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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOIH Newsletter - April 2021 OUR ISLAND HOME Monthly Newsletter Inside This Issue: • Our Island Home’s COVID Update and Keeping in Touch with Residents – Visitation Updates • March Donations • Staff Recognition • Marching into Spring 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 April 2021 Volume 4, Issue 4 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, Wednesday, March 31st, 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. *** ATTENTION: We have significantly updated our visitation protocol with broader options available for residents and their families, in adherence with new DPH guidelines. Please see the attached letter about updates to visitation and our new scheduling system. MARCH DONATIONS A major ‘Thank You’ to Mary Lou Warren and the Union Lodge F. A.M. for your donations 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!!! STAFF RECOGNITION This month, we honored several members of the Our Island Home team with pins for their years of service as of 2020: Aaron Riley, Maintenance (5 years); Nancy Koyl, RN (15 years); Nadene Haye, RN (20 years); Fernella Philips, Dietary (20 years); Stormy Reed, Dietary (20 years); Carol Matson, LPN (25 years); and Sandra Bierute, Maintenance (30 years). Please join us in thanking these staff for their incredible work and dedication to the residents of Our Island Home! MARCHING INTO SPRING New sprouts at OIH! 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 1:1 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 the Nantucket Community School, and a St. Patrick’s Day performance by Paul Connors with the Saltmarsh Center! FAMILY COUNCIL: The next Family Council Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 14th 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 held later this month. 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 April, our residents elected staff member Kerri Flaherty, CNA as our employee of the month, because of her efforts to stay on the ball, thoroughness, great personality, and willingness to go above and beyond for the residents. Thank you, Kerri, for all that you do!!! Last year, Fran Kartunnen of the Friends of Our Island Home donated 100 daffodil bulbs for us to plant in our garden. These daffys are just starting to sprout up, and we can’t wait to see them in their full form! Thank you, Fran!!! The “Our Island Kids and Animals” Zoom Group with Susan Richards and NCS!