11-26-2021
Good morning and Happy Black Friday for all of you who enjoy getting out and fighting crowds for some holiday bargains. We hope that everyone enjoyed the best Thanksgiving yesterday.
We had a great week here at Westfield. We celebrated all week with activities and events. We had the pleasure of having Louis Watkins, one of the new performers from MerryMakers here this week but due to the ongoing COVID concerns, we are, again, unable to allow for live performances so we recorded his show and will plan that again in a week or so as part of another event. We sure do appreciate the professionals from MerryMakers and their patience with all of these rules that seem to be forever changing from week to week. On Wednesday, we celebrated the staff with a holiday meal for everyone who worked that day. Laura, Sam and the Dietary staff prepared all of the Thanksgiving favorites and it was fantastic. Then on Thanksgiving, we had many residents who watched the parades on tv, several residents were able to enjoy outings with their families and then for lunch, those Thanksgiving favorites were, again, a big hit.
I am pleased to report that with all of our COVID19 testing for the past two weeks, all tested negative. Therefore, starting today, we are only testing those few remaining employees who are not fully vaccinated, and that testing takes places twice a week. As I mentioned last week, we continue to administer COVID19 vaccine boosters for all staff who were eligible and interested in receiving the booster. The deadline is rapidly approaching for the first round of mandatory COVID19 vaccines. As you know, by December 5, all staff at Westfield, be they permanent staff or contract “agency” staff will be required to have their first dose of a COVID19 vaccine or the single dose if receiving the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. There are limited options for medical or religious exemptions and those are reviewed as they are received. We are hopeful that we can get everyone through this process, one way or another, and put this issue behind us and continue to focus on taking care of residents and our co-workers.
We are excited to have been able to welcome back more families and loved ones to Westfield this past week. Please remember to always screen in at the front desk when you arrive, especially if there is not a member of our team there to check you in. And, of course, if you are not feeling just right, STAY HOME. We are so blessed with keeping COVID19 away from the residents and want to continue the same.
Have a great weekend and coming week.
Sincerely,
Chris Young
Administrator
