Golf Cart with boxes of supply being deliverd to The Glebe retirement community

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Going the Extra Mile: LifeSpire of Virginia Delivers PPE

It takes five hours roundtrip to drive from the LifeSpire of Virginia home office to the front entrance at The Glebe. On April 21, Vice President of the VBH Foundation Jodi Leonard made that trek to deliver much-needed supplies to her fellow team members in Daleville.

She dropped off hundreds of face shields, hair covers, goggles, N95 respirators and surgical masks. These supplies were all part of the shipment delivered to the home office last week. By delivering the personal protective equipment (PPE) directly to the community, it gets to those who need it most much more quickly. Leonard said she was happy to make the trip.

“I drove up and Kayla from dining services received me at the gatehouse. I dropped off the PPE and had to leave,” she said. “It was incredibly difficult for me to leave without going in and seeing the residents and colleagues who I am thinking about constantly and miss seeing. I look forward to being together with them all again soon. For now, this is what I can do to help ensure they’re all safe and healthy.”

The LifeSpire of Virginia management team continues to do its best to source PPE for The Glebe and its other three communities. In the meantime, residents use their talents to ensure those who aren’t in close contact with residents are still safe. Starting on April 6, The Glebe began requiring team members who do not have interactions with residents to wear cloth facial coverings. Pam Renga made several masks for The Glebe to distribute to team members and residents. She wanted to make sure anyone who receives a mask she made knows how to put it on properly, so she recorded a demonstration.

Every resident will receive a cloth mask on April 23. Executive Director Ellen D’Ardenne said without the support of residents like Renga and others who have made masks, it would be nearly impossible.

“Because PPE for clinical staff is sacred and is being handled as such, we know that homemade masks will be essential to our community’s ability to maintain barriers against the virus,” she said.