our Dining Services Director who recently joined the FCI team, is very happy to be able to be a part of the planning for Thanksgiving and for the reopening. Below is a link to a video (also playing on Channel 1960) of Ashley introducing herself to you. She is looking forward to getting to know everyone!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP06kG4GUes
We thank all of you for your continued support of FCI as we navigate through this pandemic together. Our continued positive thoughts and prayers for everyone’s good health are with each of you. Please let me know if you have any concerns or questions. We appreciate your questions, feedback, and support.
Sincerely,
Chrissy Driscoll
Executive Director