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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOIH Newletter - July 2021 OUR ISLAND HOME Monthly Newsletter Inside This Issue: • Our Island Home’s COVID Update: Keeping in Touch with Residents and Updates to Visitation • Volunteering at Our Island Home • Staffing Updates Highlights: 1) Calendar of Events 2) Family Council 3) Employee of the Month 4) Nantucket’s Behavioral Health Assessment 5) The Future of Our Island Home 6) Resources and Information July 2021 Volume 4, Issue 7 OUR ISLAND HOME’S COVID UPDATE: KEEPING IN TOUCH AND VISITING RESIDENTS We are happy to share that as of the date of this newsletters’ publication, Wednesday, June 30th, we have (0) residents and staff with COVID, and (1) staff recovered from COVID. Visitations and outings are currently available for all residents! The link to schedule your visit is included in our COVID update letter emailed weekly, or you are free to call us to schedule your next visit to OIH. *Note: The team at Our Island Home greatly appreciates at least 1 days’ notice of your intended visit to the Home – please help us to help you as best we can! VOLUNTEERING AT OUR ISLAND HOME Volunteers have been back at OIH since early June and we have been loving seeing some familiar and new faces! Of course, volunteering continues to be much different now than it has been in the past. Please contact Our Island Home for more information and to learn how to schedule your first volunteer shift. We are happy to announce that starting mid-July, we will be resuming the Nantucket Wheelers’ program at OIH! This amazing program permits residents to go on bike rides around the island with trained volunteers and using bikes that accommodate individuals with mobility limitations. Resident health care proxies have been sent the consent forms for this program, and anyone who is interested in joining the Wheelers’ team is welcome to contact the Wheelers’ group directly. STAFFING UPDATES We are excited to announce that we have a permanent Administrator who has joined the Island Home team – please join us in welcoming Chris Roberts to Our Island Home! We are also happy to share that Activities Asst. Daniel Ross has returned to Our island Home after a leave of absence. When you see him, please wish Daniel a happy return! Among all this good news, we are sad to share that Activities Director Ally Rowell will be leaving Our Island Home mid-July. “It has been an incredible gift to work with those who live and work at the Home over this past year and a half during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, and I will miss the OIH community dearly!” Thank you for all your work Ally!!! OUR ISLAND HOME 9 East Creek Rd Nantucket, MA 02554 PHONE: 1 (508) 228-0462 FAX: 1 (508) 228-6875 E-MAIL: Chris Roberts, Administrator OIHAdministrator@ nantucket-ma.gov We’re on the Web! Visit us at: www.nantucket-ma.gov INSTAGRAM: ourislandhomenantucket FACEBOOK: Oih Nantucket MA CALENDAR OF EVENTS Daily, we continue to offer numerous independent, 1:1, and small group activity options, including: Coloring page; Word search and trivia worksheets; Exploring old Nantucket picture books; Crafting such as knitting, crocheting, and more; Reading letters sent to us from our Nantucket community members; Bible study; 1:1 time with staff members for support and comfort; spending time outside, using Activities tablets, playing ball toss, and Live Jeopardy! We have many volunteers joining us this month, including but not limited to: * Sallyanne Austin – Biweekly Haircuts on Tuesday afternoons * Lucy Jimenez – Twice weekly visits with residents for 1:1 work Wednesday and Sunday mornings * Steve and Mary Watson – Offering communion on Monday mornings * Sam MacDonald – Twice weekly bingo calling on Thursday and Friday afternoons * Susan Rezendes – Staffing visitation on weekends (TBD) * Susan Richards – Pet Visits with Gwen on Friday mornings * Rev. Georgia Snell – Bible Study weekly on Thursday mornings * Jim Sulzer – Classical guitar performances on Wednesday evenings 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 A NEW OUR ISLAND HOME The future of a new Our Island Home is anticipated to be discussed at the Facilities Master Plan meeting that is to be held sometime this summer with the Select Board. Our Island Home will not be the sole focus of the meeting, but one of many topics discussed. EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH For June, our residents elected staff member Debbie Bechtold, Dietitian as our employee of the month, because of her unwaveringly helpful attitude, her efforts to go above and beyond to care for the residents, her passion for her work, and her overall great personality. Thank you, Debbie, for all that you do!!! FAMILY COUNCIL: The next Family Council Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 14th at 10 AM via Zoom. A link will be sent to family members the day prior. NANTUCKET’S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT A behavioral health assessment of our community is underway. If you have an opinion about what could improve mental health on Nantucket, please consider completing a 15- minute survey to help Nantucket Cottage Hospital, NAMI, Fairwinds, and the Community Foundation better understand the needs of the community. The survey asks about experiences you or others may have had when trying to find mental health or substance misuse services and your suggestions to improve these services. Your name is not required to participate. Please see the attached document to complete the survey. Thank you in advance for your help!