Village at Belmar

Senior Living Blog & Events

Memory, Forgetfulness, and Aging: What’s Normal and What’s Not?

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Many older adults worry about their memory and other thinking abilities. For example, they might be concerned about taking longer than before to learn new things, or they may sometimes forget to pay a bill. These changes are usually signs of mild forgetfulness — often a normal part of aging — not serious memory problems.

What’s the difference between normal, age-related forgetfulness and a serious memory problem? 

To learn more from the National Institute on Aging about what’s normal forgetfulness and what’s not, CLICK HERE.

COVID-19 Update – January 11, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.

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Dear Village at Belmar Community,

We wanted to provide an update to all of you regarding our community Covid-19 status. We have an additional resident in Assisted Living who tested positive on January 10th.  This resident is the spouse of a prior positive resident and is mildly symptomatic. She is the only resident that is currently positive. All the others are considered recovered.

Results of staff testing from last week identified a positive associate who is currently recovering at home.  All other associate surveillance testing was negative.   

We will continue with our bi-weekly staff testing to ensure that we are immediately aware of any associate who may be positive, but asymptomatic. We will also continue with rapid testing of any resident who is experiencing symptoms and will continue to require testing and/or testing results for allowable essential workers, although the number of these individuals serving residents has been minimal for the past nine months and is only allowed in emergent situations.

All outdoor visitation for the community continues to be on hold and we will conduct window visits for both Assisted Living and Memory Care. The Assisted Living dining room will remain closed and residents are being encouraged to remain in their apartments.

As a reminder, Village at Belmar’s initial Vaccination Clinic will held on January 21st.  We will communicate the second and third vaccination clinics once those dates are known.  For all residents and associates, we would ask that you plan to attend the Vaccination Clinic on January 21st if possible.  We will be holding a Zoom meeting this Thursday at 11:00 am with our Medical Consultant, Dr. Singh, to discuss the vaccination and answer any questions you may have about it.  Information about this Zoom call will be communicated in further detail tomorrow.      

We have been in continued close communication with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Jefferson County Health Department and are following their direction and protocols, as well as those of our Medical Consultant, Dr. Gagandeep Singh.  Staff continue use of masks and PPE, and our leadership team is fully engaged in providing ongoing education and follow-up to ensure its proper use.

Please remember that you can always check our Hotline for regular updates and those can be heard at (720) 545-0363.

If you have any further questions, please reach out to Village at Belmar’s Executive Director, Rebecca Norris, at (303) 351-5455.

Sincerely,

Tom & Susie Finley – Founder & Principal

Boost Your Brain Health

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Do you have the power to prevent Alzheimer’s disease? Although some risk factors — age and family history — are beyond your control, increasing evidence from research indicates that you aren’t helpless.

Researchers from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and around the world have found that certain lifestyle choices can protect your brain against the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

To find out about activities that you can incorporate into your life, and that will benefit your brain, from Rush University System for Health, CLICK HERE.

COVID-19 Update – January 6, 2021

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Dear Village at Belmar Community,

I’m so excited to announce that our COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic is scheduled! 

Because the vaccine is administered in a 2-dose series, our first clinic is scheduled for January 21, 2021.  The second dose will be administered in a subsequent clinic, three weeks later.  As of today, we do not have a confirmed date for this second clinic. A follow-up letter will be sent to you once we have a confirmed date.

CVS Pharmacy and staff will be the providers for our COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic.  We have been informed that both our residents and staff will receive the Pfizer mRNA vaccine. 

Our clinical team, along with our residents are currently working on the completion of the required consent form and completion of any additional insurance information that will be needed by the CVS pharmacy team.  If any further information is needed during this process, our clinical team will reach out to you.

I want to say thank you for your patience during this time. I know that experiencing the many changes due to COVID-19 has not been easy, and the sense of uncertainty has been difficult. Rest assured that we continue to be very diligent in our screening and infection control protocols, and we will continue with regular testing of staff and residents, following the guidelines from both CDC and the Colorado State Health Department.

Please remember that you can always check our phone Hotline for regular updates by calling (720) 545-0363.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Norris – Executive Director

For additional information on the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the following website:

Global website: www.cvdvaccine.com Or call 1-877-829-2619 (1-877-VAX-CO19)

COVID-19 Update – January 2, 2021 at 5:00 pm

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January 2, 2021 at 5:00 pm

Dear Village at Belmar Community,

We wanted to provide an update to all of you regarding our community Covid-19 status. We have an additional resident in Assisted Living who tested positive on December 31st, who was identified through test results received on the January 1st. Of the eight residents previously identified to be Covid-19 positive, two remain hospitalized, two have recovered, and the remaining four continue to be served by bubble staff, brining the total number of residents served by bubble staff to five. 

Results of staff testing from last week have all been negative.  

We will continue with our bi-weekly staff testing to ensure that we are immediately aware of any associate who may be positive, but asymptomatic. We will also continue with rapid testing of any resident who is experiencing symptoms and will continue to require testing and/or testing results for allowable essential workers, although the number of these individuals serving residents has been minimal for the past nine months and is only allowed in emergent situations.

We will continue to provide updates to you throughout the week as changes take place.  

All outdoor visitation for the community continues to be on hold and we will conduct window visits for both Assisted Living and Memory Care. The Assisted Living dining room will remain closed and residents are being encouraged to remain in their apartments.

We have been in continued close communication with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Jefferson County Health Department and are following their direction and protocols, as well as those of our Medical Consultant, Dr. Gagandeep Singh.  Staff continue use of masks and PPE, and our leadership team is fully engaged in providing ongoing education and follow-up to ensure its proper use.

Please remember that you can always check our Hotline for regular updates and those can be heard at (720) 545-0363.

If you have any further questions, please reach out to Village at Belmar’s Executive Director, Rebecca Norris, at (303) 351-5455.

Sincerely,

Tom & Susie Finley – Founder & Principal

COVID-19 Update – December 28, 2020 at 4:30 p.m.

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December 28, 2020 at 4:30 pm

Dear Village at Belmar Community,

We wanted to provide an update to all of you regarding our community Covid-19 status. Over the weekend we received positive test results on three additional assisted living residents. This brings the total number of Assisted Living Covid-19 positive residents to eight, with six being cared for at the community by the Staffing Bubble Team and two being treated at the hospital.  Results of staff testing from last week have all been negative.  To assist with tracing the source of the recent positive resident cases, our multi-disciplinary clinical and leadership team members met this morning for a “deep-dive” conversation related to our current screening and testing protocols of all essential workers (Hospice, Private Caregiver, etc.).   Revised safety measures and policies will be implemented as needed, based upon the results of this discussion.

We will continue with our bi-weekly staff testing to ensure that we are immediately aware of any associate who may be positive, but asymptomatic. We will also continue with testing of any resident who is experiencing symptoms and will continue to require testing and/or testing results for allowable essential workers, although the number of these individuals serving residents has been minimal for the past nine months and is only allowed in emergent situations.

We will continue to provide updates to you throughout the week as changes take place.  

All outdoor visitation for the community continues to be on hold and we will conduct window visits for both Assisted Living and Memory Care. The Assisted Living dining room will remain closed and residents are being encouraged to remain in their apartments.

We have been in continued close communication with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Jefferson County Health Department and are following their direction and protocols, as well as those of our Medical Consultant, Dr. Gagandeep Singh.  Staff continue use of masks and PPE, and our leadership team is fully engaged in providing ongoing education and follow-up to ensure its proper use.

Please remember that you can always check our Hotline for regular updates and those can be heard at (720) 545-0363.

If you have any further questions, please reach out to Village at Belmar’s Executive Director, Rebecca Norris, at (303) 351-5455.

Sincerely,

Tom Finley and Susie Finley