Dear Cardinal Residents and Family Members,
North Carolina surpassed 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the first time in two weeks reporting 2,008 cases on Friday. The state also reported a positivity rate on Friday of 8%, which remains higher than the 5% or less than what health officials want to see moving forward. Across the state and country, colleges and universities have been reporting cluster outbreaks in college dorms as students return to school and attend large gatherings while not wearing a mask. We are pleased to report that all of our current testing efforts this past week have yielded negative results and we appreciate your efforts and compliance with our current protocol to keep everyone at The Cardinal healthy and safe. The one associate who tested positive earlier last week was retested and the results were negative. This associate remained asymptomatic through the testing process.
We will continue with our random COVID-19 surveillance testing next week using our new lab. This lab is promising faster turnaround times of approximately 24 hours for results. There will be a different type of swab taken with our new testing kits. Nurses will be collecting a nasal swab instead of a throat swab. All Cardinal associates will be tested every other week per North Carolina DHHS guidelines. Cardinal associate testing will occur every Tuesday and random Independent Living Residents and Private Duty Caregivers/third party providers will be tested on Wednesdays. The testing clinic hours are from 8:00am-4:00pm in the Art Studio.
Next Wednesday, August 26th, we will be offering resident testing for any IL resident living on the 5th floor of the North and South Tower. If you live on the 5th floor and wish to be tested, please come to the Art Studio next Wednesday. Because we are switching to a new lab, you will need to bring your Medicare or Insurance Card with you. Please make sure you bring these cards to the testing clinic. There is no cost incurred with this testing and your insurance will be billed.
We are excited to welcome two new members to The Cardinal Team. Ginger Boyle, RN joined our team last week as the Resident Care Manager. Ginger has been visiting The Cardinal for quite some time in her previous role with Transitions Life Care and is excited to officially begin her new role with us where she will oversee the operations for Assisted Living, Enhanced Assisted Living and Connections Memory Care. Ginger graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and has been a nurse for over 25 years. She has worked in many different clinical settings but spent the last 14 years with Transitions. She and her husband, Daniel, have been married for 33 years and they have two grown sons.
Karen Johnson will be joining the team as Sales Coordinator on Monday and is thrilled to be joining The Cardinal. Karen was raised in Virginia Beach and is a proud graduate of the University of Virginia. Since moving to Raleigh in 1993, she has resided close to The Cardinal inside the beltline and now considers the City of Oaks her home. After a successful career in sales, marketing, and fundraising, Karen is looking forward to this new chapter in senior living. She enjoys spending a day at the beach and her favorite restaurant in Raleigh is Glenwood Grille. She is a member of Holy Trinity Anglican Church and is a lover of all things Lilly Pulitzer. Please join us in welcoming both Ginger and Karen to The Cardinal when you see them!
We have noticed a significant increase in the number of transportation requests recently and wanted to remind everyone that we are currently only offering transportation drives to essential medical appointments and to the bank via the drive through. Due to current protocol, we are not offering transportation for other personal needs. We can pick up items for you at the pharmacy and ABC store, etc. in addition to assisting with Instacart orders for delivery.
Hayes Barton Pharmacy will be conducting our annual Flu Clinic this year and will be offering the recommended high dose vaccine for our residents. The flu clinic will be held Thursday, September 24th for Independent Living residents and on Friday, September 25th for all Healthcare residents. Cardinal associates can receive the vaccination on either day. Next Friday, August 28th we will begin taking reservations at the front desk for IL residents wishing to receive their flu shot here at The Cardinal. We strongly encourage everyone to get the flu vaccination this year. When you sign up to participate in the flu clinic, we will ask you to fill out your flu consent form to expedite things the day of the clinic. We will hold on to this form until the day of the clinic.
Dining Services kindly asks all residents to please wear their face mask when answering the door during our meal delivery service. It has been brought to our attention that many residents are answering the door and talking to associates without wearing a mask. We thank you for your attention to this matter to help keep our associates (and residents) safe!
We are loving our new Cardinal Monogram N99 face masks and they have been in high demand. We have a few left for those of you who may want another or still need to get one. The cost is $10/per mask and we can easily add this charge to your monthly statement. If we completely run out of masks, we will consider placing a second order. In addition to these new masks, we also have mask extenders for those of you who have a difficult time keeping the straps of your mask behind your ears. A few residents have tried these extenders and said they work really well. Please let the front desk know if you are interested in receiving one of these complimentary extenders for your mask.
Wellness is planning several fun events for everyone to enjoy in September. We have a special celebration for Grandparent’s Day and Oktoberfest in addition to The Farmer’s Market starting on September 3rd from 12:00pm – 3:00pm. As a reminder, we have absentee ballot request forms available for pick up at the front desk. Tom Ford is Manager on Duty this weekend and will be available to assist with whatever you may need. We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and as always, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mary Casey or Tom Ford with any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Tom Ford, Executive Director and Mary Casey, Assistant Executive Director