7/5/2022 Update: In-person activities benefit Lyngblomsten community during pandemic
July 5, 2022
Time truly flies! The first six months of 2022 are complete, and the second half of the year has begun. All too soon we’ll be celebrating the Christmas holidays and counting down the hours till the new year.
For now, the Lyngblomsten community is enjoying the start of summer—a welcome change from what we experienced two years ago at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While vaccinations and better access to COVID tests and personal protective equipment have helped pave the way for a return to normal, they haven’t gotten rid of the coronavirus completely. This is why Lyngblomsten continues to follow all guidance from federal and state health agencies for responding to the COVID-19 virus and its new subvariants. Our goal remains to protect the health and well-being of all who live, work, and visit our campus.
Here’s a summary of what’s happened in our community since our last news update in late May.
New cases and recoveries:
- New cases of the virus continue to be identified among care center residents and employees. In June 2022, Lyngblomsten identified 18 new cases in residents and 31 new cases in employees. Thankfully, as of July 5, the majority of these individuals have recovered.
- Also in June and early July, we identified four new cases of the virus among tenants from our senior housing buildings. One resides at the Lyngblomsten Apartments and the other three at The Heritage at Lyngblomsten.
Activities abound for residents and tenants: Our daily routine on campus includes wearing facemasks, getting tested, screening visitors and staff for symptoms, and quarantining when needed. Thankfully, though, it also includes a variety of social opportunities for our residents and tenants that support an active, engaged life. These opportunities include:
- Visits with family and friends,
- Art classes,
- Worship services in our Newman-Benson Chapel,
- Group activities,
- Off-campus excursions, including an outing to the Back to the ‘50s Car Show at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in mid-June,
- Time spent with volunteers,
- And much, much more!
2nd Half with Lyngblomsten opportunities going strong: We also are very happy to be offering a variety of community-based services (known collectively as 2nd Half with Lyngblomsten) to older adults living off our campus in their own homes and apartments. These services include support for family caregivers (including The Gathering group respite program, one-on-one coaching, and support groups), enrichment opportunities for persons living with early- to mid-stage memory loss (such as our Memory Collective class), and wellness education opportunities.
Being able to offer all of these opportunities is so important for our residents, tenants, and participants. We know from our early experience of the pandemic how detrimental social isolation can be for older adults, which is why we’re grateful to be where we are today with visitation and activities readily available in our community.
