Coronavirus Update for Inn Residents for May 1
May 1, 2020
Dear Residents & Families of Birch Bay Retirement Village I hope you are all feeling well and healthy. The team at Birch Bay Village considers maintaining the health, wellness and safety of our residents as our number one priority. We continue to monitor information and guidance from the Maine Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and are working with state and local public health and emergency preparedness officials to prevent the illness and strengthen our preparation for and response to outbreak.
We continue to be focused on infection control best practices with our staff and residents. We are screening all staff and residents every day. Staff have been trained on the symptoms of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), CDC recommended infection prevention techniques, and have clear protocols for staff to stay home and not come to work if they are ill or symptomatic.
We currently have no cases of COVID-19 among our staff and residents. We have policies and procedures in
place for when or if the first case is identified.
As a reminder, Birch Bay continues to restrict visitation on our campus as required by the Centers for Medicaid and
Medicare Services (CMS). Based on federal guidance, no visitor will be permitted into our community except for certain
compassionate care situations such as an end-of-life situation. With that said, we are now working toward measures
for outdoor visits for families consistent with physical distancing as the weather continues to improve. We hope
to share more information regarding those visits in the coming weeks.
On April 29th, Governor Janet Mills extended the Stay at Home order for Maine residents through May 31, 2020.
Residents have also agreed to continue to shelter in place and we would ask that residents continue to do that for the health and safety of all. Along with the stay at home order, a four stage plan to re-open Maine’s economy was also
released this week by our Governor. However, as of May 1, there has not been additional guidance from the State or
CDC regarding the re-opening of long term care facilities at this time. We have been advised to continue to adhere to strict requirements in order to protect the health of our residents.
Please remember that we are continuing to ask Birch Bay families to ship supplies to residents. Please do not drop off supplies outside the Birch Bay Inn. This has been mandated by the CDC. By shipping, the outer packaging can be removed safely by our staff and discarded. The contents can be wiped down and then delivered with less risk of transmission. Some residents have had success shipping supplies using Amazon, FedEx, and the USPS.
Please continue to take advantage of the Birch Bay Marketplace: a grocery order service for Inn and Cottage residents. A weekly menu of produce, dairy, dry goods, deli items, frozen items and meats is available. Orders would
need to be placed on Wednesdays and available for delivery by our staff on Fridays. Any items purchased will be added
your monthly invoice. If special items are requested, Chef Maggie will do her best to find those items.
Another option, our Independent Apartment residents can benefit from is our Care Free Meal Packages and the free
Medication Delivery service through Omnicare. Please contact Maeghan Clark for more information at 288-8014 x 5228.
We are grateful to the support of residents and their families during this difficult time. Please continue to visit our website and Facebook Page for regular updates and do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
Sincerely,
Peter Sullivan, MBA, RN-BC, LRCA, CDP, Executive Director, Birch Bay Retirement Village