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!