Weekly Update October 14, 2022
October 14, 2022
To: Solheim Employees, Residents, Family Members and Stakeholders
From: Sam Oden, CEO of Solheim Senior Community
Over the last several months we have been diligently preparing our budget for 2023. We have moved up our timeline, so that we can present an approved budget to our residents before the beginning of November. I continue to feel blessed to work with a dedicated, caring and supportive Board of Directors as we prepare for next year.
As a reminder, Solheim will be celebrating its 100th year of service to seniors in our community throughout 2023, culminating in a Masquerade Ball to be held on October 28, 2023! There are many ways you may participate, and if you’re interested, reach out to Tina Antypas for more information at tantypas@solheimsenior.org.
We are also currently finalizing our Resident Satisfaction Survey. These will be distributed to our residents (or their Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare) by the end of October. These surveys are an important tool for Solheim to get a sense of how it is doing in the eyes of our residents, and to help us identify any areas in which we can strive to improve next year. This formal survey will provide us with a good baseline for starting 2023 with a focus on continuing to improve our operations.
Our nursing team will begin collecting consents for the 2022/2023 flu vaccine, and providing that vaccine to residents as the consents come in. As always, if you have any questions about the flu vaccine, or any other health care questions, please reach out to your primary care physician.
As I mentioned before, we have had a change in our visitation guidelines! The most recent State Public Health Officer Order states that skilled nursing facilities are no longer required or recommended to routinely test staff twice weekly and residents once weekly. (Out of an abundance of caution, however, Solheim will maintain its testing capacity and preserve its ability to ramp up testing if routine screening testing is required at some point in the future.)
This Health Officer Order also states that skilled nursing facilities are no longer required to verify vaccination status and/or negative test results for general visitors seeking indoor visitation.
Accordingly, the following guidelines apply to ALL visitors in ALL levels of care on our campus:
All visitors will be screened for a recent diagnosis of COVID-19, symptoms of COVID-19 infection, and close contact exposure.
All visitors will be offered a COVID-19 test, but testing is not required.
I am pleased to say that a as of today, we have no new residents or staff who have tested positive for COVID-19.
If you have any specific questions, please direct them to Tina Antypas at 323 257-7518 X225 or tantypas@solheimsenior.org.