HomeMy WebLinkAboutOIH Newsletter - February 2021
OUR ISLAND HOME
Monthly Newsletter
Inside This Issue:
• Our Island Home’s COVID Status
• Keeping in Touch with Residents During COVID / Valentine’s Plans
• Pfizer Vaccine Clinic
• January Donations
Highlights:
1) Modified Calendar
of Events
2) Employee of the
Month
3) The Future of Our
Island Home
4) Resources and
Information
9 East Creek Rd.
Nantucket, MA 02554
1 (508) 228-0462
February 2021
Volume 4, Issue 2
OUR ISLAND HOME’S COVID STATUS
On Friday, January 15th, Our Island Home learned that (1) of our staff members tested
positive for COVID-19. Steps were taken immediately to protect the health and safety of
our residents and other staff members, including suspending group congregation and
activities at the Home, increasing frequency of deep cleaning and sanitizing the facility to
several times daily, and increasing surveillance of and adherence to on-going safety
measures such as frequent hand-washing, PPE-wearing, and physical distancing throughout
the facility. As of the date of this newsletters’ publication, Friday, January 29th, 2021, we
remain at (1) staff positive.
KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH RESIDENTS DURING COVID / VALENTINE’S PLANS!
We continue to receive letters, photos, and words of hope to our resident email account:
ourislandhome@yahoo.com. You can visit our Facebook page (Oih Nantucket MA) for daily
OIH COVID updates, and resident family members and loved ones receive a comprehensive
update weekly via email. All visitation at OIH should continue to be scheduled in advance
through the Activities Director, Ally Rowell, who can be reached via email at
arowell@nantucket-ma.gov or via phone at 1 (508) 228-0462 x 7406.
In celebration of Valentine’s Day this year, we are calling upon our fellow Nantucket
community members to help show our residents the love! Please post a photo of yourself
and/or your loved ones on social media with the hashtag #OIHvalentine – most preferably,
you can hold a sign up saying, “I am an #OIHvalentine”! These photos will be collected and
shown to our residents throughout the month of February to help make this love-filled
holiday special for them. Thank you in advance for participating!
PFIZER VACCINE CLINIC
We had an amazing experience receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine from the CVS
Pharmacy Team, receiving our first dose on January 5th and our second on the 26th! A
hearty ‘thank you’ is owed to our staff and residents for doing such an incredible job with
this process – our first step forward toward some big joy in 2021!
JANUARY DONATIONS
A major ‘Thank You’ to Mirick O’Connell Attorneys at Law, Atlantic East Nantucket Real
Estate, Ms. Susan M. Warner, Matthew and Sheila Fee, Mary Casey and Jeffrey Blackwell,
M. Marina Austin, Jeanne and Peter Hicks, Rev. Ted and Gretchen Anderson, Bill and Kathy
Grieder, Judith B. Phelan, and Jennifer Ahlborn for your donations to OIH and to the Friends
of Our Island Home this past month. Your generosity contributes directly to our resident’s
daily life, activities, and overall well-being. We are so grateful. Thank you!!!
OUR ISLAND
HOME
9 East Creek Rd
Nantucket, MA 02554
PHONE:
1 (508) 228-0462
FAX:
1 (508) 228-6875
E-MAIL:
Bob Eisenstein
Interim Administrator
OIHAdministrator@
nantucket-ma.gov
We’re on the Web!
Visit us at:
www.nantucket-ma.gov
INSTAGRAM:
ourislandhomenantucket
FACEBOOK:
Oih Nantucket MA
MODIFIED CALENDAR OF EVENTS
We continue to make modifications to our
activities calendar in efforts to follow best-
care practices as recommended state and
federal agencies that reflect evolving
standards and regulations surrounding COVID-
19.
Daily, we continue to offer the following
activities options: Coloring pages; Puzzles;
Word search and trivia worksheets; Video
chatting and phone calls with family and other
loved ones; Window visits (scheduled in
advance) Exploring old Nantucket picture
books; Independent crafting such as knitting,
crocheting, and other art forms; Reading
letters sent to us from our Nantucket
community members; Independent or
distance bible study; Spending one-on-one
time with staff members for support and
comfort; and listening to music on
headphones.
In addition to the above activities, our
residents have been busy playing on our
tablets, arts-and-crafting, writing to their 3rd
Grade Pen Pals at the Lighthouse School, and
spending abundant 1:1 time with staff. We
have temporarily suspended congregating in
our living room for movies and distance-bingo
due to our (1) staff positive, but are continuing
to enjoy daily virtual visits and activities.
FAMILY COUNCIL:
The next Family Council Meeting is scheduled
for Wednesday, February 10th at 10 AM,
via Zoom.
RESOURCES & INFORMATION
If you have questions or concerns regarding
evolving COVID-19 regulations and
standards, please be aware of the Nursing
Home Family Resource Line established by
the Baker-Polito Administration. This is a
dedicated telephone line that will connect
family members of nursing home residents
with information and resources they need.
The line is staffed from 9am – 5pm,
Monday through Friday, and the number is:
1 (617) 660-5399.
THE FUTURE OF OUR ISLAND HOME
Six facilitated discussions were held
between July and September 2020
regarding the future of Our Island
Home. One of these groups was held
with internal Town of Nantucket staff
and the remaining were held with key
Stakeholders; including OIH residents,
family, staff members and senior
service providers on the island. On
October 14, 2020 a review of these
stakeholder forums was presented to
the Select Board. Another round of
facilitated discussions with additional
stakeholder groups and community
members are being scheduled for
January and February 2021. It is
anticipated that additional discussions
with the general public will occur
sometime after those are completed.
The information from these meetings
will be reviewed by the Select Board
and, along with prior studies done on
OIH, will be utilized to determine what
is the best direction the Town should
procced in for the future of a nursing
facility on the island.
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
For December, our residents elected
staff member Katey Boynton, RN, as
our employee of the month, because
of her efforts to always help those
around her and the love she spreads
to residents and staff alike. Thank
you, Katey, for all that you do!!!