Category: News

The CDC announced on May 13, 2021 that fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. According to the CDC, people are considered fully vaccinated:

• 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
• 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine

We share your enthusiasm about the news and are hopeful COVID-19 rates continue to decline. Because our community follows guidance from health and regulatory agencies, our policies reflect the following:

• Residents in independent living are no longer required to wear a mask in the independent living areas of the community if they are fully vaccinated unless required by local and state regulations, as mentioned above.
• All residents, regardless of vaccination status, must wear masks on any form of community-based transportation.
• Family and friends visiting residents in independent living need to wear a mask when entering and exiting and while in common spaces within a community. Masks can be removed when visitors are in a resident’s apartment. 
• All residents in assisted living or memory care must continue to wear masks as required by the CDC for assisted living.
• All independent living residents, family, and friends visiting residents in the assisted living, memory care, or skilled nursing areas in communities must continue to wear masks and adhere to the safety protocols in these settings.
• Individuals taking part in a tour experience or attending an event at the community must wear a mask to meet with our team and experience the various areas of our community.

There are no changes to our mask policy for employees at this time, regardless of their vaccination status. The CDC states it isstill learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.  For the protection of residents and fellow employees, all community employees must wear masks, regardless of where they work within our community.

The health and safety of residents and employees remains our highest priority. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and adjust our protocol to help ensure the health and safety of our residents and employees. With further questions related to our COVID-19 protocols, please contact us directly.

Burcham Hills is pleased to be able to offer the COVID-19 vaccination to residents and employees through our partner pharmacy. Residents and employees will be in the initial distribution group in the CDC phased allocations and among the first in the country to have access to the vaccine once it is available.  Specific vaccination distribution and delivery plans, including the prioritization of residents by level of care, will be determined by each state. Click here for the most recent state plan for the rollout of vaccine access.

Burcham Hills and other communities managed by Life Care Services are partnering with CVS or Walgreens to provide the vaccine to residents and staff, free of charge. Vaccinations will be carefully administered by a licensed professional at Burcham Hills offering the peace of mind that comes with not having to venture out in public to receive the immunization.

Burcham Hills is dedicated to mitigating the spread of COVID-19. We continue to put residents first by utilizing enhanced infection and disease control protocols, while still providing exceptional experiences for residents.

If you have further questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit the CDC website here. Please contact us at 517-827-1042 or email krennie@burchamhills.com for specific information about the vaccination plan at Burcham Hills.

To review current FAQs regarding the COVID-19 Vaccine, please click here.

Dear Burcham Hills community,

As we begin to plan for fall and winter celebrations, Burcham Hills has established precautionary measures to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and help keep residents and employees safe. We realize the upcoming weeks are traditionally a time of family gatherings and special events, yet the health and safety of our employees and residents remain our top priority.

Our community continues to follow the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health authorities. We also encourage our employees, residents and their families to follow the additional protocols provided for fall and winter celebrations:

• When possible, host events outdoors instead of indoors.
• Limit the number of invited guests.
• Follow social distancing guidelines.
• Encourage guests to bring their own face mask, hand sanitizer and other supplies.

Of special importance, if you are planning in-person holiday gatherings with people outside of your household, consider asking all guests to strictly avoid contact with people outside of their households for 14 days before the gathering. This will help reduce the risk of exposure.

We realize these are challenging times and appreciate your consideration of these protocols to help keep our residents and their families safe and healthy.

Federal and state governments are releasing plans to reopen the economy to essential business. While this is an encouraging sign to our country’s response to COVID-19, please know this process will be taken thoughtfully at Burcham Hills. We will implement a three-phased approach when reopening our community. Decisions for each phase will be based on state and regional criteria, advice from public health officials, and the health status of our community.

We are all looking forward to the day when we can resume our lives as a community and gather with our friends, yet the health and safety of our residents and employees must remain our highest priority. From the beginning, we have taken on this challenge as a marathon rather than a sprint. There are no short cuts or easy answers to how we reduce our risk to COVID-19 and it’s as important as ever that we continue to remain focused on protecting ourselves and supporting each other.

In the upcoming weeks, and until further notice, Burcham Hills will continue to follow the heightened precautionary measures currently in place. These practices include following social distancing protocol and restricting non-essential visitors. We understand the risks posed to our community from COVID-19 and remain committed to our processes. We’ll only begin to shift our protocols after we know our community is no longer at risk, and with careful consideration of the guidance offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and local and state health departments. As the situation develops, and we make changes to our protocols, residents, employees and families will be notified first —but to reiterate, we will not be modifying our precautionary measures at this time.

Thank you for your patience, your support, and for embodying that hopeful spirit that Burcham Hills is known for as we continue to navigate this process together. For detailed information regarding our community policies and updates to our reopening efforts, please contact our community directly. For more information about COVID-19 and our response to COVID-19, go to https://www.lcsnet.com/covid-19-update/.

After careful consideration for the health and safety of residents, employees, and family members, our community amended its visitor policy on Monday, March 16, and is restricting visitors from entering our community.

Please bookmark the LCS website for future updates and information regarding our community COVID-19 response and prevention measures already implemented, such as:

• Educating all staff and residents in social distancing guidelines
• Increasing the frequency and rigor of cleaning and disinfecting common community areas
• Implementing temporary visitor restrictions, including deliveries
• Canceling on-site large group social events and recreational activities
• Reviewing and executing our emergency preparedness and response program
• Asking residents and employees to reschedule travel plans and remain in our community
• Deploying an updated visitor advisory for communities and to campus
• Coordinating best practices across the broad, LCS partner network
• Making the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 prevention resources and recommendations available to all employees

All future updates regarding the COVID-19 response, including visitor policies, social distancing guidelines, and prevention recommendations, can be found here. LCS has also opened a national hotline for information. Call 855-998-4934. For local information about our community, please use 517-351-8377.