APD Lifecare Precautions for COVID-19

December 20, 2022

Our residents are doing well, and we continue to take steps to ensure they remain healthy and safe while enjoying their daily activities. Our community spaces are open and activities are continuing as scheduled.

Because there is still some uncertainty with COVID-19 we are keeping certain safety protocols in place. For now, we are requiring all Harvest Hill residents to wear a mask outside their private residences. We also require staff, visitors, contractors, private caregivers, and everyone else who enters the Harvest Hill community to wear a mask.

While all public spaces remain open and masks are not required for The Woodlands residents, we are encouraging them to continue washing their hands frequently and wearing a mask when receiving guests or in community spaces. 

We are continuing to rigorously clean and sterilize all surfaces and have emergency preparedness and response systems in place.

Grafton County’s COVID-19 information for the city of Lebanon provides regular updates regarding infection rates and mask mandates.

Thank you to our residents, families, and staff at both Harvest Hill and The Woodlands for your continued support to protect the health and well-being of our residents.

April 4, 2022

Our residents are doing well with no positive COVID-19 cases. We will continue to take steps to ensure residents remain healthy and safe while enjoying their daily activities. Here are the latest updates for our community:

• All activities at Harvest Hill remain with masking required for staff and visitors but not for residents.
• At both The Woodlands and Harvest Hill masks are recommended for residents outside of their own apartment, but not required.
• All visitors and employees continue to be screened every day and are required to wear a mask. 
• It is recommended that residents wear masks in public spaces and with any visitors to their apartment, but masks are no longer required.
• The Harvest Hill dining room is fully open.
• The dining room for The Woodlands is fully open and guests are welcome.
• All vendors, contractors, private caregivers, and others who enter our buildings must be fully vaccinated and wear a mask.

While there is still uncertainty regarding new COVID-19 variants, caution remains necessary. All APD Lifecare employees are in compliance with our mandatory vaccination policy and The Woodlands and Harvest Hill residents have received their first booster shots. Harvest Hill is currently working with our pharmacy to schedule a clinic to provide a second booster shot for residents. More information to follow once the date for the clinic has been set.

Grafton County’s COVID-19 information for the city of Lebanon provides regular updates regarding infection rates, mask mandates and other COVID-19 related policies.

Thank you to our residents, families, and staff at both Harvest Hill and The Woodlands. We appreciate your understanding and support and will continue to share updates or changes to our current COVID-19 policies and protocols.

January 18, 2022

We are pleased to announce that we have had no further cases of Covid-19 and our residents are all doing very well. We continue to take steps to reinforce and enhance our COVID-19 policies to ensure residents remain healthy and safe while enjoying their daily activities:

• Harvest Hill’s dining room has fully re-opened.
• All activities at Harvest Hill have resumed with masking required for all residents and staff.
• At both The Woodlands and Harvest Hill, masks are required for residents outside of their own apartment.
• All visitors and employees continue to be screened every day. 
• Residents are required to wear masks in public spaces and with a visitor in their apartment, the visitor must also wear a mask.
• Staff and residents at The Woodlands and Harvest Hill are required to wear a mask and follow COVID-19 protocols in all public spaces.

A reminder that, since Grafton County is currently classified as COVID-19 Risk Level Red (Very High) and there is still uncertainty regarding the Omicron variant, caution remains necessary. Woodlands residents have received their COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. Most Harvest Hill residents had their booster shots as well. In addition, all APD Lifecare employees are in compliance with our mandatory vaccination policy.

Aside from the changes listed above, COVID-19 precautions for The Woodlands remain the same as those presented in our August update. At The Woodlands, we also continue to require all vendors, contractors, private caregivers and others who enter the building to be fully vaccinated.

Thank you again to the residents, families, and staff of both Harvest Hill and The Woodlands. We appreciate your understanding and support during this time and will be sure to report any updates.

Cindy Jerome
Executive Director, APD Lifecare

Amy Rauert
Administrator, Harvest Hill

December 14, 2021

We are pleased to announce that, as of today, all residents who had tested positive for COVID-19 are out of isolation following the requisite 10-day isolation period. In the meantime, we continue to test and to take steps to reinforce and enhance our COVID-19 policies to ensure residents remain healthy and safe:

• Harvest Hill’s dining room will reopen on Wednesday, December 15.
• All activities at Harvest Hill have resumed as of December 13, with social distancing and masking required for all residents.
• At both The Woodlands and Harvest Hill, masks are required for everyone outside of their own apartment.
• All public visitors are being informed of the presence of COVID-19.
• We continue to provide appropriate medical care for the residents who test positive.
• All employees who work at Harvest Hill were tested and are required to follow COVID-19 guidelines for returning to work.
• Staff and residents at both The Woodlands and Harvest Hill are required to wear a mask and follow COVID-19 protocols in public spaces.

A reminder that, since Grafton County is currently classified as COVID-19 Risk Level Red (Very High) and there is still uncertainty regarding the Omicron variant, caution remains necessary. Thankfully, no residents at The Woodlands have tested positive for COVID-19, and all Woodlands residents have received their COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. Most Harvest Hill residents have their booster shots as well. In addition, all APD Lifecare employees are in compliance with our mandatory vaccination policy.

Aside from the changes mentioned in the list above, COVID-19 precautions for The Woodlands remain the same as those mentioned in our August update. At The Woodlands, we also continue to require all vendors, contractors, private caregivers and others who enter the building to be fully vaccinated.

Thank you again to the residents, families, and staff of both Harvest Hill and The Woodlands. We appreciate your understanding and support during this time and will be sure to report any updates.

Cindy Jerome
Executive Director, APD Lifecare

Amy Rauert
Administrator, Harvest Hill

December 2, 2021

Last week, 31 residents of Harvest Hill and five employees tested positive for COVID-19. In response, APD Lifecare took swift action to strengthen our current COVID-19 precautions and impose additional health and safety restrictions at our communities. Numerous steps were taken to reinforce and enhance our COVID-19 policies:

• Harvest Hill’s dining room has been closed. All meals are being delivered to resident apartments.
• All activities at Harvest Hill have been cancelled.
• At both The Woodlands and Harvest Hill, masks are required for everyone outside of their own apartment.
• All public visitors are being informed of the presence of COVID-19.
• We are providing appropriate medical care for the residents who tested positive.
• All employees who work at Harvest Hill were tested and required to follow COVID-19 guidelines for returning to work.
• Staff and residents at both The Woodlands and Harvest Hill are required to wear a mask and follow COVID-19 protocols in public spaces.
• We will continue to re-test Harvest Hill residents until there are no additional positive cases.

We are thankful that, because our Harvest Hill community is located on the Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital campus, we had access to experienced medical staff who were able to test residents right in their residences. Residents who tested positive also benefitted from access to the Short Stay Infusion Unit at Alice Peck Day for monoclonal antibody therapy treatments. Having access to emergency and in-patient care through the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system was greatly beneficial.

As of today, Dec. 2, we are happy to announce the first three Harvest Hill residents who were diagnosed with COVID-19 were released from isolation after the requisite 10-day period. On Dec. 3, 21 more residents who tested positive will be released from isolation.

Going forward, the situation remains dynamic. Grafton County is currently classified as COVID-19 Risk Level Red (Very High) and uncertainty remains about the emerging Omicron variant, so the utmost caution remains necessary. Thankfully, no residents at The Woodland have tested positive for COVID-19, and all Woodlands residents have received their COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. Most Harvest Hill residents have received their booster shots as well. In addition, all APD Lifecare employees are in compliance with our mandatory vaccination policy.

Please note that, aside from the changes mentioned in the list above, COVID-19 precautions for The Woodlands will remain the same as those in our August update. At The Woodlands, we will also continue to require all vendors, contractors, private caregivers and others who enter the building to be fully vaccinated.

Thank you again to the residents, families, and staff of both Harvest Hill and The Woodlands. We appreciate your understanding and support during this time. As we continue to monitor the situation, we remain dedicated to keeping our residents healthy and safe, and we will be sure to report any updates.

Cindy Jerome
Executive Director, APD Lifecare

Amy Rauert
Administrator, Harvest Hill

August 25, 2021

With COVID-19 case numbers rising in Grafton County due to the Delta variant, APD Lifecare has elected to re-introduce some of our health and safety restrictions for both The Woodlands and Harvest Hill communities. In enacting these changes for our community’s protection, we also remain committed to minimizing the impact on our residents by keeping our dining rooms open and making masking optional for residents.

The good news is that these new regulations continue to prevent the virus from affecting our community! We still have not had a single case of COVID-19 among our residents, all of whom are vaccinated. We now also require all new residents to receive vaccinations before moving in.

In addition, since APD Lifecare is part of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system, vaccinations are required for all staff by September 30^th. We are proud to announce that 90% of Lifecare employees were already fully vaccinated before this new mandate was announced.

APD Lifecare has also extended our vaccination mandate to all vendors, contractors, private caregivers and others who come into our building to provide services in resident areas. As of September 30^th, only fully vaccinated service providers will be allowed to enter resident areas of the building.

Lifecare also recently introduced our new “3V” program for vendors, contractors and private caregivers which serves as a companion program to our current “3V” program for visitors to The Woodlands (see below).

As with the existing Woodlands policy, vendors who show proof of vaccination receive a “3V” card indicating they are welcome anywhere in the building. Participating vendors must also sign a contract agreeing to safety measures that protect residents, including never coming in if they are feeling ill and keeping their masks on all times.

Going forward, many of our policies at The Woodlands and Harvest Hill will remain the same. Any revisions made to our COVID-19 policy since our May update are included below:

Visiting The Woodlands

• Masks and social distancing are not required for residents.
• All staff and visitors must wear masks.
• Group sizes are not restricted, provided that all who are present are fully vaccinated.
• Each resident may name as many fully vaccinated people as they would like to visit. Visitors must present their CDC Vaccination Record Card to receive a “3V” card indicating they are welcome anywhere in the building and do not need to socially distance. They must mask.
• Our dining room is fully open to residents. Visitors may enjoy dinner with residents outside or in the resident’s apartment.
• Fully vaccinated speakers and activity leaders are welcome.

Visiting Harvest Hill

• Residents can have family and friends (including pets!) visit, go off campus with their families, or visit family at home. Residents no longer need to quarantine when staying overnight with family.
• Residents no longer need to wear masks or social distance with each other in their apartments.
• Group sizes for public gatherings are limited.
• Visiting hours are between 9:00-11:00 am and 1:00-5:00 pm and must be screened. Visiting outside is the safest way to visit.
• Visitors must continue to wear masks and social distance in the hallways and common areas.
• Staff must continue to wear masks and face shields when working closely with residents.
• New move-ins no longer need to quarantine, but must be vaccinated.
• Our dining room is open for residents only.

Please note that APD Lifecare has also updated our guidance for residents who venture off campus. While overall infection rates remain lower in Grafton County than in much of the country, new cases of COVID-19 continue to increase. Grafton County is now at COVID-19 Risk Level Orange (High), so we are requiring residents from The Woodlands and Harvest Hill who go off campus to wear masks when visiting local stores and restaurants, even if they are fully vaccinated.

As we continue to navigate this changing situation, we will continue to keep The Woodlands and Harvest Hill community apprised of any community updates or policy changes. In the meantime, thank you again to all our residents, families, and staff for your steadfast cooperation, patience and understanding. We couldn’t do this without you!

Cindy Jerome
Executive Director, APD Lifecare

Amy Rauert
Administrator, Harvest Hill

May 24, 2021

Now that all of our residents are fully vaccinated, we are lifting most restrictions for residents of The Woodlands and Harvest Hill!

What a beautiful sight it’s been so far: families and friends can visit each other, plus residents can hug and eat together without social distancing. We’ve also resumed group activities and normal use of our on-campus facilities. Some restrictions remain, so I’ll elaborate on our new COVID-19 policy here:

Visiting The Woodlands

• Masks and social distancing are no longer required for residents.
• Group sizes are not restricted, provided that all who are present are fully vaccinated.
• Each resident may name as many fully vaccinated people as they would like to visit. Visitors must present their CDC Vaccination Record Card to receive a “3V” card indicating they are welcome anywhere in the building and do not need to wear a mask or social distance.
• Each resident or couple may also name one unvaccinated person as a designated visitor who can meet with residents in their apartment only, while masked and socially distant.
• Our dining room is fully open.
• Fully vaccinated speakers and activity leaders are welcome.

Visiting Harvest Hill

• Residents can have family and friends (including pets!) visit, go off campus with their families, or visit family at home. Residents no longer need to quarantine when staying overnight with family.
• Residents no longer need to wear masks or social distance with each other in their apartments.
• Group sizes for public gatherings are limited.
• Staff and visitors continue to wear masks and social distance in the hallways and common areas.
• Staff continue to wear masks and face shields when working closely with residents.
• New move-ins no longer need to quarantine.
• Our dining room is open for residents only.

Please note: With cases dropping quickly, Grafton County is now at COVID-19 Risk Level Yellow. This means that residents from The Woodlands and Harvest Hill who venture off campus can now visit local stores and restaurants, as well as households where everyone is fully vaccinated.

The countywide vaccination rate (1+ shots) is just short of 74% and you can find the county’s recommendations on mask wearing HERE.

This much welcomed new normal is thanks to months of cooperation by residents, families, and staff at both The Woodlands and Harvest Hill. We can’t thank you enough for keeping our communities safe and healthy! And now…Enjoy!

Cindy Jerome
Executive Director, APD Lifecare

February 12, 2021

Yesterday afternoon (February 11, 2021), we administered 240 doses of COVID-19 vaccine here on our campus.

• 100% of all Lifecare residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. A whopping 97% have received their 2nd dose!
• 80% of all eligible Lifecare staff had received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 48% of all eligible employees have gotten their second dose. (Eligible means they are at least 16 years old.)

This is wonderful news! While safety behaviors of masking and distancing will continue, we have achieved a significant measure of safety. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this possible.

I must personally recognize Amy Rauert, Administrator at Harvest Hill. Amy set up the clinics and led all the preparation, putting in long hours gathering and providing Walgreens with the information they needed to vaccinate hundreds of people. Thank you, Amy.

I feel so joyful today! We have kept our residents safe for 11 months! The battle is not over, but having 80% of our staff vaccinated is a huge step forward. Thank you.

Cindy Jerome
Executive Director, APD Lifecare
Administrator, The Woodlands

January 26, 2021

We held our first round of vaccination clinics at both Harvest Hill and the Woodlands last week. Everything went smoothly and the next two clinics will take place Feb. 11th and March 4th.

January 21, 2021

APD Lifecare is pleased to be able to offer the COVID-19 vaccine starting January 21 to all residents and staff at Harvest Hill and The Woodlands! We’d like to thank our residents, families and staff for continuing to follow our safety measures in place and getting us to this point.

• Our first vaccine clinic will take place Thursday, Jan. 21st and is being offered to all consenting APD Lifecare residents and staff.
• Subsequent vaccine clinics — for second shots and for those who didn’t get one on the 21st — will take place on Feb. 11th and on March 4th.

In the meantime, our communities are continuing to follow the health and safety protections initiated in March, including all state and federal guidelines. Our March 21, 2020 COVID-19 update contains a list of additional COVID precautions in place, but please note:

• Harvest Hill’s dining room is now open.
• Small group activities continue at Harvest Hill and will resume soon at The Woodlands.
• We do biweekly pickups at the food co-op and liquor store for residents requesting this service.

Going forward, we will continue to provide updates as the vaccine process progresses. As we prepare to begin this new phase, here’s a look back at previous months:

• Since we first locked down, no residents at Harvest Hill or The Woodlands have tested positive for COVID-19.
• Four staff members — two at Harvest Hill and two at The Woodlands — did test positive or were presumed positive after exposure to a positive family member or friend. They were immediately quarantined. All Woodlands residents and staff were tested after the last staff person tested positive, and as of today, all tests have been negative.
• Every week since November 30, we have been testing about 10% of staff, chosen randomly, with no positive results. Going forward, if a staff member does test positive, they will be quarantined. as prescribed by the local health department.

As our communities enter 2021 with the vaccine in hand, we’re excited to see some light at the end of the tunnel! In the coming months, our residents and staff look forward to reconnecting with each other, reestablishing our routines and returning to the activities we previously enjoyed.

Thank you for your support making sure our communities stay safe and healthy!

Cindy Jerome
Executive Director, APD Lifecare

August 18, 2020

Thank you to all residents, families and staff for following the safety measures to help protect our communities from COVID-19. While Harvest Hill and The Woodlands continue with many of the protections initiated in March, we have instituted two changes.

Visitation Changes:

• Harvest Hill and The Woodlands are now allowing family members to visit, as long as the meeting takes place outside and participants stay six feet apart.
  • At Harvest Hill, family may visit for up to 30 minutes. Visits must be scheduled and are monitored by staff.
  • The Woodlands is allowing family, friends and vendors to visit, as long as the visit is outside. There are no restrictions on the number of people who conduct an outside visit. No screening is necessary, and visitors may stay for as long as they would like.
• Both communities are also launching a Designated Visitor program for indoor visits.
  • At both The Woodlands and Harvest Hill, each individual resident or resident couple may name one, single person as their Designated Visitor.
  • The Designated Visitor may visit anytime, going directly to the resident’s apartment and staying for as long as they want.
  • Designated Visitors must first sign an agreement that they will avoid risky behavior that could expose them to the virus, only visit if feeling well, and stay masked and practice social distancing while visiting.
  • Residents may change their Designated Visitor as often as every three weeks.

Dining Changes:

• Our dining rooms have now reopened with limited seating to encourage social distancing.
  • At Harvest Hill, we have opened the dining room up for lunch and dinner for a limited number of residents, but we are also still delivering meals to residents.
  • All Woodlands residents are welcome to eat in the dining room or come pick up take-out to eat at home. The Woodlands is only delivering meals to residents who are ill.

Please see our March 31 COVID-19 update for additional precautions that are still in place.
And again, we thank everyone for your support in keeping our communities safe and healthy.

March 21, 2020

APD Lifecare’s top priority is the health and well-being of our residents and staff. Given the additional challenges that COVID-19 presents to people aged 65 and older, we implemented significant precautions and preparations including:

• Closing Harvest Hill and The Woodlands to visitors
• Closing our Dining Rooms, and delivering 500 meals/day to our residents’ apartments
• Making groceries, including toilet paper, available through Food Services
• Fortifying an already rigorous sanitation program, especially in high-touch public areas
• Cancelling all large-group activities and gatherings, but providing for many other ways to avoid social isolation
• Screening all staff every time they come to work
• Preparing for the care of any residents who may develop COVID-19
• Sending regular email updates to residents, staff and families
• Working closely with Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital. You can find additional FAQs here.

While none of this is easy for anyone, we know we are on the right path when we hear in the words of one resident: “I feel we are in what is probably the safest place with the most help in New Hampshire

Cindy Jerome
Executive Director, APD Lifecare