Reopening Retreat Centers
Our weekly Community Calls provide peer support, discussion forums and guest workshops for retreat center leaders and allied organizations. Today’s call spotlighted three organizations in various respective stages of re-opening. We’re grateful for the level of detail everyone shared in their presentations and in the Q+A that followed.
Skip ahead in the video to hear from specific speakers.
5:26 Francisco Burgos at Pendle Hill in Wallingford, PA
PPP funding / many staff were let go
reopening committee / safety measures
scenario planning: vaccination rates and COVID case rates
HIPAA rules
‘soft reopening’ / limited services / essential staff
can sleep 100 / currently open to 45 or less
private bathrooms / assigned bathrooms
re-hiring challenges / minimum wage changes
leap of faith to build the staff we think we’ll need to provide good service
concentrate on social distance / no immediate bookings
22:48 Ann Dillon at Manresa Jesuit Retreat House in Bloomfield Hills, MI
elderly Jesuits live onsite
formed COVID committee in March 2020
opened / soft-closings / reopened
programming mostly moved online
reconfigure rooms / 6’ distances
closed 2 small rooms / UV air purifiers throughout rooms
converted buffet dining to cafeteria with sneeze guard
can sleep 65 / currently open to 22 or less
questionnaire / temp checks / not policing / assigned seating
it’s our house, we set the guidelines
safety via prudence and imagination
contact tracing / sign in or initial for all events / attendees
36:58 Tim Oberholzer at Spirit Center in Cottonwood, ID
rural site / separate monastery / shared food service
sleeps 32 / recent soft-opening to 3 individuals or less
we learned it was logistically unstable (bringing meals to guests, etc) and the experience was lacking (turned into a hotel, and the ministry component was lost)
all Sisters are now vaccinated
reconfigure rooms / 6’ distances
food service cafeteria style / Sisters are masked and gloved to serve
meal times are staggered / TV dinner tables
social distancing / assigned seating / single room occupancy unless coming from same address
Expectations Agreement signed in advance
56:40 Q+A from the community
How does the response go if someone does test positive?
How do you handle a refund if people get sent home?
What are staffing challenges/successes around re-opening? (having difficulty hiring back staff, pay, vaccine, etc)
Resources offered in conversation:
American Hotel and Lodging Assoc. does offer cleaning routines and other standards for reopening https://www.ahla.com/covid-resources
A flip on asking folks to make beds for the next person, we invite guests to make their own beds. Our staff prepares the linen bundles and places them on the end of the bed. Then guests strip their beds upon departure and place them in the bins.
Detailed notes/audio from today’s Community Call are available as open access files.
We’re exchanging resources in our RCC Community Response to COVID-19 folder, where you can download policies and procedures, cleaning protocols, financial resources, and more.
Continue the conversation with peers at retreat centers and allied organizations in our Reopening Hub on the Retreat Center Collaboration’s Mighty Network.