Sep 2, 2020 | COVID Update
From: David Swartley, President/CEO
Date: September 2, 2020
RE: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update #24
Happy September 1! I am writing to give a general update concerning COVID-19. At the time of this writing, we have no residents who have tested positive for COVID-19. Our employee who tested positive is back at work.
However, late last week, various areas of our Skilled Nursing and Personal care have been moved to a “Yellow Zone.” Moving to a “Yellow Zone” means that we are taking extra precautions due to possible COVID-19 exposure. We have several team members who have been in contact with someone testing positive. At the moment, we wait for several test results to come back to guide our next moves. We are prohibiting scheduled visitation at this time as per the Department of Health guidelines. I commend our residents and families in our care areas for their long-suffering spirit. These are definitely challenging times.
I have sensed a heightened level of tension on our campus’s in the past week. As many of our employee’s children head back to school, it opens up another new dimension of disease transmission. We anticipate that virus levels will increase with schools in session, particularly college housing reopening, which poses a significant risk. Once again, simple actions like wearing a mask, washing hands, and social distancing make a difference. I have attached a current page from the Center for Disease Control website for your reference.
We continue to receive new guidance that changes our planned trajectory. There have been minor changes in the testing requirements for our staff. We will implement these changes moving forward. All healthcare facilities will receive a testing unit that would enable us to administer a test and get the results in less than an hour (testing for individuals with symptoms). While there are pros and cons to each testing mechanism, this equipment will give us more timely information.
I was reminded over the weekend that difficulty in life is often accompanied by “a silver lining.” Our son returned to high school a week ago. Over the weekend, he said to me, “I hope that school does not get shifted to remote learning again. I would rather be in school.” After I caught my breath, I reflected that not all the changes that have occurred in the past six months have been negative! I also will have a new appreciation for times of socialization and fellowship.
I want to remind everyone that as we move into Labor Day weekend to stay aware of everything we have learned during the past six months. While most of our learning is not “rocket science,” I am humbled by how easy we can get careless. Stay well!
Everyone Should
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
- It’s especially important to wash:
- Before eating or preparing food
- Before touching your face
- After using the restroom
- After leaving a public place
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After handling your mask
- After changing a diaper
- After caring for someone sick
- After touching animals or pets
- If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact
- Inside your home: Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- If possible, maintain 6 feet between the person who is sick and other household members.
- Outside your home: Put 6 feet of distance between yourself and people who don’t live in your household.
- Remember that some people without symptoms may be able to spread the virus.
Cover your mouth and nose with a mask when around others
- You could spread COVID-19 to others even if you do not feel sick.
- The mask is meant to protect other people in case you are infected.
- Everyone should wear a mask in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
- Masks should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
- Do NOT use a mask meant for a healthcare worker. Currently, surgical masks and N95 respirators are critical supplies that should be reserved for healthcare workers and other first responders.
- Continue to keep about 6 feet between yourself and others. The mask is not a substitute for social distancing.
Cover coughs and sneezes
- Always cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow and do not spit.
- Throw used tissues in the trash.
- Immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, clean your hands with a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Clean and disinfect
- Clean AND disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
- If surfaces are dirty, clean them. Use detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.
- Then, use a household disinfectant. Most common EPA-registered household disinfectant icon will work.
Monitor Your Health Daily
- Be alert for symptoms. Watch for fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19.
- Take your temperature if symptoms develop.
- Don’t take your temperature within 30 minutes of exercising or after taking medications that could lower your temperature, like acetaminophen.
- Follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop.
Aug 18, 2020 | Culinary
We rounded up some team members who would share their favorite recipes for these hot summer days and nights. Bon Appetit!
Grilled Pizza
Michele Dombach, Director of Development
- Homemade pizza dough or store bought pizza dough
- Olive olive
- Pizza sauce
- Cheese
- Toppings
Use Olive Oil on the grill grates and on both sides of your pizza dough. Grill one side of the dough – flip over and add more olive oil to the other side. Add your ingredients – beginning with sauce, but go light on this – then end with cheese. Close the lid of the grill for about 2-3 minutes. And then enjoy!
Shrimp Dip
Dr. Lynn Swisher, VP, Health Services
- 1 block cream cheese (softened)
- ½ cup chili sauce
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 TBSP horseradish
- 1 can small shrimp
- 1 small onion diced
Mix and chill overnight. You can add more mayo if desired. Garnish with parsley. Serve with crackers or pumpernickel bread sticks, which is the best choice!
Fried Corn
Nicole Michael, Corporate Director, Sales and Marketing
- 1 dozen ears of sweet corn (removed from the cob)
- 1 stick of butter (1/2 stick of you want to be a bit more health conscious)
- 1 egg (can add 2 if preferred)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Melt butter in a pan on stove top. Add corn, season with salt and pepper and sauté over medium heat until corn is cooked but still crisp. Add 1 to two well-beaten eggs to the corn and stir until eggs are cooked (will looked scrambled). This is one of my favorite summer side dishes. I typically serve it with marinated grilled chicken breast and fresh garden tomatoes topped with red onion and balsamic vinegar. Delicious!
Georgia Peach Pound Cake
Dawn Oltean, Dining Services / Production Manager
- 1 C butter or margarine
- 2 C white sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 C flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 C fresh peaches
Preheat oven 325, butter pan and coat with white sugar. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla. Sift together flour baking powder and salt. Gradually stir into creamed mixture. Add peaches and spread evenly into pan. Bake for 60 to 70 min or until toothpick comes out clean.
Aug 13, 2020 | Planning for Retirement
Life Plan Communities (formerly known as continuing care retirement communities or CCRCs) often require an entrance fee in exchange for lifetime housing and priority access to healthcare. In many cases, a sizable portion of the entrance fee may be refundable to the resident if they move out, or to the resident’s estate at death.
A question that some prospective residents may have is whether a refundable entrance fee might be taxed when received. To help answer this question, it is necessary to first describe refundable entrance fees in a little more detail.
Contract Types and Entrance Fee Plans
First, it’s important to understand that Life Plan Communities offer different contract types…A (Life Care), C (Fee-for-Service), or B (a hybrid of A & C). Second, it’s equally important to know the definition of an entrance fee: a one-time, up-front investment, similar to purchasing your own home, but you do not hold deed to the home.
At Moravian Manor Communities, we offer a Type C (Fee-For-Service) contract and three options in which to pay your entrance fee.
- Traditional Plan: Declines at 2% per month for 50 months. No refund after 50 months.
- 25% Refundable Plan: Declines at 1.5% per month for 50 months. After 50 months, a guaranteed refund of 25% of the original entrance fee remains.
- 50% Refundable Plan: Declines at 1% per month for 50 months. After 50 months, a guaranteed refund of 50% of the original entrance fee remains.
The types of entrance fee plans offered will vary from community to community. Be sure to include that on your list of questions when meeting with a community’s residency counselor.
Generally speaking, the refundable portion of the entrance fee is not taxed as income when received by the resident or their heirs. But there are some exceptions.
Impact of Medical Expense Deductions
First, if a resident takes a medical expense tax deduction on the entrance fee it could cause some part of the refund to be taxed when received. Such a deduction may be available because some Life Plan Communities with a Type A (Life Care) contract use a portion of the entrance fee to help offset the cost of future healthcare services. A representative of the community should be able to provide you with an estimate of the percentage of its overall operating expenses that are spent providing healthcare, and it is this amount that may be deductible as a medical expense. Allowable medical expense tax deduction could range anywhere between 20-40% of the non-refundable portion of the entrance fee. However, if a deduction is taken on any amount of the entrance fee that will ultimately be refunded, then that amount would likely be taxed when received.
A similar situation, as it pertains to a Life Care/Type A Contract, could even apply when someone chooses a traditional, declining balance plan. As an example, suppose a resident takes a medical expense tax deduction on the entire entrance fee, but ends up unexpectedly moving out or passing away sometime during the first couple of years. In this case, a refund would be received in accordance with the amortization schedule and a sizable portion of the refund could be taxed.
In summary, if a resident (or a resident’s heirs) receives any portion of a refundable entrance fee that had previously been deducted, then it would most likely trigger an income tax when received.
Estate Taxes
The other area where a refundable entrance fee could potentially be taxable would be in regards to a federal estate tax. A refundable entrance fee is most likely going to be considered an asset of the resident(s) and, as such, could be included as part of a decedent’s estate and subject to any applicable federal estate taxes. Of course, if the total value of the estate, including the refundable entrance fee, does not exceed the gift and estate tax exemption, then this would be a non-issue. Potential estate or inheritance taxes at the state level could vary from state to state.
Disclaimer: The information presented in this post should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Be sure to consult with your legal and tax advisors before making any decisions regarding refundable entrance fees and to better understand the possible federal and state tax implications.
