Updated Sunday, March 28, 2021 12:18 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses changes in guidance for off-campus visits for residents and what Living Branches has been experiencing with breakthrough Covid cases in vaccinated staff members.
Updated Saturday, March 13, 2021 8:31 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses significant revisions to CMS visiting guidelines for retirement communities, and how that will impact residents and families at Living Branches.
Updated Sunday, March 7, 2021 11:48 a.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses changes in travel guidance for out-of-state families, answers resident questions regarding regulatory agencies and the Covid-19 vaccine, and reflects on living and working through the last year.
Updated Sunday, February 21, 2021 1:14 p.m..
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, updates residents and families on a program for visitors being piloted at The Willows of Living Branches, Covid-19 on campus, and answers a resident’s question regarding the protection provided through vaccination.
Updated Saturday, February 13, 2021 5:14 p.m..
Living Branches chief marketing officer, Alex Metricarti, provides updates on Living Branches Covid cases, clarifies this week’s CDC announcement, and introduces a new emergency alert system for Living Branches.
Updated Saturday, February 6, 2021 3:39 p.m..
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, provides updates on Covid-19 and vaccinations on our campuses, efforts to increase visiting opportunities for families, and offers a light-hearted take on the upcoming Superbowl.
Updated Friday, January 29, 2021 5:09 p.m..
Living Branches Chief Marketing Officer, Alex Metricarti, updates residents and families on Covid-19 cases at Living Branches, announces new pandemic guidelines, and provides information on Covid vaccine clinics for residents.
Updated Friday, January 29, 2021 11:25 a.m.
Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, an infectious disease expert at Penn Medicine, has been studying mRNA for use in vaccines for over 15 years. His discoveries were instrumental in developing the technology that is the backbone of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Dr. Weissman recently held a Zoom webinar for Living Branches and community members where he answered questions regarding vaccine safety, the potential for long-term side effects, and more.
Updated Sunday, January 17, 2021 1:16 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, provides information for residents and families regarding Covid-19 cases at Living Branches and our efforts to provide the Covid vaccine to staff and residents.
Updated Sunday, January 11, 2021 2:40 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, shares information regarding Covid-19 cases at Living Branches, and discusses the recent vaccine clinics held on campus.
Please note there is some distortion in this video at about the 16 minute mark. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Updated Monday, January 4, 2021 10:55 a.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses Covid-19 cases at Living Branches, information regarding the vaccine clinics coming to campus, and provides updates on testing procedures.
Updated Thursday, December 24, 2020 12:55 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses current Covid-19 cases at Living Branches, provides updated information regarding Covid-19 vaccine clinics, and wishes everyone a Christmas filled with hope.
Updated Friday, December 19, 2020 1:44 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses Covid-19 cases on our campuses, answers a question regarding safe celebrations, and shares information regarding the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines which are coming to Living Branches the first week of January.
Updated Friday, December 11, 2020 10:32 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses COVID-19 cases at Living Branches, a partnership with Penn Medicine to provide monoclonal antibody treatment to COVID-positive residents, and information about vaccines for residents and staff.
Updated December 6, 2020 12:47 p.m.
Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised their guidelines for quarantine after exposure to, or testing positive for, COVID-19. The new guidelines outline circumstances under which a quarantine of 10 days, instead of the previously required 14 days, would be permitted.
As we expected, on Friday, December 4, 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Health released new guidelines for quarantine to reflect the changes announced by the CDC. The Pennsylvania guidelines specifically indicated that health care and congregate care organizations are not permitted to follow the new CDC guidelines, and must continue to use 14 day quarantine standard.
Living Branches will follow the requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and continue to require 14 day quarantines when a quarantine period is needed.
Updated November 25, 2020 10:06 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses new COVID positive test results in Living Branches, including the first cases in Residential Living at Dock Woods, testing, and the impact on the organization.
Updated November 14, 2020 12:57 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses COVID-19 test results, the impact of county positivity rates on testing, and answers a family member’s question regarding what Living Branches does to care for the psychological, emotional, and spiritual health of residents, in addition to their physical needs.
Updated November 1, 2020 11:50 a.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, answers viewer questions about holiday visits and talks about the county positivity test rates and what that means for Living Branches.
Updated October 11, 2020 12:38 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, provides updates on the testing situation in Harmony House and The Willows of Living Branches, and interviews a Living Branches employee who had been hospitalized due to COVID-19.
Updated September 26, 2020 12:01 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses test results in Harmony House at Dock Woods, established protocols for testing, and announces a new schedule for video updates.
Updated September 19, 2020 9:53 a.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses test results in Harmony House, rapid test usage at Living Branches, the impact of the recent Pennsylvania legal ruling, and voting options for residents.
Updated September 12, 2020 7:27 p.m.
Alex Metricarti, Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer for Living Branches, provides an update on COVID-19 in Harmony House at Dock Woods, and answers resident questions including arrangements being made for voting in November.
Updated September 4, 2020 7:57 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, answers questions from residents including COVID scams, proper face mask usage, and testing protocols.
Updated August 30, 2020 2:04 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses COVID-19 cases at Living Branches, testing strategies, and off-campus family visits.
Updated August 21, 2020 9:46 a.m.
Living Branches Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer, Alex Metricarti, updates residents and families on what it means to move from Step 2 to Step 3 in the pandemic guidelines, the visitation experience, and self-quarantine for Residential Living residents.
Updated August 14, 2020 9:20 p.m.
In this week’s video, Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, provides an update on community life after pandemic guidelines were recently revised.
Updated August 7, 2020 3:41 p.m.
Alex Metricarti, Living Branches Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer, provides detailed information to residents and families regarding implementation of new pandemic guidelines. Information regarding family visits is among the topics discussed.
Updated August 2, 2020 11:04 a.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses changes to the community’s pandemic guidelines which will be introduced during the week of August 10. Of special interest will be new guidelines for visitation for residents in Personal Care, Memory Care, and Health Care, and information about how these guidelines will change in the future.
Updated July 25, 2020 3:32 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, answers questions from residents regarding expectations for Residential Living residents, visitation, and upcoming changes to pandemic guidelines in Personal Care, Memory Care, and Health Care.
Updated July 20, 2020 8:40 a.m.
This week, Edward Brubaker, Living Branches President/CEO, welcomes special guest Dr. Daniel Haimowitz, Living Branches’ medical director, to discuss Dr. Haimowitz’s work with COVID-19 and Living Branches communities.
Updated July 11, 2020 8:36 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses test results, changes to self-quarantine guidance from the state regarding travel within the US, and the guest coming to next week’s discussion.
Updated July 4, 2020 10:52 a.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses the latest testing results at Dock Woods, Souderton Mennonite Homes, and The Willows of Living Branches, in addition to revised campus guidelines for Residential Living residents.
Updated June 27, 2020 4:48 p.m.
Pandemic guidelines for Residential Living residents will be changing on Monday, June 29. Please click here or use the side link for detailed information:
Updated June 20, 2020 1:45 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses staff testing for coronavirus, face masks, and an upcoming change to the video release schedule.
Updated June 13, 2020 3:04 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses new pandemic guidelines that will allow for family visits, surprising developments from a resident test at Dock Woods, baseline staff testing, and more in this week’s video.
Updated June 11, 2020 4:35 p.m.
We are so pleased to announce updated pandemic guidelines for Living Branches. Click here to learn more.
Updated June 6, 2020 7:55 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses test results in Dock Terrace, Montgomery and Bucks counties moving to yellow, and his personal thoughts on an unprecedented week in US history.
Updated May 30, 2020, 1:48 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses Living Branches’ conversation with representatives from the CDC and HHS, Pennsylvania’s transition to yellow in the pandemic guidelines, and what that means for Living Branches campuses.
Updated May 24, 2020,11:52 a.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, talks about Pennsylvania’s release of statistics regarding COVID-19 in long-term care communities, answers resident questions, and gives away tickets to dinner and a movie from the Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania.
Updated May 17, 2020,11:53 a.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses welcomed news for residents in Harmony House at Dock Woods, answers questions from residents and family members, and shares a video message.
Updated May 9, 2020,11:56 a.m.
In this week’s video, Edward Brubaker, Living Branches President/CEO, discusses the latest results from coronavirus testing of residents at Dock Woods, the extension of the stay-at-home order until June 4, and answers a difficult question from a resident.
Updated May 8, 2020
Gov. Wolf has extended the stay-at-home orders for southeastern Pennsylvania through June 4, 2020. Living Branches does intend to honor the governor’s stay-at-home directives and asks that you do the same, as we keep the safety of residents as our top priority.
We truly understand how difficult it has been to refrain from visiting with your loved ones in person over the past two months. We are now preparing for another holiday that will look very different this year. However it is our responsibility to remind you that campus visitation is still prohibited, even this Mother’s Day weekend. This does include window visits. We strongly encourage you to engage with your loved ones through phone calls and virtual methods of communication. You can sign up for a virtual visit on the website here or contact your life enrichment coordinator.
Updated May 2, 2020, 9:47 p.m.
In this video Edward Brubaker, Living Branches President/CEO, discusses the latest information on coronavirus testing, infection control practices, and what we know about COVID-19 treatments.
Updated April 26, 2020, 12:58 p.m.
Please take a few moments to view this video from Edward Brubaker, Living Branches President/CEO, as he discusses how we determine coronavirus testing protocols, available PPE for staff, and our commitment to transparent communication, among other topics.
Updated April 18, 10:33 a.m.
Please take a few moments to view this video from Edward Brubaker, Living Branches President/CEO, as he discusses the positive coronavirus tests at Dock Woods, n95 masks, and the reality of closed campuses.
Updated April 14, 2020 8:49 p.m.
As we began planning for our response to coronavirus at Living Branches, we committed to being transparent in our communication regarding the impact coronavirus might have at Living Branches communities. In keeping with that commitment, we are informing you that a second resident has tested positive for coronavirus.
This resident resides in Harmony House at the Dock Woods campus, and has been quarantined while we were awaiting test results. Family members of Harmony House residents and staff who may have come into contact with the resident have been notified.
Harmony House is a Memory Care community, which presents special challenges when dealing with infectious disease transmission. On Wednesday, April 15 we will be testing all residents in Harmony House for coronavirus. The lab company doing the testing for us has committed to provide the test results within 24 hours. Testing all residents in Harmony House is a more comprehensive action than the Montgomery county health department recommends, but we feel this will allow us to implement care plans specifically designed to meet each resident’s needs.
Please remember that if you have questions specific to how we are handling the coronavirus at Living Branches, you may email your questions using the link to the left. You may also call this designated phone number for general information around policies, protocols, and procedures: 215-565-2412.
We will communicate additional information as it becomes available. Please continue to pray for residents and staff who are affected by coronavirus. And remember to keep washing your hands and covering your nose and mouth if you must leave your residence.
Updated April 12, 4:40 p.m.
Please enjoy this video with Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, as he answers questions from residents and family members, and reflects on what Good Friday means in this time of pandemic.
Updated April 10, 2020 10:03 p.m.
As you know we have been actively working at preventative measures to keep coronavirus at bay. Despite our best efforts, we have just been notified that a resident and staff member have tested positive for coronavirus.
This resident lives in Dock Manor at Dock Woods, and had been receiving medical care off campus. We have reason to believe the source of their infection was not located at Dock Woods. This resident is not in Dock Manor at this time, and had previously been self-quarantining in their apartment. Any staff persons or residents who may have come into contact with this individual have already been notified.
The staff member who tested positive works in Personal Care at Souderton Mennonite Homes. This person had not been on campus since April 1. Residents and staff who interacted with this employee have not been exhibiting symptoms, and we judge this to be a low-risk situation.
We are responding to these situations and monitoring residents and staff according to CDC guidelines. At Living Branches our policy is to not disclose specific names or the health status of individuals.
Over the past several weeks, our clinical and leadership teams have prepared for this potential issue. With this announcement we have implemented our coronavirus response plan, and we will continue to follow these protocols for dealing with the virus. The health and safety of residents remains our top priority.
We would ask that you remember that we have implemented a number of guidelines to protect residents and staff. We ask that you continue to keep the following items in mind:
If you have questions specific to how we are handling coronavirus at Living Branches, you may email using the link at the left. You may also call this designated phone number for general information around policies, protocols, and procedures: 215-565-2412.
We know that many of you have been praying for the health and safety of those impacted by coronavirus. Please add our Dock Manor resident and Personal Care staff person to your prayer list, and thank you for being a member of our Living Branches community.
Updated April 4, 2020 12:21 p.m.
Please take a moment to watch this conversation with Living Branches President/CEO.
Updated April 3, 5:24 p.m.
Beginning Saturday, April 4, Living Branches will move to universal mask usage for all staff members while on any campus of Living Branches. This means that every staff person in every department will be required to wear a surgical or cloth face mask at all times.
This new procedure is in keeping with the revised guidelines being issued by state and federal officials. Living Branches still does not have any residents or staff members who have tested positive for the coronavirus. We believe wearing masks to be the next logical step in our work to protect residents and staff.
Residents who wish to wear a face mask when outside of their residence are welcome to do so. Many tutorials are available to assist in making masks, including several simple methods on our website. Our volunteer coordinator is also working with local seamstresses and volunteers to help us obtain cloth face masks for residents. If you know of groups making masks, or are interested in helping, please click here.
Updated April 1, 2020 9:27 p.m.
Living Branches may not be able to welcome visitors to our campuses right now, but residents and staff are working diligently to remain connected and support each other. At the present time, we have not had a resident or staff member test positive for COVID-19. It is unlikely that this will continue indefinitely, so our leadership team is preparing for what happens if that changes. We are working with state agencies and other retirement communities who have experience caring for residents with coronavirus to learn the best practices in that situation.Our preventative measures are still in force.
There are also many positive interactions happening each day. Please like us on Facebook and/or Instagram to get those updates. Also remember there are several methods to communicate with Living Branches residents, including Skype video calls and sending a message to a resident.
Please feel free to share information about sending a message to a resident with church members, school children, or others who may want to do something positive. If they don’t know any Living Branches residents – that’s ok. They can still send a message to “Any Resident” and we’ll make sure it gets delivered to someone who isn’t getting a lot of mail.
Updated March 19, 2020 4:04 p.m.
Please take a moment to view this message for residents and families from Edward Brubaker regarding our coronavirus response.
Updated March 18, 2020 6:07 p.m.
Living Branches remains committed to our residents during these unprecedented times, and to transparency in our communication with you. As of today, March 18, 2020, we do not have any residents or staff who have tested positive for COVID-19. Should that change, our team has developed response plans that we will follow accordingly. In the meantime we must all continue to work together to stay healthy and flatten the curve.
Updated March 16, 2020 5:01 p.m.
In accordance with directives from Governor Wolf and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), we are making changes to the following services at Living Branches for at least the next two weeks.
We respectfully ask cottage and villa residents to limit their trips to the main building, if at all possible. If you must enter the main building, please enter through the entrance closest to your destination (Fisher if you are going to the bistro; the Welcome Center if you are going to the gift shops) so you can be screened, including a check of your temperature.We are doing everything we can to limit our exposure to this virus. Beginning this week all staff will be screened, including having their temperature checked, at the front desk or before they report to their areas. We want to protect our residents as best we can!You may have heard the term “social distancing” recently. This means doing whatever we can to limit our contact with other people so we don’t spread the virus, or catch the virus from them. Residents, please practice social distancing as much as you can and stay on campus, except when absolutely necessary. Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we try to keep each other healthy. And remember to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer frequently!
Updated March 13, 2020 11:33 a.m.
For our residents:
We are complying with Governor Wolf’s orders to close gyms and fitness centers for the next two weeks. Therefore the fitness centers at Souderton Mennonite Homes and Dock Woods are closed to all residents and staff. Please note that scheduled fitness classes are still being held at this time.
For prospective residents and their families:
All Residential Living, Personal Care, and Memory Care tours have been cancelled at this time. Scheduled move-ins and admissions are still taking place. Please contact your sales counselor if you have any questions.
Updated March 12, 2020 2:37 p.m.
At Living Branches the health and safety of residents is at the heart of all we do. The more we learn about coronavirus (COVID-19), the more we understand that the people we serve in our campuses are the most vulnerable to this virus. Therefore we are taking the following steps to protect residents:
Living Branches campuses are purposely not gated and open to the wider community. The decision to close our campuses was made after consulting with state and local health officials, our medical and infection control personnel, and much discussion by Living Branches coronavirus response team. Our primary responsibility to residents is to keep them safe, and this appears to be the best way to do so at this time.
Updated March 10, 9:04 p.m.
Updated March 9, 2020 6:40 p.m.
At Living Branches our residents are always first priority when we make decisions. Our coronavirus response team has decided to limit non-essential visitors to campus in an attempt to prevent the spread of infectious disease. This means that we are postponing Living U classes for the immediate future; this will begin with the Living U class previously scheduled for Tuesday, March 10. We apologize for the inconvenience, but must protect our residents as best we can during this time.
Everyone who has registered for March 2020 Living U classes is being contacted directly about class schedules. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Maribeth Benner, Living U coordinator, at 215-368-4438.
Updated Friday, December 11, 2020 10:32 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses COVID-19 cases at Living Branches, a partnership with Penn Medicine to provide monoclonal antibody treatment to COVID-positive residents, and information about vaccines for residents and staff.
Updated Friday, December 19, 2020 1:44 p.m.
Living Branches President/CEO, Edward Brubaker, discusses Covid-19 cases on our campuses, answers a question regarding safe celebrations, and shares information regarding the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines which are coming to Living Branches the first week of January.
For general questions or to join our email list, please email:
coronavirusquestions@livingbranches.org
For campus-specific questions, please call the reception desks at your individual campus:
The Willows of Living Branches
215-822-0688
Souderton Mennonite Homes
215-723-9881
Dock Woods
215-368-4438