Hope is Springing
A message from Melissa Rogers, BSN, RN, Director of Nursing
It’s a year later for all of us and at SJH we may actually be on the road to life after COVID. A milestone was our February vaccination session, courtesy of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. While there is still a long way to go, it’s encouraging to see changes happening around the country and our state. And things are also beginning to move forward here.
Baby Steps Towards Normal
While life is nowhere near being back to normal yet, we are taking some baby steps toward that goal. Care teams have actively been communicating with residents’ families as part of proactive planning and transition specific to the needs and desires of individual residents. When planning for this transition, keep in mind that the health and safety of all residents is the priority. We will continue to follow the guidelines from the Ohio Dept. of Health and the Ohio Dept. of Developmental Disabilities.
So what exactly does this mean? On campus there may be more flexibility with resident-family in-person visits. All residents of a cottage could look forward to participating in programming in Seton Hall together. Off campus residents may be able to spend time with their families outside of SJH. They may choose to resume some of their past activities, such as going back to the hair salon. A next step would be having small groups resume participation in the SJH day program in the coming months.
Encouragement, Reassurance, and Thanks
There are many encouraging possibilities as we begin this transition but keep in mind that this will be a slow process with ongoing communication, feedback, and flexibility.
During this pandemic, families have repeatedly shared how reassuring it has been that they could trust the remarkable staff at SJH to keep their loved ones safe, healthy, and loved during a time when they could not do that in-person.
I want to add my personal thanks to every member of the care teams, and to all those throughout the community who support SJH in so many ways. Thanks to you every day incredible things happen here, where possibility overcomes disability.
