Dear Family and Friends,
Happy Friday! Well, we have just finished week four of our new alternate normal. This week we successfully had a “BBQ” for all staff, keeping social distancing enforced, but giving us a chance to thank our amazing employees who have continued to bring grit and good attitude to these uncertain times. Their dedication and love for our residents shines so bright, I can’t admire them enough.
In the news this week, Governor Inslee took additional steps to keep Washingtonians safe as we all work diligently to slow down the spread of COVID-19. I feel as though the entire West Coast is now taking the precautions we adopted almost a month ago. It will certainly take all of us to make an impact, so I was happy to have the 14-day quarantine in place!
This week we took delivery of a few exciting items – one was the partial fulfillment of an order of disposable procedural masks and gowns from the Kitsap Emergency Management Program. These will be safely stashed away in case of need.
More exciting yet, we took delivery of re-usable masks made by Esther’s Fabrics and several other Bainbridge Senior Living family members (see photo above). Our frontline staff will be testing several different designs. The goal is to issue each staff member with five masks that they can use daily and then wash with hot soap and water at the end of their work week. We are 100% aware that these masks are not up to CDC standard but they do provide some layer of protection and will certainly help
slow
droplet spread from staff to the residents, and they have the added benefit of keeping your hands off your face.
If you are interested in sewing masks, please reach out to us and we will point you in the right direction. Also –if you don’t have an interest in sewing but may have a stash of elastic sitting around your house – that has now become one of the limiting items for mask making. You could drop off elastic at any of our communities at the front bench “drop off areas”. Also,
click here
for an interesting NYT article on the US mask making efforts.
The video chats have turned into a big hit and so we ordered additional iPads this week to keep up with demand! I think a new trend has started with our residents, as they learn that video chats are way more fun than regular phone calls. If you haven’t had a chance to Skype or FaceTime with your loved one, just give us a buzz and we will help set up an appointment.
Thank you for your continued support in helping keep our residents and staff safe. Stay well and don’t overdo it watching the news.
If you need a little lift, this song on YouTube by Neil Diamond might do it,
click here
.
With Gratitude,
Morgan Rohrbach
President and CEO
PS - As always, if you have questions for a specific community, please send those directly to the appropriate Executive Director:
Bainbridge Senior Living Contact Info:
Jim Fuller, Madrona House, Executive Director 206.317.6002
office
541.292.1834
cell
Mitzi Stern, Wyatt House, Executive Director 206.780.3646
office
206.941.3592
cell
Michelle Worley, Madison House, Executive Director 206.565.3390
office
360.689.3699
cell
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 can be found on the CDC website:
Updates to the COVID-19 Situation in Washington can be found on the WA DOH website:
