Category: Independent Living

We were honored to have members of the Virginia Synod’s Office of the Bishop visit Brandon Oaks, a community that is part of Virginia Lutheran Homes, for their day of service earlier this month. Their service initiative, “God’s work. Our hands.”, provides opportunities to celebrate members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America by acts of service to serve and love their neighbors.

The project involved a team effort of Synod staff and Brandon Oaks staff creating an outdoor prayer and meditation space for the residents of Brandon Oaks. The Virginia Synod’s new Bishop, The Rev. Dr. Phyllis Blair Milton said of the project, “It was an incredible experience working together to do something to help the residents share their joys and concerns in an atmosphere of peace and serenity”. Virginia Lutheran Homes President and CEO, Charles Downs, Jr., Esq., echoed Bishop Milton’s sentiments, adding, “This was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the strong connection between the Virginia Synod and Virginia Lutheran Homes”.

Synod office staff rolled up their sleeves and took part in tasks such as painting benches, planting flowers and painting prayer stones. One of Virginia Lutheran Homes’ Chaplains, Pastor Meredith Williams, said of the project, “We are grateful for the hands and hearts from the Virginia Synod who came out to help build a meditation and prayer space for the residents of Brandon Oaks”.

In the time since the meditation and prayer space has been completed, residents have already been using it for quiet reflection and prayer requests. Thank you to the Virginia Synod Office staff!

In response to staffing shortages that are impacting communities all across the nation, Brandon Oaks Life Plan Community is taking action. Last week, Brandon Oaks began testing a robot server in their Independent Living Main Dining Room. Brandon Oaks is the first in the area to utilize this technology.

Partnering with Bear Robotics, a hospitality robotics company whose clients include Chili’s and Denny’s, Brandon Oaks is utilizing their Servi model. This model features 3 levels where plates can be placed and a small screen that the kitchen staff can then select which table the food is to go to. The robot has mapped the dining room out and if a path is blocked it will reroute itself to get to its destination.

“We decided to take action to address this issue, this will help our current staff and it has generated interest and conversation among residents. The reliability of this unit was highly attractive and extends our ability to provide services more efficiently,” stated Ben Burks, Brandon Oaks Executive Director. Echoing this sentiment is Gary Ventola, CFO of Virginia Lutheran Homes, Brandon Oaks’ parent company, “Our serving robot provides us the workforce to run food and drinks to the residents table while allowing our servers to spend more time interacting and assisting with the resident requests. This is helping us provide a best dining experience for our residents. The robot can work 12 hours long, never takes a break, and won’t call out sick. It’s the best assistant the dining team could ask for especially given the ongoing labor struggles we are having in our area.”

Residents have been so impressed by how effectively the robot works. Staff and residents are currently working on coming up with a name for Brandon Oaks’ newest staff member.

Story Coverage:

https://www.wdbj7.com/2022/04/27/roanoke-retirement-community-testing-out-food-serving-robot-combat-staffing-shortage/

https://theroanoker.com/blogging/behind-the-page/brandon-oaks-testing-serving-robot/

We are so happy to welcome Beth Herndon as the new Resident Services Director at Brandon Oaks. Beth comes to Brandon Oaks as a certified dementia practitioner with experience in life enrichment programming for seniors, social work and a passion for working with seniors. We look forward to the positive impact she will make in the community.