Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of chaos, and sometimes in the middle of chaos you find yourself.
Boona Mohammed
By now, everyone is probably aware of Governor Edwards proclamation that as of midnight last Sunday, masks are mandated outside one’s own household. There are few exceptions. Additional restrictions have been issued; but the Governor has not rolled the state back to Phase I which some expected him to do. Rather he appealed to the responsible side of adult behavior, knowing that we know what works to control the virus and what doesn’t work; it’s a matter of our behavior. No one I know likes the mask, but we’ve been through worse, so we hope the Governor’s proclamation will do the trick and we can recover our track to Phase III.
Nationally, at least geographically, it’s terrifying to me to think that our southern neighbor, Florida, whom we visit so much, has more recent cases than New York ever had. And we know more now of the efficacy of mask wearing and physical distancing for keeping the virus at bay.
We continue, of course, to follow the mandates of the state authorities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. We also continue to count our blessings in having no known cases of COVID-19 on campus. It’s vitally important that we continue to follow the protocols and procedures put in place to best provide the assurance that we remain infection free, in the midst of alarming state and national numbers of the virus spiraling out of control.
We welcome some new folks to our staff family:
Amy Wimberley is a welcome addition to the Foundation Office working with Ray as we sadly say goodbye to Jen Voisin who is moving to Branson, Missouri with her husband; seems we may have a road trip in our future. We thank Jen so very much for the creative and joyful professionalism she brought to her position. We look forward to getting to know Amy well as she brings her own brand of talent and professionalism.
Sheri Williams is our new Director of Nursing, filling that position with the transition of Connie Brown who stepped in so wonderfully from a part-time gig she was filling at the time. Connie will be staying with us for a good while as Sheri puts her considerable experience as a DON in Illinois to work here. We’re glad Sheri followed her kids to the area and found it so attractive. We look forward to working with her on the Skilled Nursing Unit for a very long time.
Sheri will be working with Gary Allen, who has been for some months now our Administrator in Skilled Nursing. We called Gary out of retirement and he happily agreed to put his many years of experience in the skilled care field to use here at Christwood where he has had a long time affiliation through his wife, Ladonna Allen, in Human Resources.
Jenn Buchholz is no stranger to many, if not all of us, as she has been the guardian and custodian of the Companion Program for the past five or so years. Jenn has been appointed as a Director overseeing the whole At Your Service program while continuing to provide oversight and support for companions.
Elizabeth Jackson, our Marketing Director, is taking on some additional responsibilities as the Director of Marketing and Communications. She will keep doing what she’s been doing, but now with the recognition of that responsibility in her title.
Christwood is truly blessed to have these employees and the whole staff to be part of this family and organization.