With Spring come the promise of new beginings and hope. We are very grateful to be able to open our windows, let the fresh air in, hear the birds (besides Baby) chirping, and spend some time outdoors. Although this was not a severe snowy winter, it has seemed like a long time since we were enoying our courtyards and our Walk and Roll club. We have also partnered with the Oberlin Enrichment and Activity Center to attend senior focused events at the former Prospect Elementary School.

A group of residents have decided to sponsor some Happy Hour snacks with a focus on Heart Healthy and delicious options. These fruit parfaits were a huge hit! Keep your eye on the calendar as we have a variety of fun entertainers lined up throughout the month!

As a reminder, our COVID case numbers are kept current at all times on our website at www.welcomenursinghome.com. You can always refer to the COVID Updates link on the website to get real time information as to our COVID status. Any time one employee or resident is identified as COVID positive, there are Outbreak Signs posted at both entrances. We are required to isolate COVID positive residents for up to 10 days. This does not prevent them from receiving visitors, but visitors must be made aware of the risks associated. Isolation rooms are identified by a Red sign on or near the resident room door. If you have questions regarding our COVID protocols we are happy to review them in detail. Our recent outbreak has resolved, and we currently have no residents or staff impacted. We have reopened our atrium for meals and have resumed group activities. It is very nice to see the bustling in the halls again! As you may be aware the President of the United States has declared the Public Health Emergency will Expire on May 11, 2023. At that time, as long as the Community COVID Transmission Rates remain at Substantial Transmission or Below, we will no longer require face masks in common areas for staff or visitors. The rule requires the facility to track the community transmission as posted weekly on the Centers for Disease Control. Based on the community transmission levels, the facility can alter the requirement for face masks. We will continue to communicate facility mask requirements through postings at the entrances as well.

We have partnered with the Lorain County Public Health Department to implement strategies to continue to mitigate infection related issues. As of now, we have fully implemented the air quality controls with our use of PureAir technologies. We completed pre-implementation and post-implementation air quality lab tests. We are pleased to share that the average air improvement was over 60%! In some locations we achieved a 92% air quality improvment. Another intervention we will be implementing is our Sign In and Sign out process. We will be utilizing AccuShield a digital sign in/sign out terminal. The capabilities of this system are exansive. Two of the main visitor benefits will be allowing us to the ability to communicate important information upon entrance, as well as running and emergency evacuation list in the event of a significant event. The new sign in Kiosks will be implemented in the next few weeks! If you need assistance learning how to sign in and out our staff will be happy to help you.

Some of the other interventions we will implementing: a new and improved tub room on the East side of the building, Housekeeping Certification Program, a new Security Program that includes monitoring of all exits and an updated door security system. Perhaps the one our staff is most anxious about implementing is a new call light system. These changes are exciting and daunting all at the same time. We are very grateful for our strong partnership with the LCPH team that has afforded us the opportunity to invest in these valuable programs!

This years theme is Cultivating Kindness! We will kick off our fun week of activities on Mother's Day, May 14 and will conclude the week on Friday with a fun Happy Hour event. Keep your eye's open for postings that will go up sharing the theme's of the day and events that will take place through the week.