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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOIH Newsletter - March 2021 OUR ISLAND HOME Monthly Newsletter Inside This Issue: • Our Island Home’s COVID Status and Keeping in Touch with Residents • Pfizer Vaccine Clinic • February Donations • A Centenarian Birthday Celebration • #OIHValentine Project – Thank you! 9 East Creek Rd. Nantucket, MA 02554 1 (508) 228-0462 March 2021 Volume 4, Issue 3 OUR ISLAND HOME’S COVID UPDATE AND KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH RESIDENTS We are happy to share that as of the date of this newsletters’ publication, Monday, March 1st, 2021, we have (0) residents and staff with COVID, and (1) staff recovered from COVID. 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. PFIZER VACCINE CLINIC Our Island Home is happy to share that we have completed all three rounds of our Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine series in partnership with CVS Pharmacy. Approximately 90% of our resident population has elected to participate in the vaccination process, along with close to 75% of our staff members. We are so proud of our team here for taking the opportunity to make a difference! FEBRUARY DONATIONS A major ‘Thank You’ to Joan J. Fisher for your donation 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!!! A CENTENARIAN BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION This month, our residents and staff enjoyed a very special day on February 20th, celebrating one of our very own resident’s birthday – Bea turning 100 years young, pictured below! Special thanks to Bea’s granddaughter Amy Santos and OIH staff members Ally Rowell, Debbie Bechtold, Carol Matson, and Michelle Munroe for making this such a special day for Bea and her loved ones. #OIHVALENTINE PROJECT – THANK YOU! Thank you to all friends and family members that participated in our #OIHValentine campaign this past month, a social media project to show our residents how loved they truly are! 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 also enjoyed virtual groups such as Book Club, “Our Island Kids and Animals” with Susan Richards, and a Valentine’s performance by Paul Connors. FAMILY COUNCIL: The next Family Council Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 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 Laurie MacVicar-Fiske, Social Services as our employee of the month, because of her efficiency, efforts to treat all residents equally, and for handling some of the residents’ issues and concerns. Thank you, Laurie, for all that you do!!!