Dear Residents, Families and Employees:
I am very pleased to announce that we got through all of our visits with health center and personal care residents without incident. No new COVID-19 cases to report!
As we enter into the flu season we are going to be very aggressive with flu vaccines and, as always, urging all residents to get their flu vaccine this year, in accordance with local, state health department and CDC recommendations. Flu vaccines are mandatory for all staff employed with Wesley Enhanced Living as has been the policy for a few years now. We strongly encourage all of our family members to obtain their flu shot, as well, under the direction and supervision of your physician. We will require proof of vaccination from all visitors effective October 15. Without a certificate of flu vaccination, we will not permit access for visits.
We are happy to let you know that beginning Monday, August 31, the Bistro balcony will be open for resident seating. There will only be six residents permitted at one time due to the small space on the balcony; there will be no indoor dining still.
Since Philadelphia is allowing indoor dining beginning Tuesday, September 8 at a 25% capacity with no more than four people at a table, we have been discussing how dining in the Fireside Dining Room will look come early October. One thing that we know without a doubt is that the new experience will be very different. Another thing we know is that everyone’s full cooperation is required to make this work and for the health and safety of residents and staff. The Fireside Dining Room has a capacity of 125 patrons, and that will allow the seating of approximately 30 residents at a time for dinner, so in order to accommodate residents for dinner we are looking at reconfiguring how tables are set up. Reconfiguring tables and possibly using the private dining room which will allow us to accommodate all of our independent residents in two seatings. The dining management team is working on a number of options to meet all of the city’s requirements and accommodate all of our residents while maintaining safe parameters.
We have determined that we will not have monitored visits for independent residents in the Fireside Dining Room, but we continue to encourage residents to meet with family and friends outside of the community at someone’s home or dining venue. It is anticipated that if we continue to have no new documented cases of COVID-19, we will be scheduling our next health center and personal care visit weeks for September 21 and 28.
Effective Monday, September 7, we will be ending the ability to order grocery items through the kitchen. The service has not been utilized since we are offering shopping trips to local stores, with very rare exceptions. We believe this will give everyone time to get your pantries and refrigerators up to par.
Finally this week, I would like to remind ALL residents and family members that work orders for Verizon, Comcast, delivery of a new piece of furniture, etc. must be approved in advance through the staff at WEL Pennypack Park, and all services must be rendered Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.. We cannot allow vendors to come in without prior notice to our staff. Again, this is a matter of infection control and safety precautions that we put in place back in March. What is happening in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties are not entirely what we are doing here in our community. We have been living with strict processes and standards and continue to do so. As we make changes to our precautions, we have and will continue to keep you informed of what is being discussed/planned and we will let you know what the final decisions are. We are also very sensitive to providing as much advance notice and detail as possible.
I truly believed that I was going to share with you that I would only be communicating bi-weekly, more frequently if necessary. It appears that you’re going to hear from me weekly for a while longer.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions or concerns. You can send me an email directly at the address herein.