Weekly Update April 28, 2023
April 28, 2023
To: Solheim Employees, Residents, Family Members and Stakeholders
From: Sam Oden, CEO of Solheim Senior Community
This past Monday, April 24th, Solheim invited Gizmo and Doc Therapy Goats to our community. The Goat Therapy included a 20-minute talk about the goats (covering their anatomy and their history with people), followed by a goat yoga demonstration and some petting, holding, and feeding. The amount of joy this program brought to our residents and team members was unmatched – I saw laughter and smiles all around!
Yesterday, we also celebrated our resident volunteers. April is National Volunteer Month, and Solheim appreciates not only outside volunteers who come into our community to donate their time and energy, but also the work that our very own residents do to make this community even more radiant! The luncheon was held in our Sensory Garden, with a special thank you to all our volunteers!
The May calendar will be out soon, and it’s going to be a very busy month! Next Friday, starting at 3:00 pm, we are excited to welcome the Los Plateados Mariachi Band (accompanied by some festive folklorico dancers) to help us celebrate Cinco De Mayo. The following week, we’ll kick off a celebration of our team members with Team Member Appreciation Week! You’ll notice various “theme days” throughout the week, and this week is always a great opportunity to tell a team member just how much you appreciate them. You can always fill out a “Solheim Feeling” employee recognition form found at any nursing station, at the front desk, or online at www.solheimsennior.org/employee-recognition. Finally, later in the month, we’ll be celebrating Syttende Mai which is Norwegian Constitution Day! (For those who don’t know, or might have forgotten, Solheim’s name comes from the Norwegian term “Sun Home,” and you can learn more about Solheim’s history of 100 years of serving seniors at www.solheimsenior.org/100.)
Starting in May, we will be shifting our monthly Coffee with Sam to take place on the first Wednesday of each month. This will open our calendar so that this opportunity to have a casual conversation with me doesn’t interfere with our Resident Council or Town Hall meetings! I appreciate your flexibility in making this change.
As I mentioned last week, Solheim is excited to welcome a 3rd Hairdresser to the community. Blair Linke will be joining the team on May 2nd. Blair has been a licensed cosmetologist for 21 years, and she has been working in senior communities just like Solheim since 2013. Blair will be in the Salon on Tuesday or Wednesday. To book a Hair appointment, please call her directly at 818-625-1867 or reach out to Ashley Brayman at abrayman@solheimsenior.org.
Visitation Guidelines remain unchanged from last week. Masks are no longer required for residents, team members and visitors however are still recommended or encouraged. Masks are still required for all team members and visitors to our Health Center (Skilled Nursing). All Solheim visitors and staff members must continue to conduct self-screening for symptoms of possible COVID-19 infection prior to entry. We ask all staff and visitors to confirm the following upon entry:
Currently have no known COVID-19 infection;
Not experiencing symptoms associated with possible COVID-19 infection; and
Have not had close contact, within the last 14 days, with another person known to have a COVID-19 infection
As of today, we have no new staff or residents who have tested positive for Covid-19.
You can always visit our website for more information at www.solheimsenior.org, but if you have any specific questions, please direct them to Tina Antypas at 323 257-7518 X225 or tantypas@solheimsenior.org.