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4/1/2020 

Dear friends, 

I would like to thank everyone for their resolve during the COVID-19 threat and the restrictions that we have had to put in place to keep our community safe. We have received many notes from residents, family members, and friends praising the work of our employees during the pandemic. I am also extremely proud of all our employees who have risen above this challenge and continue to provide the level of care our residents and families expect at King-Bruwaert House (KBH). 

In light of Governor Pritzker’s announcement yesterday that he will enact another executive order pushing the “shelter in place” date back through April 30th, we will also move our restrictions to at least that date to mirror the rest of the state. These dates are based on information received from the CDC, IDPH, medical professionals, statistic modelers, and other government agencies. Whereas, the restrictions continue to disrupt our normal way of life at KBH we promise that we will do everything in our power to focus on providing options that support all dimensions of wellness of our residents. 

As you may have seen through social media, or other media outlets, our staff continue to assist our residents with Facetime and Skype calls to their family and friends. These have been going extremely well, and our scheduled calls continue to increase. Also, staff have started an alternate “KB Salon” as our current in-house salon has had to close due to the restrictions. Staff is visiting residents in their room to help style their hair and are providing gift bags with self- care products. Another way we are focused on creative ways to keep life as normal as possible. Our #MakeKBSeniorsSmile campaign has also been a big hit and we are receiving many videos, artwork, pictures, poems, and other uplifting messages for our residents. These are being shared during one on one visits by our social work and life enrichment staff. In turn, we are taking pictures of our residents smiling to share back out into the community. 

We continue to try and secure as much Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and hand sanitizer that is needed to continue to keep KBH healthy. Vendors and suppliers have limited or no stock, and most that do, are offering products at an increased rate. This is only one area of unforeseen expenses we have faced due to the pandemic. We continue to look into creative ways to help with this, including the acquisition of hand sanitizer from KOVAL distillery in Chicago, which has been approved to modify its operations to creating FDA approved sanitizer. Also, we have had a wonderful group of volunteers which have been sewing masks that are reusable for our staff. This has helped decrease our reliance on purchased masks, but this is only a temporary fix. 

I have been asked by many people if there is a way to help during this time, and soon we will be sending out an appeal to help offset the costs that we have incurred due to battling the COVID- 19 threat. This COVID-19 response fund will help support the purchase of equipment and supplies, and other pandemic related expenses. The appeal will be sent out shortly and we appreciate any help you will be able to provide. 

Once again, I thank you all and look forward to when we come together and celebrate as a united community. 

To learn more about the great work being performed by our team members, follow the link below to an article on Patch.com: 

https://patch.com/illinois/burrridge/king-bruwaert-house-keeps-spirit-amid-covid-19-threat 

Sincerely, 

Terri Bowen, CEO
​TerriB@kbhouse.org