Coronavirus Update for May 15
May 15, 2020
Dear Residents and Families of Birch Bay Retirement Village
I hope you all are having a nice week. The Birch Bay team considers maintaining the health, wellness and safety of our residents as our number one priority. We continually review and update our policies and procedures in order to do this.
There are several new policies and procedures this week that we want to bring to your attention. As always, we are
grateful for your support and understanding in this unprecedented time. With guidance from the CDC and DHHS, and as a part of our mission of continuing to keep our vulnerable resident population safe, this week we worked with Mount Desert Island Hospital to perform asymptomatic COVID-19 testing of all Birch Bay Retirement Village staff. This testing is one of the many safety measures that Birch Bay is implementing to protect our resident community during the pandemic. Other efforts have included ongoing daily screenings of all our staff and residents, social distancing, masking requirements and visitation restrictions. We anticipate that future periodic screenings may be necessary as the incidence of COVID-19 may develop in the Hancock County community. We feel very fortunate to be able to provide this additional safety measure for our residents. We currently have no cases of COVID-19 among our staff and residents.
Another new measure this week is the completion of a plan to begin the staged re-opening of the Birch Bay Retirement Village community. The following plan is effective May 14 through June 1. A new plan will be in place every two weeks. If there is a surge in COVID cases in our greater MDI community or at Birch Bay, we may change our plan at any time.
Beginning May 14, we will allow local visitors to our campus for outdoor, distanced visits. Independent residents may arrange for visits with families on their own but Pleasant Cove and Safe Harbor families should contact Jackie Calabrese to arrange for a scheduled visit. Jackie may be reached by calling 288-8014 x 5210 or jcalabrese@birchbayvillage.us .
We will be screening all visitors for symptoms and temperature check. Any visitors who either displays a temperature or refuse to comply with our screening procedure will not be allowed to visit. Thank you for your support of our new guidelines as we work toward re-opening our community.
Guidelines for visitors: All visitors must reside local within 25 miles of Birch Bay’s campus and not traveled out of town in the last 30 days. Local visitors visiting Inn residents – outside only- 1-2 visitors to individual residents. Outdoor visits include practicing safe distancing of six feet, and wearing a cloth face covering or mask. No visitors are allowed in common areas or inside the Inn. Visitors must wear a cloth face covering or mask at all times. Birch Bay requests for everyone’s health safety and peace of mind that all residents limit visitors as much as possible.
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 encouraged 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.
Residents and families can order delivery from pre-screened local businesses operating according to CDC and Birch Bay guidelines in safe handling. More details, including the menu, will follow with a future updates and new options as suggested and screened. Please suggest options you would like. We also continue to offer the Birch Bay
Marketplace: a grocery order service for Inn and Cottage residents. Maggie, Executive Chef and Director of Dining
Services, is also available to you if you would like to arrange for in-home special requests and celebrations.
Again, we are grateful for 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