Village Assisted Living COVID-19 Update

Village Assisted Living Information

Visitation Guidelines for Village Assisted Living – effective Feb. 11, 2022.

Village Assisted Living Communication

The following is communication sent via email to the families and loved ones of Village Assisted Living residents. If you have a question, please contact Marie Winter-Calvillo, administrator, at 816-347-2701 or [email protected].

Nov. 1, 2022

I’m happy to be sharing several pieces of good news today! Our COVID-19 tests of residents and staff members yesterday were all negative! We have one resident who remains on isolation, and our 2 staff members are back at work. Please knock on wood and send us some positive thoughts that we are on the road to being COVID free!

In other good news, I’m delighted to share that the readers of The Examiner (an Eastern Jackson County newspaper) gave John Knox Village a huge vote of confidence by naming us the “Best of the Best” in five categories, including Best Retirement Community, Best Assisted Living and Best Memory Care, and we were runners up in three more! I’ve included the complete listing below. We’re delighted to hear that kind of support from the greater community. If you voted for us, thank you so much for your support!

Best Retirement Community (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017)
Best Assisted Living (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019)
Best Memory Care (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019)
Best Home Health Care (2022, 2020, Finalist 2021)
Best Senior Care and Wellness (2022)
Finalist – Village Hospice (2022)
Finalist – Physical Therapy (2022, 2021, 2020)
Finalist – Place to Work (2022)

We did have our Pup Parade on Friday the 28th, thanks to Village Hospice and other volunteers, and I hear the residents really enjoyed the furry friends. Rumor has it someone brought a chicken, too!

And currently the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services says Jackson County has a “low” or “green” community transmission rate. You can view their Data Dashboard here.

Please reach out if there are any questions or concerns!

Oct. 25, 2022

Just a quick update from yesterday, Oct. 24, 2022. We did have 1 resident who tested positive yesterday during our mass testing (this is still in the main VAL area – memory care has not been affected).

Several of our Covid positive residents from the week before have recovered. We currently have 4 Covid positive residents. Three of those four positive residents will be able to come out of isolation on Friday, leaving us with one Covid positive resident.

We will test again on Monday the 31^st of October (Happy Halloween) and then the 7^th of November. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers that these two might be our last tests for a while.

We have been discussing Fireside and because of the lower amount of positives we will open Fireside tomorrow morning starting with breakfast. A point of interest – food will be served on disposable plates for just Wednesday. We will also serve the residents as socially distanced until we are Covid free again.

As a heads up, tomorrow, I will be emailing out a survey regarding Assisted Living. Please be on the look out for it!

Lastly, AHA, the Medicare replacement plan designed for Assisted Living residents, is planning on have a representative here Nov. 10 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (stop ins are fine or I can send out a sign up), Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to noon and Nov. 28 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Let me know if there are any questions or concerns please! I’m here and happy to help!

Oct. 19, 2022

We did have scheduled testing Monday, Oct. 17, and this resulted in two additional positive COVID-19 cases. This brings us to a total of 16 active COVID cases, as some have recovered.

For the most part, everyone is feeling okay, and residents are isolating in their apartments if they are currently COVID-19 positive.
All staff members have recovered and have returned to work.
One resident has recovered Friday and was able to come out of isolation.

Additional COVID-19 follow-up testing is scheduled for Oct. 24 and Oct. 31. Of course, anyone who exhibits symptoms will also be tested.
As a precaution, we will be serving resident meals in their rooms in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. We will do this for two weeks (until Oct. 27) and then we will re-open Fireside, as socially-distanced again, for two weeks. After that we will try to get back to “normal.”
We also have put a hold on activities for the same amount of time, although voting will still occur this week as planned.
Residents who are not Covid positive may absolutely still walk around inside and outside of John Knox Village and of course have visitors. The temporary closure of Fireside is an effort to slow the virus down.
If you have a family member in assisted living who has tested positive, please encourage them to stay isolated in their room, to protect the health of other residents.
The active COVID-19 cases are currently in assisted living, and not on the memory care units.

There continues to be a concern that residents are being exposed by outside sources. This brings me to share these reminders:

Please do not come to visit if you are not feeling well. We ask the same thing of our staff members.
The most common symptoms we are seeing are: sinus congestion, coughing, sore throat, and joint pain (often without a fever).

- Please do not assume that what you are experiencing is allergies or a sinus infection

When visiting any of the assisted living neighborhoods, we all should be wearing our masks – residents, associates, and guests.

I also want to share a little bit about our processes. If you have any questions after reading this, please reach out to me.

Before You Visit: If you or someone you have associated with has tested positive for COVID-19 we ask – based on CDC recommendations – that you not visit until:

- You are 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test AND are symptom-free, OR
- You are at least 5 days past your exposure or positive test result, AND you now have a negative COVID-19 test.
- IN ADDITION, even if you test negative, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask around others throughout the 10-day precautionary period following exposure or the positive test.
- Why? We can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after we have been exposed – and can test negative for several days after symptoms have begun.

Why such strict recommendations? The reason we are so careful with our residents is that COVID-19 affects them in a harsher manner than younger people. So someone who is older, who has underlying health conditions, and/or may be immunocompromised will be more likely to have harsh symptoms.
Community Transmission: Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “low” or “green” community transmission rate.

You can view the Jackson County Health Department’s data dashboard at jacohd.org/data-dashboard/

Visitation: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CDC issued revised guidance on 09/23/2022, which states that having residents test positive will not affect your ability to visit. These guidelines say that we are to inform loved ones of the presence of positive cases, and the risks associated with visiting (including being exposed to COVID-19), and it is then up to the visitors to assess the risk and decide on whether to visit.
We are recommending that, especially at this time:

Visitors should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, at this time, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.
If there are active COVID-19 cases on a memory care unit, please only visit loved ones while they are in their apartments, or outside, and not in indoor common areas.

As always, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns – not just about COVID. I am here to help!

Oct. 13, 2022

While we did not have any scheduled testing today, we did test several residents yesterday and today who were displaying Covid symptoms. This has led to four additional positive Covid tests, this leads us to a total of 17 active Covid cases.

For the most part, everyone is feeling okay, and residents are isolating in their apartments.
Two staff members have recovered and returned to work, one staff member tested positive Friday, Oct. 7, as well as another staff member testing positive yesterday, 10/11. So as of today we currently have two positive associates.
One resident did recover and was able to come out of isolation Friday.

Additional COVID-19 follow-up testing is scheduled for Oct. 17 and 24 and, of course, anyone who exhibits symptoms will also be tested.
As a precaution, we will be serving resident meals in their rooms in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. We will do this for two weeks and then we will re-open Fireside as socially distanced again for two weeks and then we will try to get back to “normal”.
We have also put a hold on activities for the same amount of time, although voting will still occur next week as planned.
Residents who are not Covid positive may absolutely still walk around inside and outside of John Knox Village and of course have visitors – with the closure of Fireside we are just trying to slow the virus down.
If you have a family member in assisted living who has tested positive, please encourage them to stay isolated in their room, to protect the health of other residents.

There continues to be a concern that residents are being exposed by outside sources. This brings me to share these reminders:

Please do not come to visit if you are not feeling well. We ask the same thing of our staff members.
The most common symptoms we are seeing are: sinus congestion, coughing, sore throat, and joint pain (often without a fever).

- Please do not assume that what you are experiencing is allergies or a sinus infection

When visiting any of the assisted living neighborhoods, we all should be wearing our masks – residents, associates, and guests.

I also wanted to share a little bit about our processes. If you have any questions after reading this, please reach out to me.

Before You Visit: If you or someone you have associated with has tested positive for COVID-19 we ask – based on CDC recommendations – that you not visit until:

- You are 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test AND are symptom-free, OR
- You are at least 5 days past your exposure or positive test result, AND you now have a negative COVID-19 test.
- IN ADDITION, even if you test negative, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask around others throughout the 10-day precautionary period following exposure or the positive test.
- Why? We can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after we have been exposed – and can test negative for several days after symptoms have begun.

Why such strict recommendations? The reason we are so careful with our residents is that COVID-19 affects them in a harsher manner than younger people. So someone who is older, who has underlying health conditions, and/or may be immunocompromised will be more likely to have harsh symptoms.
Community Transmission: Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “low” or “green” community transmission rate.

You can view the Jackson County Health Department’s data dashboard at jacohd.org/data-dashboard/

Visitors should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, at this time, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.
If there are active COVID-19 cases on a memory care unit, please only visit loved ones while they are in their apartments, or outside, and not in indoor common areas.

Oct. 10, 2022

Today’s scheduled follow-up COVID-19 testing in assisted living has, unfortunately, turned up several more positive test results in addition to two people who tested positive over the weekend. Through this, we now have a total of 13 active resident cases.

For the most part, everyone is feeling okay, and residents are isolating in their apartments.
One staff member has recovered and has returned to work, and one staff member tested positive Friday, Oct. 7, and today so we currently have two positive associates.
One resident did recover and was able to come out of isolation Friday.

Additional COVID-19 follow-up testing is scheduled for Oct. 17 and 24 and, of course, anyone who exhibits symptoms will also be tested.
If you have a family member in assisted living who has tested positive, please encourage them to stay isolated in their room, to protect the health of other residents.

There continues to be a concern that residents are being exposed by outside sources. This brings me to share these reminders:

Please do not come to visit if you are not feeling well. We ask the same thing of our staff members.
The most common symptoms we are seeing are: sinus congestion, coughing, sore throat, and joint pain (often without a fever).
- Please do not assume that what you are experiencing is allergies or a sinus infection
When visiting any of the assisted living neighborhoods, we all should be wearing our masks – residents, associates, and guests.

I also wanted to share a little bit about our processes. If you have any questions after reading this, please reach out to me.

Before You Visit: If you or someone you have associated with has tested positive for COVID-19 we ask – based on CDC recommendations – that you not visit until:

- You are 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test AND are symptom-free, OR
- You are at least 5 days past your exposure or positive test result, AND you now have a negative COVID-19 test.
- IN ADDITION, even if you test negative, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask around others throughout the 10-day precautionary period following exposure or the positive test.
- Why? We can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after we have been exposed – and can test negative for several days after symptoms have begun.

Why such strict recommendations? The reason we are so careful with our residents is that COVID-19 affects them in a harsher manner than younger people. So someone who is older, who has underlying health conditions, and/or may be immunocompromised will be more likely to have harsh symptoms.
Community Transmission: Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “low” or “green” community transmission rate.

You can view the Jackson County Health Department’s data dashboard at jacohd.org/data-dashboard/

Visitors should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, at this time, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.
If there are active COVID-19 cases on a memory care unit, please only visit loved ones while they are in their apartments, or outside, and not in indoor common areas.

As always, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns – not just about COVID. I am here to help!

Oct. 6, 2022

Well, we did conduct our Monday, Oct. 3, COVID-19 follow-up testing at Village Assisted Living, and at that time all the residents we tested were negative. However, as we have continued to test those who are exhibiting symptoms, we have found two additional positive residents, one person last night and one more today.

All but two of the other residents who previously tested positive have now recovered, leaving us with a total of four COVID-positive residents in Assisted Living.
One staff member has recovered and will return to work and we did have one staff member test positive 10/4/2022.

We will hold scheduled testing again Monday, Oct. 10 and Monday, Oct. 17.

There continues to be a concern, though, that residents are being exposed by outside sources – which brings me to request that when visiting residents, we all should be wearing our masks, plus a reminder: Please do not come to visit if you are not feeling well. We ask the same thing of our staff members.
I also wanted to share a little bit about our processes. If anyone has any questions after reading this, please reach out to me. Remember, if you don’t feel well, please stay home!

Before You Visit: If you or someone you have associated with has tested positive for COVID-19 we ask – based on CDC recommendations – that you not visit until:

- You are 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test AND are symptom-free, OR
- You are at least 5 days past your exposure or positive test result, AND you now have a negative COVID-19 test.
- IN ADDITION, even if you test negative, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask around others throughout the 10-day precautionary period following exposure or the positive test.

Why? The reason for this is that we can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after we have been exposed – and can test negative for several days after symptoms have begun.

Why such strict recommendations? The reason we are so careful with our residents is that COVID-19 affects them in a harsher manner than younger people. They can be immunocompromised – because of other underlying health conditions. So someone who is older, who has underlying health conditions, and/or may be immunocompromised will be more likely to have harsh symptoms.
Community Transmission: Jackson County is now in the “medium” category. We will no longer screen visitors to John Knox Village but for us we ask those who are coming and going to be very careful and to please wear masks inside our Assisted Living. This is to help keep all our residents and staff safe.

Visitation: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CDC issued revised guidance on 09/23/2022, which state that having residents test positive will not affect your ability to visit. These guidelines say that we are to inform loved ones of the presence of positive cases, and the risks associated with visiting (including being exposed to COVID-19), and it is then up to the visitors to assess the risk and decide on whether to visit. However, I will add that if there is active COVID-19 case on a memory care unit, please only visit loved ones while they are in their apartments, or outside, and not in indoor common areas.
Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “low” or “green” community transmission rate, there are still new cases that are being diagnosed in this county. The Jackson County Health Department also shared that cases are continuing to go down and that the county is “leveling-out” temporarily. They also shared that 98.5 percent of those who were hospitalized were not fully protected by the Covid-19 vaccine. jacohd.org/data-dashboard/ is the web address for the Jackson County health department.
It is recommended that:

Visitors should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
If you don’t feel well, please stay at home rather than risk infecting your loved one or others – we recommend the same thing for our staff.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Make certain you wear your mask while in the building.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns – not just about COVID. I am here to help!

Sept. 29, 2022

Tuesday, we had a total of eight residents in our main VAL building who had tested positive for COVID-19.

As of today, Thursday, September 29th, we have seven, as one more person has recovered. Another person or two will recover tomorrow thankfully!

We continue to test those who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms.

On Sept. 26, residents and staff were tested and no one tested positive.
On Sept. 27, a staff member and a resident tested positive. The resident is quarantining in their apartment. The staff member is recovering at home. We will do another round of testing Monday, Oct. 3 and then the following Monday, Oct. 10, we will test all staff and all residents.
We will continue to test when residents/staff members report symptoms.

I also wanted to share a little bit about our processes. If anyone has any questions after reading this, please reach out to me. Remember, if you don’t feel well, please stay home!
Before You Visit: If you or someone you have associated with has tested positive for COVID-19 we ask – based on CDC recommendations – that you not visit until:

- You are 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test AND are symptom-free, OR
- You are at least 5 days past your exposure or positive test result, AND you now have a negative COVID-19 test.
- IN ADDITION, even if you test negative, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask around others throughout the 10-day precautionary period following exposure or the positive test.
- Why? The reason for this is that we can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after we have been exposed – and can test negative for several days after symptoms have begun.

Why such strict recommendations? The reason we are so careful with our residents is that COVID-19 affects them in a harsher manner than younger people. They can be immunocompromised – because of other underlying health conditions. So someone who is older, who has underlying health conditions, and/or may be immunocompromised will be more likely to have harsh symptoms.
Community Transmission: Jackson County is now in the “medium” category. We will no longer screen visitors to John Knox Village but for us we ask those who are coming and going to be very careful and to please wear masks inside our Assisted Living. This is to help keep all our residents and staff safe.

Visitation: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CDC issued revised guidance on 09/23/2022, which state that having residents test positive will not affect your ability to visit. These guidelines say that we are to inform loved ones of the presence of positive cases, and the risks associated with visiting (including being exposed to COVID-19), and it is then up to the visitors to assess the risk and decide on whether to visit. However, I will add that if there is active Covid-19 on a memory care unit we should only visit our loved ones while they are in their apartments or outside and not in open areas.
Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “medium” or “yellow” community transmission rate, there are still new cases that are being diagnosed in this county. The Jackson County Health Department also shared that cases are continuing to go down and that the county is “leveling-out” temporarily. They also shared that 87.2 percent of those who were hospitalized were not fully protected by the Covid-19 vaccine. www.jacohd.org/data-dashboard/ is the web address for the Jackson County health department.
It is recommended that:

Visitors should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
If you don’t feel well, please stay at home rather than risk infecting your loved one or others – we recommend the same thing for our staff.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Make certain you wear your mask while in the building.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns – not just about COVID. I am here to help!

Sept. 20, 2022

We tested residents and staff in our main VAL area for COVID-19 again yesterday (Monday, Sept. 19) and found two additional residents who tested positive.

As has been the case for the last few weeks, they had mild or no symptoms.
These two residents are isolating in their apartments.
One formerly COVID+ resident has recovered, and our one staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 has also recovered.

We will test again on Monday, Sept. 26, as well as the following Monday, Oct. 3. (Where has the time gone?)
I also wanted to share a little bit about our processes. If anyone has any questions after reading this, please reach out to me. Remember, if you don’t feel well, please stay home!

Before You Visit: If you or someone you have associated with has tested positive for COVID-19 we ask – based on CDC recommendations – that you not visit until:

- You are 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test AND are symptom-free, OR
- You are at least 5 days past your exposure or positive test result, AND you now have a negative COVID-19 test.
- IN ADDITION, even if you test negative, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask around others throughout the 10-day precautionary period following exposure or the positive test.

Why? The reason for this is that we can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after we have been exposed – and can test negative for several days after symptoms have begun.

Why such strict recommendations? The reason we are so careful with our residents is that COVID-19 affects them in a harsher manner than younger people. They can be immunocompromised – because of other underlying health conditions. So someone who is older, who has underlying health conditions, and/or may be immunocompromised will be more likely to have harsh symptoms.
Community Transmission: Jackson County is still sitting in the “high” category. We ask visitors who are coming and going to be very careful and to please wear masks inside our Assisted Living. This is to help keep all our residents and staff safe.

Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “high” or “red” community transmission rate, which means a large percentage of new cases are being diagnosed in this county, cases are going continuing to go down though. The Jackson County Health Department also shared that although cases are continuing to go down, we are still in the “red zone” and that 89.2 percent of those who were hospitalized were not fully protected by the Covid-19 vaccine. jacohd.org/data-dashboard/ is the web address for the Jackson County health department.
It is recommended that:

After visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
If you don’t feel well, please stay at home rather than risk infecting your loved one or others – we recommend the same thing for our staff.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Make certain you sign in and are screened when you arrive and wear your mask while in the building.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns – not just about COVID. I am here to help!

Sept. 16, 2022

There were three COVID-19 positive residents, total, as of Monday Sept. 12, in our main VAL building. Although our next scheduled testing is Monday, Sept. 19, we have continued to test those who exhibit COVID-19-like symptoms. Two additional residents have tested positive for COVID-19 as of this morning; these residents are quarantining in their apartments.

We will do another round of resident testing Monday, Sept. 18.
On the following Monday, Sept. 26, we will test all staff and all residents.
We will continue to test as residents/staff members report symptoms.

I also want to share a little bit about our processes. If anyone has any questions after reading this, please reach out to me. Remember, if you don’t feel well, please stay home!

Before You Visit: If you or someone you have associated with has tested positive for COVID-19 we ask – based on CDC recommendations – that you not visit until:
- You are 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test AND are symptom-free, OR
- You are at least 5 days past your exposure or positive test result, AND you now have a negative COVID-19 test.
- IN ADDITION, even if you test negative, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask around others throughout the 10-day precautionary period following exposure or the positive test.

Why? The reason for this is that we can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after we have been exposed – and can test negative for several days after symptoms have begun.

Why such strict recommendations? The reason we are so careful with our residents is that COVID-19 affects them in a harsher manner than younger people. They can be immunocompromised – because of other underlying health conditions. So someone who is older, who has underlying health conditions, and/or may be immunocompromised will be more likely to have harsh symptoms.
Community Transmission: Jackson County is still sitting in the “high” category. We ask visitors who are coming and going to be very careful and to please wear masks inside our Assisted Living. This is to help keep all our residents and staff safe.

Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “high” or “red” community transmission rate, which means a large percentage of new cases are being diagnosed in this county. The Jackson County Health Department also shared that cases are continuing to go down and that the county is “leveling-out” temporarily. They also shared that 87.5 percent of those who were hospitalized were not fully protected by the COVID-19 vaccine. jacohd.org/data-dashboard/ is the web address for the Jackson County health department.

It is recommended that:

After visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
If you don’t feel well, please stay at home rather than risk infecting your loved one or others – we recommend the same thing for our staff.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Make certain you sign in and are screened when you arrive and wear your mask while in the building.

Sept. 13, 2022

We tested residents and staff again yesterday, Monday, 9/12/2022, and found two additional residents who tested positive for COVID-19 in our main VAL area. We also had a staff member who tested positive for Covid-19 as well. The staff member was sent home to recover and the two additional residents are isolating in their apartments.
We will test again on Monday, the 19^th of September, as well as the following Monday, the 26th.
I also wanted to share a little bit about our processes. If anyone has any questions after reading this, please reach out to me. Remember, if you don’t feel well, please stay home!

Before You Visit: If you or someone you have associated with has tested positive for COVID-19 we ask – based on CDC recommendations – that you not visit until:

- You are 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test AND are symptom-free, OR
- You are at least 5 days past your exposure or positive test result, AND you now have a negative COVID-19 test.
- IN ADDITION, even if you test negative, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask around others throughout the 10-day precautionary period following exposure or the positive test.

Why? The reason for this is that we can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after we have been exposed – and can test negative for several days after symptoms have begun.

Why such strict recommendations? The reason we are so careful with our residents is that COVID-19 affects them in a harsher manner than younger people. They can be immunocompromised – because of other underlying health conditions. So someone who is older, who has underlying health conditions, and/or may be immunocompromised will be more likely to have harsh symptoms.
Community Transmission: Jackson County is still sitting in the “high” category. We ask visitors who are coming and going to be very careful and to please wear masks inside our Assisted Living. This is to help keep all our residents and staff safe.

Visitation: As I have mentioned before, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised guidance on 11/12/2021, which state that having residents test positive will not affect your ability to visit. These guidelines say that we are to inform loved ones of the presence of positive cases, and the risks associated with visiting (including being exposed to COVID-19), and it is then up to the visitors to assess the risk and decide on whether to visit. However, I will add that if there is active Covid-19 on a memory care unit we should only visit our loved ones while they are in the room and not in open areas. On our memory care units, it is best if visits happen in the resident’s room or outside. If a room is a shared room, then the roommate must not be in the room at the time of the visit. These requests are to keep our residents safe.
Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “high” or “red” community transmission rate, which means a large percentage of new cases are being diagnosed in this county. The Jackson County Health Department also shared that although cases are continuing to go down, we are still in the “red zone” and that 89.1 percent of those who were hospitalized were not fully protected by the Covid-19 vaccine. jacohd.org/data-dashboard/ is the web address for the Jackson County health department.
It is recommended that:

After visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
If you don’t feel well, please stay at home rather than risk infecting your loved one or others – we recommend the same thing for our staff.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Sept. 9, 2022

There is currently one positive COVID-19 test result in our main VAL building. We have tested those residents who interacted with the positive resident and those residents have all tested negative. This resident is quarantining in their apartment. We will do another round of testing Monday the 12^th and then the following Monday, the 19^th of September, we will test all staff and all residents.

I also wanted to share a little bit about our processes. If anyone has any questions after reading this, please reach out to me. Remember, if you don’t feel well, please stay home!

Before You Visit: If you or someone you have associated with has tested positive for COVID-19 we ask – based on CDC recommendations – that you not visit until:
- You are 10 days after a positive COVID-19 test AND are symptom-free, OR
- You are at least 5 days past your exposure or positive test result, AND you now have a negative COVID-19 test.
- IN ADDITION, even if you test negative, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask around others throughout the 10-day precautionary period following exposure or the positive test.

Why? The reason for this is that we can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after we have been exposed – and can test negative for several days after symptoms have begun.
Why such strict recommendations? The reason we are so careful with our residents is that COVID-19 affects them in a harsher manner than younger people. They can be immunocompromised – because of other underlying health conditions. So someone who is older, who has underlying health conditions, and/or may be immunocompromised will be more likely to have harsh symptoms.

Community Transmission: Jackson County is still sitting in the “high” category. We ask visitors who are coming and going to be very careful and to please wear masks inside our Assisted Living. This is to help keep all our residents and staff safe.

Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “high” or “red” community transmission rate, which means a large percentage of new cases are being diagnosed in this county. The Jackson County Health Department also shared that although cases are continuing to go down, we are still in the “red zone” and that 92.9 percent of those who were hospitalized were not fully protected by the Covid-19 vaccine. jacohd.org/date-dashboard/ is the web address for the Jackson County health department.

It is recommended that:

After visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
If you don’t feel well, please stay at home rather than risk infecting your loved one or others – we recommend the same thing for our staff.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Make certain you sign in and are screened when you arrive and wear your mask while in the building.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns – not just about COVID. I am here to help!

Aug. 12, 2022

We tested again and found one additional Covid positive case in Memory Care 1. Staff members remain negative except for one staff member who is also from Memory Care 1. No additional residents were found to be Covid positive in the main Assisted Living Area. All staff members were tested from Assisted Living and were found to be negative. There continues to be a concern though that residents are being exposed by outside sources – which brings me to request that when visiting residents, we all should be wearing our masks and a reminder to please not come to visit if you are not feeling well. We ask the same thing of our staff members.

We will test again Tuesday, Aug. 16.

Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “high” or “red” community transmission rate, which means a larger percentage of new cases are being diagnosed in this county. Jackson County expects these numbers to continue to rise for the next few weeks. The case rate is similar to what was happening in January of this year. Cases have gone down in the surrounding area by a few percentages so fingers crossed that trend continues.

It is recommended that:

After visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
If you don’t feel well, please stay at home rather than risk infecting your loved one or others – we recommend the same thing for our staff.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Make certain you sign in and are screened when you arrive and wear your mask correctly while in the building.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns – not just about COVID. I am here to help!

Aug. 8, 2022

Well, to show how things can change dramatically from one day to the next – last week, we tested everyone in Assisted Living and in the memory care units and all were negative. However, over the weekend, some residents in Memory Care 1 and in the main Assisted Living area began exhibiting cold-like symptoms, including coughing, sinus congestion, sore throat, and occasional fever. Residents who were exhibiting symptoms were tested, and 9 residents in Memory Care 1 were found to be positive with COVID-19, as well as 2 residents in the main Assisted Living Area. All staff members were tested and were found to be negative.

This brings up a concern, though, that residents are being exposed by outside sources. This brings me to a heartfelt request: When visiting residents, please protect them by wearing your masks; and a reminder: Please do not come to visit if you are not feeling well. We ask the same thing of our staff members.

We will test again this Wednesday, Aug. 10, and next Tuesday, Aug. 16.

It is recommended that:

After visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
If you don’t feel well, please stay at home rather than risk infecting your loved one or others – we recommend the same thing for our staff.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Make certain you sign in and are screened when you arrive and wear your mask correctly while in the building.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns – not just about COVID. I am here to help!

July 26, 2022

This update is to share that we had no positive Covid-19 test results for today’s tests. We have one active case remaining on MC2.

One person is still on isolation on MC2.
We will test again this Thursday, July 28.

All Assisted Living staff members were tested yesterday, and all were negative.

It is recommended that:

After visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
If you don’t feel well, please stay at home rather than risk infecting your loved one or others – we recommend the same thing for our staff.
Visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
Large gatherings, parties, or events should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Make certain you sign in and are screened when you arrive, and wear your mask while in the building.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns – not just about COVID. I am here to help!

June 2, 2022

As promised last week, I am writing to give an update from our testing Wednesday and from over the weekend. Over the weekend we did have two staff members (who work on MC3) who previously had tested negative for COVID-19 who now have tested positive. Additionally, another Memory Care 3 resident tested positive Wednesday.

On a happier note, these residents and associates have had very mild symptoms, if any, and we continue to pray they do so.

Because this additional resident and two staff members have tested positive, we will test all Memory Care 3 residents and associates again on Wednesday, June 8, and I will notify you of those results.

Currently Jackson County (Mo.) has a “low” community transmission rate, which means there are not a large number of new cases being diagnosed in this county. However, the case rate is currently at the highest it has been in over three months – Jackson County expects these numbers to continue to rise for the next few weeks.
It is recommended that:

after visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
large gatherings, parties, or events, should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns and please stay safe!

May 26, 2022

Although COVID-19 transmission rates in this part of the United States are much less than other areas, unfortunately, I need to let you know that we have had two residents in Memory Care 3 test positive for COVID-19 today, though no positive staff have worked there. These two residents are quarantining in their rooms for the time being.
So far, other residents and staff members have all tested negative.

Testing: Therefore, we will test all Memory Care 3 residents and associates again on Wednesday, June 1, and I will notify you of those results.

after visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
large gatherings, parties, or events, should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

I know this is a holiday weekend, which often means family gatherings. If you are planning to bring your loved one out of the building for a visit, please use caution during their time away.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns and please stay safe!

March 3, 2022

We went a week without a positive COVID-19 test, but unfortunately, we did have a resident test positive in our main assisted living area, and we also had an assisted living staff member test positive. The staff member does not typically work with the positive resident, so we do not believe there’s a connection between the two cases.

The staff member is quarantining at home, and our resident is quarantining here at Village Assisted Living. Thankfully, both the resident and the staff member have very mild symptoms.

We will test again on Wednesday, March 9. Our Memory Care units, thankfully, remain unaffected and will not need to participate in this testing.

As always, we are focusing on Infection Prevention and Control:

Wash/sanitize your hands

Physically distance by 6 feet
Wear a mask. Medical grade masks are more readily available now and are considered more effective against the new variant.
That said, a two-layer cloth mask still adds more protection.
Cough or sneeze into your elbow
Don’t touch your eyes or face
Stay home if you’re sick

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised guidance on 11/12/2021, which states that having residents and/or associates test positive will not affect your ability to visit. These guidelines say that we are to inform loved ones of the presence of positive cases, and the risks associated with visiting (including being exposed to COVID-19), and it is then up to the visitors to assess the risk and decide on whether or not to visit.

Jackson County (Mo.) still has a “high” community transmission rate right now, which means there are still a large number of new cases being diagnosed in this county, however, the good news is the county is encountering an encouraging decline in positive CVOID-19 cases. Remember, the VAL Visitation Guidelines are now posted online so you can consult them before you drop in.

It is still required that:

after visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
do not stay in main areas
large gatherings, parties, or events, should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Feb. 23, 2022

I’m writing today to give you an update about COVID-19 testing in Village Assisted Living’s main assisted living area.

Because two staff members tested positive over the weekend and one resident tested positive on Monday (Feb. 21), we swabbed all staff and residents on Tuesday, Feb. 22. All of these results were negative. We will test again on March 1.

Memory Care 3 was not impacted, as the COVID+ staff members worked only in the main VAL building.

As I’ve mentioned in previous emails, per the current visitation regulations handed down by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), these positive cases do not affect visits from loved ones. Remember, the VAL Visitation Guidelines are now posted online so you can consult them before you drop in.

I do want to mention that, although Jackson County’s Covid-19 case rate continues to decline, we are still within the CDC’s range for “high transmission.“ So please, if you are feeling ill, postpone your visit until you are well. There are still other illnesses out there (like the flu!), that are not kind to our residents.

Thank you for your continued support!

Jan. 20, 2021

Community spread of COVID-19. According to the Mid-America Regional Council, the positivity rate in Jackson County is continuing to rise. As John Knox Village is a microcosm of the community around us, our associate cases around the campus are continuing along the same trend.
From Jan. 13 through today, we have had zero VAL residents and 2 staff members test positive for COVID-19.
What we are doing.

I am happy to say that in our testing yesterday all residents tested negative.
All residents will be tested again Monday, Jan. 24.
If a resident exhibits any symptoms, we will test immediately.
We will continue to test all of our associates and residents per CDC guidelines.

Elsewhere in the Village:

Village Care Center: Zero residents and eight associates currently have active cases of COVID-19.
Independent Living Residents have reported only a small number of new cases since last week.
Associates Outside of VCC and VAL: Five active cases in various parts of the Village.

I know that this is frustrating, but I can tell you that we are doing all that we can to keep your loved ones safe. We appreciate everyone’s help with this, so please, if you’re feeling any COVID-related symptoms, before you arrive please get tested or quarantine for the appropriate amount of time. (See CDC guidelines here.)
At-Home Test Kits. You may have heard on the news that every home in the U.S. is now eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-⁠19 tests. The tests are completely free. The official website says that orders will usually ship in 7-12 days, and they recommend ordering your tests now so you have them when you need them. Please visit this website for information on how to order. (Place your order here.)
In addition, they have provided this link to more information. If you need a COVID-⁠19 test now: “Please see other testing resources for free testing locations in your area.”
Visiting VAL. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised guidance on 11/12/2021, which states that having residents and/or associates test positive will not affect your ability to visit. These guidelines say that we are to inform loved ones of the presence of positive cases, and the risks associated with visiting (including being exposed to COVID-19), and it is then up to the visitors to assess the risk and decide on whether or not to visit.
It is recommended that:

after visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
do not stay in main areas
large gatherings, parties, or events, should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Please stay safe out there.

Jan. 13, 2022

I’ll start with the not great news first. I’m sorry to say that one more resident in Memory Care 3 has tested positive today for COVID-19 and will need to be in isolation. I know this string of positive test results is concerning, so I hope you can take comfort in the fact that so far all residents have had no, or mild, symptoms.

But there also is good news:

Today one resident was able to return to us after being in isolation
If all goes well, two more will return to us tomorrow (Friday).
We will be testing everyone again on Wednesday, Jan. 19.

At the Village Care Center, zero residents have tested positive to date this week, but five associates had positive tests from Jan. 10-13. Since these associates are in a variety of roles and locations, there will be additional rounds of testing for all residents in the VCC. COVID+ associates have had no, or mild, symptoms. They are still accepting visitors, but ask – as we do – that you DO NOT visit if you have ANY of these symptoms:

As always, in Village Assisted Living and VAL Memory Care we are focusing on:

Infection Prevention and Control

Wash/sanitize your hands

Physically distance by 6 feet
Wear a mask. Medical grade masks are more readily available now and are considered more effective against the new variant. That said, a two-layer cloth mask still adds more protection.
Cough or sneeze into your elbow
Don’t touch your eyes or face
Stay home if you’re sick

Jackson County (Mo.) still has a “severe” community transmission rate right now, which means there are a large number of new cases being diagnosed in this county.

It is recommended that:

after visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
do not stay in main areas
large gatherings, parties, or events, should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Jan. 11, 2022

Unfortunately, two additional residents in our Memory Care 3 area have tested positive for COVID-19 during our group testing yesterday (Jan. 10). This brings us to seven positive residents from MC3, and one from Assisted Living. All are currently being isolated, to prevent further spread of the virus. Thankfully, those affected are only experiencing mild symptoms at this time.

We will be testing everyone again on Thursday, Jan. 13.

As always, we are focusing on:

Infection Prevention and Control

Wash/sanitize your hands
Physically distance by 6 feet
Wear a mask. Medical grade masks are more readily available now and are considered more effective against the new variant. That said, a two-layer cloth mask still adds more protection.
Cough or sneeze into your elbow
Don’t touch your eyes or face
Stay home if you’re sick

Jackson County (Mo.) still has a “severe” community transmission rate right now, which means there are a large number of new cases being diagnosed in this county.

It is recommended that:

after visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
do not stay in main areas
large gatherings, parties, or events, should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Below is the last table published showing the number of COVID-19 cases at John Knox Village. I have updated the Village Assisted Living row to reflect our cumulative numbers as of today. My next letter should contain updated numbers for the full campus.

Jan. 6, 2022

Unfortunately, there have been an additional two residents in our Memory Care 3 area who tested positive for COVID-19 during our group testing yesterday (Jan. 5). We are testing all Memory Care 3 residents again today because of the additional positive tests. These are the PCR test, so we should have the results on Friday, Jan. 7.

Also, during our testing yesterday, a full-time nurse from MC3 and a full-time staff member in our assisted living area both tested positive for COVID-19.

Thankfully, those affected are only experiencing mild symptoms at this time.

As I have mentioned before, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised guidance on 11/12/2021, which states that having residents and/or associates test positive will not affect your ability to visit. These guidelines say that we are to inform loved ones of the presence of positive cases, and the risks associated with visiting (including being exposed to COVID-19), and it is then up to the visitors to assess the risk and decide on whether or not to visit.

As always, we are focusing on:

Infection Prevention and Control

Wash/sanitize your hands
Physically distance by 6 feet
Wear a mask. Medical-grade masks are more readily available now and are considered more effective against the new variant. That said, a two-layer cloth mask still adds more protection.
Cough or sneeze into your elbow
Don’t touch your eyes or face
Stay home if you’re sick

Jackson County (Mo.) has a “severe” community transmission rate right now, which means there are a large number of new cases being diagnosed in this county.

It is recommended that:

after visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
large gatherings, parties, or events, should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

Jan. 3, 2022

Unfortunately, I need to let you know that we have had three residents test positive for COVID-19. The first two who tested positive live in Memory Care 3, where no positive staff have worked, and the other resident resides in the Assisted Living area. These residents are quarantining in their rooms for the time being.

Therefore, we will be testing all of our residents and associates agon on Wednesday, January 5th, and I will notify you of those results.

As I have mentioned before, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised guidance on 11/12/2021, which state that having residents test positive will not affect your ability to visit. These guidelines say that we are to inform loved ones of the presence of positive cases, and the risks associated with visiting (including being exposed to COVID-19), and it is then up to the visitors to assess the risk and decide on whether or not to visit.

Jackson County (Mo.) has a “severe” community transmission rate right now, which means there are a large number of new cases being diagnosed in this county.

It is recommended that:

after visitors are screened in the lobby, they should go directly to the resident’s room and remain there for the duration of the visit, then go directly out of the building.
visitors should remain masked and socially distance while in our buildings.
large gatherings, parties, or events, should be avoided in our buildings, as social distancing would not be able to be maintained.

I will provide an updated chart in tomorrow’s letter to inform you of the presence of COVID-19 elsewhere at John Knox Village. We are still working to compile the new data for the other areas.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns and please stay safe!

Dec. 31, 2021

I’m writing today to give you an update about COVID-19 testing in Memory Care 2 and the main assisted living area that was initiated when three staff members tested positive earlier this week. I’m happy to report that no residents tested positive for the virus; however, we did have one additional associate who has tested positive.

As I mentioned in my letter earlier this week, per the new visitation regulations handed down by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), these positive cases do not affect visits from loved ones. I do want to mention that metropolitan area data shows a rapid increase in the number of people testing positive again, and every decision we make affects countless others. If you are feeling ill, please postpone your visit until you are well.

I also wanted to provide an update about the presence of COVID-19 in other areas of John Knox Village.

Village Care Center. Resident testing that was related to an exposure was completed and all residents tested negative for COVID-19. The three associates who previously tested positive have all recovered. On Dec. 31, the VCC received the results of one associate who did test positive. However, because this associate was exposed after the last shift, they worked at the VCC and has not been in contact with any residents since then, no further testing is needed at this time. Finally, the VCC currently does not have any resident on isolation precautions related to COVID-19.
All Areas Outside of the VCC & VAL. Two residents have tested positive. In addition, eight associates have tested positive.

Dec. 27, 2021

Hello all,

I hope you all have had a great Christmas! I love seeing family members coming in to visit their loved ones!

I’m writing today to inform everyone of three staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19: one who was tested at the door, and so had no resident exposure; one who asked to be tested after beginning to not feel well on Sunday, and was then sent home after a positive test result; and then today, as part of our building-wide testing, another tested positive and was then sent home. These staff members worked in Memory Care 2 and the main assisted living area.

We will test again on Thursday and we will continue to inform you of the outcomes.

With the new regulations on visitation handed down by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), these positive cases will not have an effect on visits from loved ones. Therefore, my letters are more informational in nature, and are for your benefit so you can be aware of the risk involved in visits.

Since I haven’t written in several weeks, here is a quick summary of the presence of COVID-19 at John Knox Village.

Village Care Center. One associate and one resident tested positive earlier this month. And over the past three days, three associates have tested positive – though none have had any recent exposures to residents. Tomorrow, due to the positive case in the memory care area a couple of weeks ago, they will do a final round of testing within memory care.
All Areas Outside of the VCC & VAL. Near the end of November, 3 associates tested positive, and so far this month there have been two.

Local data shows a rapid increase in the number of metro area people testing positive again. Please do be careful out there and take good care of yourselves so that you do not inadvertently spread COVID-19 to others.

Nov. 19, 2021

Well good news on several points! Our outbreak testing was completed, and we have all negative tests!

I’m sure some of you may have heard about CMS’s recent update to their visitation guidance. (More on that below.) This is especially welcome news to all of us – especially before the holidays!

Also, as the holidays are upon us, please remember to reach out to us if you plan on taking your loved one out. This way, if needed, we can have medications ready for your outing.

Thankfully there also no active Independent Living resident cases. There are three associates outside of the VCC and VAL who are currently COVID+ and away from work. The majority of residents are fully vaccinated and have received boosters.

As I said, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently issued new guidelines which require all staff members of organizations that are certified providers of Medicare and Medicaid to be vaccinated within 60 days of the mandate (released Nov. 4, 2021). John Knox Village falls under this rule.

This mandate, designed to protect residents, clients, patients, and staff, requires all John Knox Village associates, regardless of where they work or their job title, to receive a full dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson) to be employed by John Knox Village.
In addition, all volunteers, agency personnel and students also need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
At this time, vaccination boosters are not required for those who are fully vaccinated.
I would love for you to listen to what our President and CEO, Dan Rexroth, has to say: https://bit.ly/3CDI70e

In another development, CMS has significantly changed the guidelines for Nursing Home Visitation. It is so exciting that we are starting to see some “normalcy” for all of us! I do ask that everyone follow the guidelines carefully, as my primary goal is still to keep our residents safe.

We are now able to allow visitors without appointments, with no limit to the number of visitors.
We MUST continue to follow a set of Core Principles of Infection Control. These require visitors to the Village Care Center to be screened when they arrive, be diligent in practicing hand hygiene and social distancing, and wear masks.
I have attached a new version of our Visitation Guidelines specifically for VAL that further explain these. Please take a moment to review these guidelines prior to your next visit.
Visits still must be limited to the resident’s room or designated visitation area.
If Jackson County community transmission level is substantial or high, all residents and visitors, regardless of vaccination status must wear face coverings at all times.

Each of us cares about the safety of our residents – and we care about you. Please make safe choices through the holiday season – especially when it comes to attending large gatherings. The last thing any of us wants is to become infected with the COVID virus and bring it into this building. And, please be sure to notify us if, after a visit, you learn that you had an exposure or have tested positive for COVID-19.

As always, thank you for your support of us and your support of your loved ones and family members. We are so appreciative of you all!

Nov. 8, 2021

During our first round of testing today, we did find an additional positive staff member. This staff member was vaccinated and is not displaying symptoms. On one hand it is hard news to have another staff member test positive, but on the other hand, at least we know and were able to send this person home to quarantine and recover away from our residents and associates. All residents were negative.

We will test again on Friday the 12th and then again on Wednesday next week unless something changes.

At this time, we will not be pausing indoor visits. We will continue to use the Village Assisted Living Compassionate Care Visit Program, as announced few months ago. I’ve included the details here for your reference:

If an associate or agency worker who works in VAL tests positive for COVID-19, and was wearing PPE properly and as required, we will continue to allow pre-scheduled indoor visits with our residents.
You can call me, Marie Winter-Calvillo, directly, at 816-347-2701 with any questions, and you may call Ann at 816-347-2700 to schedule an appointment Monday thru Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the evening or on the weekend, please call the nurses station at 816-347-2702.
While visiting your loved one, please wear your mask and follow safe distancing guidelines.
We will continue to have communal dining with safe distancing from each diner at the recommended 6′ of social distancing. When they are not eating, residents will wear their masks.
We will continue to have communal activities with safe distancing and masks being worn, as recommended.
IF a VAL resident tests positive, then we would need to pause indoor visits, activities, communal dining and salon services until there was one round of all-negative tests.
Compassionate care visit criteria is more strict when a resident tests positive. Basically, to have a visitor, residents need to have experienced a mental, physical, or emotional change of some kind to qualify for a scheduled, indoor visit, or they need to be on hospice or palliative care or have had something happen that has caused a change for them.
After the appropriate number of all-negative COVID-19 test results, we will return to regular/unscheduled visits, but of course we will continue to screen loved ones at the door.
As always, in either scenario, outdoor visits are always permitted and encouraged, as they have been deemed the safest way to visit.
And, in all situations, all visitors will continue to be screened prior to their visit with their loved ones.

Additionally, for now, we are canceling the Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan (I-SNP) insurance meeting, as a safety precaution.

Nov. 6, 2021

On Friday We tested those associates who were exposed to the staff member who tested positive on Tuesday, Nov. 2. All were negative.

Today, however, a staff person who worked on Memory Care 2 and in the general assisted living area was not feeling well and tested positive. This person did not have contact with the staff member from Tuesday.

We will test all residents and staff members on Monday Nov. 8, which is, coincidentally, the same day as one of the booster shot clinics for staff members.

We will test again on Thursday or Friday, at the end of this week.

I hate that this continues to happen, here and everywhere, but I am grateful that our residents have had their booster shots. I can’t wait to get mine on Monday.

Here are the current stats at John Knox Village – since the first day that COVID-19 was present on our campus.

Sept. 15, 2021

We have had one patient care associate test positive for COVID-19 today. We will not be doing additional testing related to this positive, as we are already scheduled to test all residents and associates tomorrow (Sept. 16), due to the COVID+ associate reported on Sept. 9.

All Village Assisted Living associates and residents were tested Monday, Sept. 13, and all residents tested negative. One associate, who did not provide direct care, did test positive in that round of testing. This associate was notified of the positive test result and is asymptomatic and fully vaccinated. In addition to tomorrow’s testing, we will test all residents and associates again on Wednesday, Sept. 20. VAL will be considered cleared when we complete two rounds of testing with no new positive cases.

At this time, we will not be pausing indoor visits. We will continue to use the Village Assisted Living Compassionate Care Visit Program, as announced in our last e-mail. I’ve included it here as a reference:

If an associate or agency worker who works in VAL tests positive for COVID-19, and was wearing PPE properly and as required, we will continue to allow pre-scheduled indoor visits with our residents.
You can call me, Marie Winter-Calvillo, directly, at 816-347-2701 with any questions, and you may call Ann at 816-347-2700 to schedule an appointment.
While visiting your loved one, please wear your mask and follow safe distancing guidelines.
We will continue to have communal dining with safe distancing from each diner at the recommended 6′ of social distancing. When they are not eating, residents will wear their masks.
We will continue to have communal activities with safe distancing and masks being worn, as recommended.
IF a VAL resident tests positive, then we would need to pause indoor visits, activities, communal dining and salon services until there was one round of all-negative tests.
Compassionate care visit criteria is more strict when a resident tests positive. Basically, to have a visitor, residents need to have experienced a mental, physical, or emotional change of some kind to qualify for a scheduled, indoor visit, or they need to be on hospice or palliative care, or have had something happen.
After the appropriate number of all-negative COVID-19 test results, we will return to regular/unscheduled visits, but of course we will continue to screen loved ones at the door.
As always, in either scenario, outdoor visits are always permitted and encouraged, as they have been deemed the safest way to visit.
And, in all situations, all visitors will continue to be screened prior to their visit with their loved ones.

I know it is difficult hearing of more positive staff member cases, but what I would say is at least we are aware of the positive cases and the associates are now safely quarantined at home. I want to reassure you that we will continue doing all we can to keep everyone safe who lives and works at Village Assisted Living.

Here is a quick update about the status of the rest of the Village:

Village Care Center: Unfortunately, the VCC has been experiencing a number of positive cases among associates and residents, in several parts of the building. They are continuing follow-up testing of residents and associates. Yesterday they tested all residents in VCC memory care and the Village Rehabilitation Unit, and all results were negative! Residents in these two areas will need to test again next Tuesday. Their building is closed for indoor visits, and they have paused VCC activities and communal dining. Outdoor visits and video calls are still great options!
Also, the Village Care Center recently went through its first Annual Survey since March 2019 (due to COVID-19 restrictions). Surveyors were on-site – using appropriate protection – for five days. Overall, Vice President of Health and Community Services Anthony Columbatto considers it to be an excellent survey. The only areas commented on were administrative in nature and can be easily resolved.
All Areas Outside of the VCC & VAL: Earlier this month, one independent living resident tested positive, after experiencing mild symptoms. The resident is now fully recovered.

Again, please feel free to call, stop by, or e-mail at any time – I look forward to getting to know all of the residents, resident family members, and associates of John Knox Village as time goes on!

Sept. 9, 2021

Before I start sharing today’s news at Village Assisted Living, I’d first like to take a moment to introduce myself, and to say thank you to everyone who has greeted me kindly in the halls, introduced themselves, or stopped by my office. My name is Marie Winter-Calvillo, and I am the new administrator for Village Assisted Living. I have been an administrator in senior living, locally, for approximately five years, but I have worked in health care for the entirety of my career. I have heard nothing but amazing things about the care here at John Knox Village and I am so proud to join this team and continue this wonderful legacy of care.

Unfortunately, my first message is to let you know that we learned this morning that a Village Assisted Living patient care associate is COVID+. This person is vaccinated, had patient contact, and has quarantined at home. At this time, we will NOT be pausing in-person visits. We will test all residents and associates on Monday, with a second round of testing on Thursday. VAL will be considered cleared when we complete two rounds of testing with no new positive cases.

With that said, this is also a great time to share a piece of good news. As a team, we have been working on a new plan with the State of Missouri regarding what can and cannot take place when we have new positive COVID-19 cases within our associate base. We were able to gain approval from the State today regarding Compassionate Care Visits during outbreak testing. This came just in time!

The Village Assisted Living Compassionate Care Visit Program is as follows:

If an associate or agency worker who works in VAL tests positive for COVID-19, and was wearing PPE properly and as required, we will continue to allow pre-scheduled visits with our residents.
You can call me, Marie Winter-Calvillo, directly, at 816-347-2701 to call ahead to schedule your visit.
While visiting your loved one, please wear your mask and follow safe distancing guidelines.
We will continue to have communal dining with safe distancing from each diner at the recommended 6′ of social distancing. When they are not eating, residents will wear their masks.
We will continue to have communal activities with safe distancing and masks being worn as recommended.
IF a VAL resident tests positive, then we would need to pause in-person visits, activities, communal dining and salon services until there was one round of all-negative tests.
Compassionate care visit criteria is more strict when a resident tests positive. Basically, to have a visitor, residents need to have experienced a mental, physical, or emotional change of some kind to qualify for a scheduled, in-person visit, or they need to be on hospice or palliative care or have had something happen.
After the appropriate number of all-negative COVID-19 tests, we will return to regular/unscheduled visits but of course we will continue to screen loved ones at the door.
As always, in either scenario, outdoor visits are encouraged, as they have been deemed the safest way to visit. And all visitors will continue to be screened prior to their visit with their loved ones.

I would like to continue my introduction with just a little more about myself, so you know who is guiding the care of your loved ones here at Village Assisted Living.

I have my bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UMKC and my master’s in Health Services Administration from UMKC, as well. I have four children, two daughters in college, a daughter who just started high school, and a four-year-old son who just began day care. I’m married to a hard-working gentleman and my dad lives with us. We also have four dogs so there is never a boring moment! I love to cook when I’m off, I bake all the time, and I love to read! As time goes on, I hope to learn about each person here and I hope you will all learn about me as well.

During this uncharted and challenging time, I have found it is even more important for all of us to rely on one another and to work together to provide love and care to our residents, associates, and family members. Just as you all have been through some trying times with COVID, I have as well, and I would like to reassure everyone that just as John Knox Village has been open and transparent, I am that way as well.

I hope everyone feels they can stop by, call, or e-mail at any time. I look forward to hearing from you and getting to know all of you. And, finally, I want to assure you that we will continue doing all that we can to protect those who live and work at Village Assisted Living!

Marie Winter-Calvillo
Administrator
Village Assisted Living

Sept. 1, 2021

Village Assisted Living and the three Memory Care neighborhoods have completed baseline testing, and all came back negative. VAL can resume normal business starting Thursday, Sept. 2.

Aug. 31, 2021

I need to inform you that this morning a direct care associate that works throughout Village Assisted Living and Memory Care 1 and 2 has tested positive for COVID-19. The associate is fully vaccinated and is presenting with mild symptoms. Unfortunately, we will need to close indoor visitation, communal dining and group activities for today and tomorrow. We will work on completing facility-wide testing tomorrow with the goal of re-opening Thursday morning.

Secondly, I wanted to let you all know that the Village Care Center has had six patients on the Village Rehabilitation Unit test positive for COVID-19 over the past couple of days. Five of the patients were fully vaccinated and one was partially vaccinated for COVID-19 and all are presenting with mild symptoms. We have done a thorough round of contact tracing and cannot link any of these cases to an associate. All of the COVID+ patients have been moved to the isolation unit. Testing of residents and associates in the rest of the building has not turned up any additional positive cases.

Finally, I wanted to let you know that I share your frustrations. I know that the continued opening and closing of the licensed areas on campus is very difficult on our residents and their loved ones. The one silver lining we are seeing is that though some of our residents are becoming infected and symptomatic with the virus, we are not seeing the serious illnesses and hospitalizations that we saw last year.

Aug. 16, 2021

I need to inform you that today, one of our Village Assisted Living residents has tested positive. The routine testing is a result of last week’s COVID+ case. While I cannot divulge too much information due to privacy laws, I can tell you that the resident is fully vaccinated and is asymptomatic. Due to the lack of symptoms, we have performed a follow-up PCR test to determine whether or not this may be a false positive. I also can tell you that through contact tracing and testing, we are pretty certain that the exposure occurred outside of Village Assisted Living.

Unfortunately, this means that we are closed to indoor visitation at this time on all units EXCEPT for Memory Care 3. We will be conducting more testing on Thursday with the goal of re-opening indoor visits on Friday. We also have had to suspend group activities and communal dining until we complete our baseline testing.

Of course residents are more than welcome to have outdoor visitation at all times.
I will keep you informed as we learn more. Your continued support is much appreciated as we work to keep your loved one healthy and safe.

Aug. 10, 2021

I’m writing to let you know that one associate, who has had limited resident interaction but has been in many parts of our buildings, has recently tested positive.

In response to this situation, we have paused all indoor visits, activities, group dining and salons for the moment, and are conducting facility-wide testing of residents and associates in all parts of Assisted Living and Memory Care.

We will know in the morning what those results are, and will inform you as quickly as possible as to whether we will be able to resume daily activities and indoor visits.

Elsewhere on campus.

Village Care Center: One direct care worker tested positive today during the VCC’s facility-wide testing in connection with a previous positive case. Unfortunately, this means that they will need to continue their pause in: activities, dining in the Main Dining Room, using the salons, and indoor visits, for at least another week. They will continue weekly testing through Tuesday, Aug. 17.
All Village Areas Outside of the VCC and VAL. Three associates in various parts of the Village have tested positive. Appropriate contact tracing is being conducted internally.

Jackson County Mask Order, effective Monday, Aug. 9 – In case you haven’t heard, Jackson County (Mo.) Executive Frank White, Jr. issued a public health order requiring universal mask-wearing in indoor public places for those age 5 and older, regardless of vaccination status. The public health order is in response to a rising number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. The order is in effect for 30 days and will be re-evaluated as necessary.

And, of course, masks are required when entering Village Assisted Living and Memory Care, for everyone’s protection.

I’m so sorry about this latest disruption. Thank you for all of your support as we work to keep our residents safe and healthy.

July 30, 2021

I am very pleased to let you know that we have completed our baseline testing of all VAL residents and associates (due to the associate who tested positive on Wednesday) and the results were 100% negative. This means we are back open for visitors!

We will need to do another round of testing on Monday to ensure we are all clear from our most recent positive case.

Always remember that, regardless of test results, outdoor visits are an available option. Whether you choose to visit inside or out, I’m sure you’ll be happy that temperatures are cooling down significantly, starting Saturday.

Village Care Center: Yesterday a symptomatic and unvaccinated agency staff member who works in a direct care position received a positive test result. Because of the timing of the last date this person worked, they do not need to make any changes to their current testing protocol.

More good news:

All Village Care Center residents were tested on Thursday – 100% were negative!
They are testing associates today and Monday. So far, all associates have been negative, too.
If all continues to go well, the VCC should be able re-open for indoor visits on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.

I really hate to say that out loud, because I don’t want to disappoint anyone, but I also want you to know how very hard the Village is working to keep everyone safe AND keep you connected with your loved ones. They will test everyone again starting Thursday, Aug. 5.

Masks at John Knox Village: It’s also important for you know that, because of the significant level of COVID-19 transmission in our area and across the state, and due to the CDC’s recommendations, John Knox Village is requiring masks in all buildings, regardless of vaccination status, starting Monday, Aug. 2. This does not change procedures within Village Assisted Living, but if you plan to visit other buildings on campus, be sure to keep your mask handy.

I appreciate your ongoing support as we work together to keep our residents, visitors and associates safe and healthy.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

July 28, 2021

I wanted to inform you that we had an associate test positive for COVID-19 this morning. The associate has recently worked on Memory Care 1 and Memory 2 Neighborhood. The associate is fully vaccinated and reported mild symptoms shortly after their shift began, which prompted the test.

Unfortunately, this does necessitate that we pause all indoor visitation and suspend in-person group dining and activities. After a discussion with Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), they have advised us that we should do a baseline test of ALL residents and associates tomorrow, which we will do as expeditiously as possible in order to return to being fully opened.
Though we need to suspend some of our services, all outdoor visitation can occur, and our residents are welcome to go out with their loved ones during this time.

I will keep you all informed of the testing results. Thank you for your patience.

July 22, 2021

I wanted to inform you that yesterday evening we learned of a new COVID+ case from an agency worker in the Village Assisted Living Memory Care 1 neighborhood. This person’s last full shift was Saturday, and was tested yesterday – as part of routine testing of unvaccinated associates – about an hour after arriving. Unfortunately, this means we must suspend all in-person visitation at this time. The nursing leadership team is conducting a round of facility-wide testing of all residents and associates. Assuming all of those test come back negative, we could be able to reopen as early as tomorrow.

I am so sorry to deliver this news to you, and I am sure you are sad to hear it. Unfortunately, we fear this will continue to happen until the rate of community spread in the surrounding area decreases significantly. The team here will continue to work swiftly through the necessary protocols and we will work to be closed as briefly as possible, however everyone’s safety is our highest priority.

Due to this COVID+ result, Village Assisted Living also is:

We are requesting that all Village departments conduct business with us remotely, unless it is essential for them to be in the building.
All activities are suspended, as well as dining in Fireside Dining and salon services, until further notice.
We will continue testing weekly for at least 14 days (2 more rounds). I will keep you informed of the results.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

July 16, 2021

I am very pleased to tell you that the Village Care Center has completed their first round of testing all residents and all associates, and the results are all negative. This means that:

Effective immediately, indoor in-person visits for VCC residents are back!
VCC Salons, activities, and the main dining room have re-opened for residents.
The VCC will still need to complete 2 more rounds of weekly testing.
Even one new positive will cause the VCC to halt indoor visits again.
It is essential that all visitors adhere to the VCC’s visitation guidelines.
For the safety of their residents, the VCC is continuing to ask Village departments to conduct business with them remotely, unless it is essential for them to be in the building.

To follow up on the other two other unrelated cases I told you about in my Tuesday letter (one non-VCC/non-VAL associate, and a guest from outside of the Village), contact tracing has been conducted, as well as testing, and we have not discovered any further positive cases related to either of these.

Additionally, two further non-VCC/non-VAL associates have tested positive. Again, they are in different departments. Contact tracing and testing connected to one associate has been completed, and no new cases identified. This process is still underway in connection with the last one.

How bad is it in Missouri? After several weeks with no states on its travel advisory, the Chicago Department of Public Health has now issued a travel advisory advising unvaccinated travelers arriving from Missouri and Arkansas to provide proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test or to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in the city.

What else do I need to know? If it’s been a while since you’ve reviewed the list of COVID-19 symptoms, why not refresh your memory?

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure and could include the following. If you are fully-vaccinated, your symptoms may be milder.

Fever of 99.9^oF or higher ~ Chills ~ Cough ~ Shortness of breath/Difficulty breathing ~ New loss of taste and/or smell ~ Fatigue ~ Muscle of body aches ~ Headache ~ Sore throat ~ Congestion or runny nose ~ Nausea or vomiting ~ Diarrhea

If you have any of the signs or symptoms, please don’t self-diagnose.

If you feel something out of the ordinary, call your doctor.
If that’s not possible, call the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services COVID-19 Hotline at 877-435-8411.
Free testing is readily available in multiple locationsthrough the Jackson County Health Department every week.
Other sources of free testing: https://www.comebackkc.com/testing-events/

Please use safe practices. It is going to take continued vigilance on the part of every resident, associate and visitor to this campus to keep everyone safe. Thank you for doing your part. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

July 21, 2021

Our fitness center friends have been back for several weeks conducting exercise classes again, and Treva and Christina have been scheduling some great activities. Both are very well attended. It’s great to see the residents being mentally and physically active and engaged with one another again.

I do need to let you know that the Village Care Center has another associate who tested positive for COVID-19.

Even though they are a mile away from our building, it’s still important for you to know what is happening with the coronavirus on our campus. This test result came out yesterday afternoon, during routine follow-up testing there due to the positive case I wrote about last week. This VCC patient care associate, who is fully vaccinated, also had mild symptoms described as “stuffy nose and light-headedness, that felt like a slight cold.” To the best of our knowledge, this person had no contact with the other positive associate.

Due to this COVID+ result, and to protect the safety of their residents, associates and visitors, the VCC is:

Testing all residents and associates, beginning Friday.
They will continue testing weekly for at least 14 more days after that (2 more rounds). I will keep you informed of the results.
Suspending indoor visits until all results are in. Outdoor visits are still OK, weather permitting.
Suspending all resident activities, as well as dining in their main dining room and salon services, until further notice.
Requesting that all Village departments conduct business with them remotely, unless it is essential for them to be in the building.

John Knox Village has now had a few fully vaccinated people test positive. This is a good time to remind you of a few things:

It is essential that you wear masks while in the corridors and common areas inside of Village Assisted living, AND that you check in and are screened when you arrive.

If anyone at Village Assisted Living were to become COVID+, we would have to follow protocols similar to those listed above for the VCC.
What happens on our campus will always be a reflection of what is happening in our community.
The vaccines are highly effective at preventing people from getting COVID-19, but not 100 percent. It is still important to be very careful when moving about in the greater community, especially with this more infectious variant in the area.

I’d like to share an excerpt of what we include in each of our COVID-19 letters to John Knox Village residents and associates. I think it’s good information for everyone, and I though you might want to take a minute to read and refresh your memories, too.

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

COVID-19 symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure and could include the following.
If you are fully-vaccinated, your symptoms may be milder.

Headache ~ Sore throat ~ Congestion or runny nose ~ Fever of 99.9^oF or higher ~ Chills ~ Cough ~ Shortness of breath/Difficulty breathing ~ New loss of taste and/or smell ~ Fatigue ~ Muscle of body aches ~ Nausea or vomiting ~ Diarrhea

If you have any of the signs or symptoms, please don’t self-diagnose.

If you feel something out of the ordinary, call your doctor.
If that’s not possible, call the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services COVID-19 Hotline at 877-435-8411.

If you test positive for COVID-19 – Notify your physician, then call Public Safety if you have been on campus.
And please—stay at home!

Free testing is readily available in multiple locationsthrough the Jackson County Health Department every week.
Other sources of free testing: https://www.comebackkc.com/testing-events/

It is going to take continued vigilance on the part of every resident, associate and visitor to this campus to keep everyone safe. Thank you for doing your part. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

July 13, 2021

While it has been a pleasure to go from mid-April to early July without having to report a positive COVID-19 case at the Village, yesterday that streak has come to an end. I am writing to report three positive test results on campus.

One guest to the campus late last week reported a positive test result. Contact tracing is underway.

One associate in a non-resident contact position outside of the Village Care Center and Village Assisted Living has tested positive. Contact tracing and testing have taken place and no further positive cases are being reported.

Also, one non-patient care associate at the Village Care Center has tested positive for COVID-19. This person has minimal contact with residents. To ensure everyone’s safety and in following with State regulations, the VCC is currently testing all residents and associates. All resident testing was completed yesterday, and all resident tests came back negative. Associate testing began yesterday, and so far, all associate results also have been negative. It will take another couple of days to get all VCC associates tested, due to work schedules. We will let you know of the final results.

Due to this COVID+ result, the following actions are being taken at the Village Care Center:

Indoor in-person visitation is suspended for the moment. Outdoor visits are still an option. Please call 816-347-2400 and ask for the unit secretary for the person you wish to visit.
All VCC activities are suspended, as well as dining in the main dining room and salon services, until further notice.
All Village departments are being asked to conduct business with the VCC remotely, unless it is essential for them to be in the building.
Testing at the VCC will continue weekly for at least 14 days (2 more rounds). We will keep you informed of the results.

While I am very disappointed that I have to make these announcements, as always, the Village’s primary goal is to keep residents, associates and visitors safe and healthy.

This seems like a good time to go over a few reminders, to help us continue to have activities and visits at Village Assisted Living.

Visitors must fill out the visitor log and be screened prior to entering.
Visitors must wear masks in the buildings’ common areas (lobbies, hallways, etc.).
Visits are still limited to the resident’s room or outside, not in common areas.
Fully vaccinated visitors are allowed to take off their masks once they are in their resident’s room.
Fully vaccinated visitors are no longer required to social distance during visits.
VAL visiting hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
If a VAL associate, resident or visitor tests positive for COVID-19, we will be required to close all impacted areas of that building until we are able to complete testing of all residents and associates in that area to determine whether it is an isolated infection.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in parts of Missouri, and because we are a mobile population, it will likely continue its spread. CoxHealth in Springfield, Mo., reported yesterday that they had 119 COVID-positive inpatients, compared to only 14 hospitalized there in mid-May. Overall, U.S. numbers are still showing that the vast majority of those who are ending up hospitalized are unvaccinated people.

If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, please give it serious consideration.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.

June 2, 2021

Dear Village Assisted Living Families,

My last update was some time ago, and I have lots of new happenings to catch you up on.

Testing

It’s been wonderful over the past month to not have to write about COVID-19 test results.

The last time we conducted facility-wide employee testing was on April 12. We only tested unvaccinated associates, and all test results were negative.

Our next testing date for non-vaccinated associates will be on Thursday, June 10.

Renovations

The renovations to the existing assisted living building continue to progress nicely.

Tomorrow, the new common area furniture will be placed. Look for lots of activity in the hallways as this takes place. I’m so excited to see how it looks!

The punch list items for Harmon Construction will be addressed over the next few weeks.

Items to be completed by the Village’s landscaping and renovations crews include a complete overhaul to the Manor Courtyard, new windows on the corridor that leads to Fireside dining as well as the Ambassador room, and the installation of artwork.

Administrator

I shared in my last communication that my last day is June 3. Since then, I have been working closely with Anthony Columbatto and the team to ensure a seamless transition. I hope you will find that we have done so quite nicely. Look for an e-mail from Anthony sometime next week.

Farewell

In 2009 I became the administrator for Village Assisted Living and Memory Care, and it has been a beautiful twelve years. I am forever indebted to the families who have entrusted their loved ones’ care to us. Your belief and confidence in us, especially over the past fourteen months, has meant the world to me and will not be forgotten.