Dear Residents and Families of Birch Bay Retirement Village,

I hope you all are having 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.

I would like to take this opportunity to respond to our residents and families’ recent questions regarding Birch Bay’s long-term plans for indoor visitation. Over the last week there has been an increase in COVID cases in Hancock County, we expect continued increases that will affect our ability to offer indoor visitation. Beginning November 4th, we will offer 30-60 minute appointments for indoor visitation and will offer this for as long as we can. Please see our updated Visitation Guidelines for complete policies and procedures regarding indoor visits. We encourage you to spend as much time with your loved ones while indoor visitation is in place.

The guidelines effective November 3 to November 17 include:

  • Families may drop off supplies and groceries at the main entrance during office hours.
  • Visits outdoors or indoors, must be pre-scheduled.
  • Social small group gatherings allowed up to 12 outdoors & 8 indoors as space for physical distancing allows.
  • Coffee, tea and wrapped snacks will be available in the lobby as requested by our resident council.
  • Apartment residents may go to essential personal appointments in their vehicle in addition to medical appointments. If residents need transportation to an appointment, please contact Jackie Calabrese for transportation. Residents may not go to appointments with family members and it can cause potential exposure. Potential exposure may result in a 14 day mandatory quarantine.
  • 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.

I would also like to acknowledge some changes in our Activities Department. Herb Pratt ended his role as our director of Programs and Resident Engagement on October 30th. We are sorry to see Herb leave the Birch Bay Team but acknowledge that he needed to do what was the the best fit for his family. After interviewing candidates over the last couple of weeks, I am pleased to announce that James Hoke has accepted the position of Director of Programs and Resident Engagement and will join the management team on November 16th. James has acted as our Quality Care Coordinator for the past year and previously devoted his time at Birch Bay to our Life Enrichment and Straus programs. Please join us in welcoming James to his new role.

Katie Lawson, our new stylist has been busy providing services to residents in the Birch Bay salon. We are pleased to extend her services to all Birch Bay community residents. Please call her directly at 422-1400 to make an appointment.

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. As always, we welcome your suggestions as to where we could improve the quality of life for residents during this difficult time.

Sincerely,

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