Update from Administrator – July 21, 2020
July 21, 2020
Our team and I hope this email finds you safe and healthy.
As today is my last day at Litchfield Woods, I wanted to inform you that Marissa Jones will be taking over as Administrator of Litchfield Woods. Marissa is an experienced Long-term Care Administrator. She has over 10 years experience working in Skilled Nursing facilities, most recently as the Administrator of Valerie Manor (another Athena home) for the past 7 years. She can be reached by email at administrator@litchfieldwoodshcc.com or by phone at 860-489-5801, extension 117. Please join me in welcoming her to the Litchfield Wood’s team. I will certainly miss all of you, and the residents here at Litchfield Woods. I am proud to have had the opportunity to work here for the past 15 years, and wish everyone the very best.
A new Recreation Director has also been hired for Litchfield Woods. Her name is Rebecca Guerrera and she also comes with over 10 years experience working in a nursing home. Her start date will be 7/27/20. Some other updates for Recreation include planning for National Nursing Home Week, August 9-15th and ordering additional tablets to assist with Virtual visits as well as individual use for our residents. We are working hard to increase small group programming. More information will be forthcoming regarding National Nursing Home Week. A week full of fun and celebration is currently being planned.
Nicole Sheehey has been hired as Assistant Director of Nurses. Nicole has been a nurse for over 6 years and was previously employed at our Athena managed home in Naugatuck. Tricia Peburn has also joined our team as Director of MDS. Tricia comes with over 25 years experience, the majority of that time working in long term care. I am confident they will both do a great job working on behalf of your loved one.
Please remember that the outdoor visits must be pre-scheduled to ensure safe and healthy visits for you, the residents, and our staff. It also allows our team to ensure your loved one is available and ready for your visit to make the most of your time together. These visits require appropriate PPE (masks) to be worn at all times and a social distance of 6 feet between you and your loved ones for the entirety of the visit. The specific guidelines and details regarding perimeter visits can be found on our website and Facebook page. If these restrictions pose issues for you please keep in mind that we continue to offer other visitation alternatives like Facetime and window visits. You can schedule a visit by calling our Recreation or Social Work staff.
We are happy to report that we currently only have one positive resident for COVID. This resident was previously “Recovered” and was only re-tested related to an upcoming procedure. Although on precautions, this resident is without symptoms and is doing well. We continue to follow all CDC and Department of Public Health guidelines to ensure safety and the very best care and practices at Litchfield Woods.
As previously mentioned, we are conducting weekly resident and staff testing. All test results returned thus far have been negative. We will conduct another round this week, to include any new admissions during the last week, and are hopeful that we will remain free of the virus.
We continue to encourage any residents and family members to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have about the care we are offering. Our commitment is to be as transparent as possible.
Thank you –
Denise Quarles, Administrator