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!