On March 13, 2020, just 9 days after New Jersey’s first reported case of COVID-19, Fellowship Studios was born.

Like other providers all over the country in the early days of the pandemic, Fellowship Village, Basking Ridge, NJ, found itself locking down and facing a whole new world of challenges. At the time, the life enrichment team had been preparing for the unofficial kick-off of spring, a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Suddenly, Lifestyle & Hospitality Director Patty Yannotta and IT Director Lee Rabano had to figure out if and how the parade could be broadcast on the community’s internal TV channel, supplied by the cable company.

A construction project on the campus made it possible to create “studios” in a large open space in early 2020. The sets allowed rehab and wellness classes, art and music therapy classes, yoga, and an evening talk show. Informational presentations by CEO Brian Lawrence and Dr. Arthur Sheppell, the medical director, were hosted. A resident volunteer would read weekly letters from Lawrence and Fellowship’s monthly newsletter on the channel, to aid those with reduced vision.

The first program to be broadcast from the studio was a test pilot—Sunday Worship. The pilot was a success and the festivities for St. Patrick’s Day could move forward—broadcast from the studio live to each resident’s television.

“Fellowship Studios was able to keep residents entertained, engaged, and informed during the pandemic,” says Director of PR Lisa Fielding. “It was important for residents to see and hear from Fellowship’s leaders. President & CEO Brian Lawrence and Medical Director Dr. Arthur Sheppell gave live talks on the virus, while explaining the lifesaving protocols that were being put in place. A question-and-answer process was coordinated through the use of the in-house phone system.”

The ambitious change in programming from in-person to virtual presented significant technical challenges. The problem was connecting livestream TV cameras to the internal TV channels—channels that previously had been used only to post dining menus, activity schedules, and resident announcements.

Some relatively inexpensive hardware purchases enabled the change in just a few days: an HDMI switcher, sound board, camera, and cables. HDMI signals from the camera in the new studio space would have to be converted to a different format to be transmitted down an existing fiber cable, then converted to the S-video standard on the other end so the Touchtown equipment could broadcast it. Another switch allows Fellowship staff to switch back and forth between the live camera feed and the Touchtown player, as programming needs change throughout the day.

The TV studio is still in the community center, but it will soon move to the on-campus Fellowship Cultural Arts Center (CAC), which opened in 2019. The CAC, which is open to the general public, hosts shows by local and touring theater companies, ballet, orchestral concerts, and more, along with Fellowship Village resident programs and concerts. Closed temporarily during the pandemic, it is scheduled to reopen in September.

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