Dear Residents & Families of Birch Bay Retirement Village,

As the State of Maine sees its highest surge of COVID-19 patients in its hospitals, we want to provide our residents and families with an update on the steps we can take as a community to address it. I want to assure you that our team has continued to work diligently to manage our response to the pandemic since its onset. We are working closely with MDI Hospital, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ensure that our response meets and exceeds all recommended guidelines. The safety, health and wellbeing of our residents has always been our number one priority.

The CDC now recommends that all eligible adults ages 18+ who are 6 months post their second COVID-19 vaccine get a booster. The effectiveness of the booster will provide continued protection against COVID-19 and new variants to help keep our residents, our staff, families, and neighbors safe during this surge.

As you protect yourselves, we also recommend that you encourage your friends and family members to get vaccinated or get a booster. Vaccines are also now available for anyone ages 5 and up and is the best protection against COVID-19. As we see cases in every local school, protecting our children and those who are close to them is also an important step in this pandemic.

We encourage you to stay vigilant. COVID-19 is now prevalent in our MDI community. We ask you to practice social distancing and wear your mask both at Birch Bay and when you are out in the community. It is not recommended to visit crowded places or attend social gatherings with unvaccinated individuals.

If you are a resident and have had possible COVID-19 exposure or have are feeling unwell, we ask that you stay in your apartment and contact our Health Services department for assistance.
If you haven’t recently visited a loved one at BBV and test positive for COVID-19, please contact our Residential Care Manager, Jessica Kardos, or our Director of Health Services, Julie Ireland, if there is risk to a resident of possible COVID-19 exposure.

On behalf of Birch Bay Retirement Village, I want to thank each of you for your continued support and understanding and assure you that we are in this together. Your diligence both at Birch Bay and in your personal lives has made Birch Bay one of the only communities in Maine that has not had any of our residents test positive for COVID-19. Please keep protecting yourselves and one another.

Sincerely,
Peter Sullivan, MBA, RN-BC, LRCA, CDP, Executive Director, Birch Bay Retirement Village