Dear Residents and Families of Birch Bay Retirement Village,

I hope you have all have had a nice week. We currently have no cases of COVID-19 among our staff and residents. Please know that we have followed and will continue to follow all state and federal guidelines set forth for resident care, staff safety, and efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. We will continue to work closely with MDI Hospital, the CDC, DHHS and CMS to ensure that we are adhering to the highest standards of safety and care for our community.

Beginning Monday, June 15th, we launched Phase 3 of our Birch Bay Campus Safe Guards plan which will be effective through June 28th. The Phase 3 plan highlights include:

  • Families may drop off supplies and groceries at the main entrance during office hours.
  • Visits outdoors, all must be supervised, no mile radius restriction.
  • Social small group gatherings allowed up to 8 as space for physical distancing allows.
  • Apartment residents may go to essential personal appointments in their vehicle in addition to medical appointments.
  • Limited, reservation only, physically distanced use of Bay Vista room for meals.
  • Once weekly pre-scheduled pick up of groceries or prescriptions from Hannaford Bar Harbor.

Phase 3 was off to a great start! Many of our Independent Residents enjoyed the ability to dine in the Bay Vista Room. We added umbrellas to out outdoor seating areas to keep residents cool during these warm June days. Our new Director of Programs and Resident Engagement, Herb Pratt, has provided us with three activities weekly calendars for each of our neighborhoods.Please see the attachments. Herb is also overseeing the outdoor family visits. Your feedback on resident activities and visits is always welcomed. Herb can be reached by calling 288-8014 x 5221 or herb.pratt@birchbayvillage.us

We will continue to provide you with periodic updates with as much information as we can on our efforts to combat COVID-19. We realize that many of the restrictions and guidelines suggested by the CDC for long-term care communities seem harsh to residents and families. We work hard to keep a balance between resident health with safety and quality of life. We welcome your suggestions as to where we could improve the quality of life for residents during this difficult time.

On behalf of the entire Birch Bay Retirement Village community, I want to thank each of you for your continued support and understanding. Please 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