Status Update from Charmaine Preiss, Executive Director — 02/10/21Brandermill Woods independent living angle

Status Update from Charmaine Preiss, Executive Director — 02/10/21

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Health Care Community – The Haven, Assisted Living and Memory Care

Unfortunately, we received the results Tuesday evening, February 9, 2021, that one of the indirect employees from the Assisted Living, tested positive and is isolating at home. All residents in Assisted Living, Memory Care, and The Haven were negative. All other employee tests from Monday, February 8, 2021, were negative as well. All residents will continue to be monitored for any signs and symptoms. Any changes in a resident’s condition will be reported to our physician, and the family will be made aware.

We will continue to test all residents for COVID-19 twice a week until we have two weeks free of positive results. The quarantine will also be lifted once we have two consecutive weeks of all negative results.

Our Valentine’s Day theme this year is called: CARE IS LOVE! Planning Valentine’s Day date nights or visits with family and friends seems a long way off. COVID-19 has changed so much -- particularly in how we can interact with those we love. But for folks working in aging services and the people we serve, caring hasn’t stopped--because it can’t.

Nowhere is care felt more than in a community like Brandermill Woods. We’ve been forced to take painful but necessary steps to protect our residents from the virus -- steps that have often required loved ones to remain apart. We know these measures aren’t easy for those in our care and their families. We see it on the faces of our residents. We hear it in the voices on the other end of phone calls from loved ones wondering when they can visit once again. Every member of our staff has a story or recollection of a moment when the emotional impact of separation hit home.

We know that the care we provide is no substitute for the touch of a spouse, a son or daughter, or a visit from the grandkids. But we also know the last year has called upon us to provide an even deeper level of care and to help residents who can’t be with their families. For many of our residents, COVID-19 precautions have meant staff is the people they interact with in person more often. And that calls for more than care. It calls for love.

The ultimate answer, of course, is to defeat COVID-19 in Midlothian, VA so that isolation protocols can be lifted. We appreciate everyone in our community who continues to wear a mask and practice social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. We’re excited by the vaccines’ potential to get us back to normal -- so that next Valentine’s Day is even more special.

We strongly encourage family and friends to schedule virtual visits, especially around upcoming Valentine’s Day. All window visits in the Assisted Living and Memory Care have been canceled. Please email Trisha Pedersen at tpedersen@brandermillwoods.com to schedule a virtual visit.

Our second round of vaccination clinics on February 4 and 5, 2021, was a huge success. More than one CVS pharmacist stated that our Brandermill Woods Team was the most organized and more efficient than any facility they had dealt with during this program.