Dear Cardinal Residents and Family Members,
Governor Cooper announced this week that effective today at 5:00pm, North Carolina will enter into Phase 2.5 of its Safer at Home reopening plan. During Phase 2.5, gym, museums, aquariums, and playgrounds can reopen at reduced capacity. Larger gatherings will also be permitted, with up to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors. In addition to these changes, Nursing Homes are now permitted to allow outdoor visits for residents and their loved ones. We are thrilled with this news and will begin offering outdoor visits for our Pines Healthcare residents next week. A letter went out to all Healthcare residents and their families yesterday about our new process for these visits. Residents in Independent Living may also schedule an outdoor visit with their friends in The Pines in a few weeks after our families have had an opportunity to visit first. We will let you know when you may begin scheduling visits soon. At this time, all current COVID-19 protocol remains in place. North Carolina continues to report a positivity rate of 7.6% with the number of new reported cases, which remains too high.
Surveillance testing continues to go well, and the new lab is delivering on their promise of faster turnaround times. For the first two weeks, we have received all test results within approximately 24 hours, which is excellent. This Wednesday, September 9th, we will be offering testing to Independent Living residents residing on the 3rd floor of the North and South Tower. If you live on the 3rd floor and wish to be tested for COVID-19, please come by the Art Studio between the hours of 8:00am – 4:00pm to be tested. You will need to bring your insurance cards with you this first time being tested with the new lab. As a reminder, Personal Service Providers/Caregivers must come in to be tested when they are notified by The Cardinal. If you have a personal service provider, please remind them to comply with this policy so they can continue to provide services at The Cardinal. If private caregivers fail to be tested on their scheduled day, they will not be able to provide services until they come in for testing and their results are received.
The Farmer’s Market was a huge success this week and we are looking forward to having them back soon. We are in the process of reaching out to them to see if they can begin coming every week or every other week through the Fall months. Stay tuned for future dates. Wellness is also looking forward to celebrating Grandparents Day with everyone on Sunday, September 13th. This year, our celebration will look a little different than in years past, but we are excited about hosting our first Grandparents Day Parade at 2:30pm on Sunday. An email went out to all resident family members yesterday about this fun event. Family members interested in participating in the Grandparents Day Parade should email Lauren Gray, Wellness Assistant, by Thursday, September 10th. Further details and instructions for the event will be sent out to those participating on Friday, September 11th.
As we celebrate the Labor Day Holiday this weekend, Dining Services wanted to remind all residents that they will be operating under the Holiday Dining Schedule in Independent Living and will only be serving one meal on Monday, September 7th. The meal delivery times on Labor Day will be from 1:00pm – 3:00pm. Due to the fact that there is no evening meal on Monday, the 7th, the Dining Team will be collecting menus for Monday, September 7th and Tuesday, September 8th on Sunday, September 6th. Dining Services will not be collecting any menus on Monday September 7th. Dining will resume their regular dining schedule on Tuesday, September 8th.
The Flu Shot Clinic, conducted by Hayes Barton Pharmacy, is scheduled for Independent Living Residents on Thursday, September 24th from 11:00am – 4:00pm. We only have a few spots left for IL residents on the 24th so if you haven’t already signed up to receive your flu shot, please call the front desk soon to reserve your spot. We strongly encourage everyone to get the flu shot this year.
Next Saturday, September 12th, we will have a person out to detail your car if you would like. The car detailer will be onsite from 8:00am – 1:00pm. Please call the front desk to reserve your spot if you wish to have your car detailed. Proper COVID precautions will be taken by the person detailing the vehicles.
The Wellness Team is excited to announce that they are busy planning many new programs and events for the month of October. We have received feedback from many residents that they would like to begin seeing more intellectual and educational programs since we are unable to invite our guest speakers and lecturers into the community. We will be adding more of these educational programs along with Brain Enrichment to the October calendar based on your feedback. We would love to hear your suggestions so please do not hesitate to reach out to Ashley Stokes, Wellness Director or Mary Casey, Assistant Executive Director with any ideas you may have. We are also looking forward to bringing our Friday afternoon concert series in the main courtyard back this Fall once the weather cools.
National Assisted Living Week is September 13th – 19th. The Wellness Team is asking for your help to show our residents in Assisted Living how much we care about them. We are asking for cards and letters of inspiration from you for us to deliver to our Assisted Living residents during National Assisted Living Week. If you are interested in participating by writing a letter or sending a greeting card to a friend in Assisted Living, please reach out to any member of the Wellness Team next week. They will be collecting these cards all next week to distribute the following week.
Ashley Stokes, Wellness Director, is manager on duty this weekend. Stephen Mullis, Maintenance Manager, is Manager on Duty on Monday, September 7th for the Labor Day Holiday. We hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend and we look forward to seeing you next week!
Sincerely,
Tom Ford, Executive Director and Mary Casey, Assistant Executive Director