April 8, 2022

 Spring Greetings from Kamloops Seniors Village!  The weather wasn’t sure what season it was this week with snow, sleet, wind, and rain; even all within the same hour! Hopefully sunny skies continue through the weekend!

Please read the entire communication so you are familiar with the current medical health orders and please share with your families!

First, we wanted to communicate that with the recent press conference this week by Dr. Henry, the vaccinate passport mandate is still in effect for Health Care settings including Long Term Care and Assisted living environments. The Vaccine Passport is only rescinded for the community settings such as events, services, & businesses, for example restaurants. Individual businesses and organizations can choose to continue requiring the BC Vaccine Card on their premises.

VISITATION UPDATES

 As of Friday, March 18, 2022, regular social visitation resumed at Kamloops Seniors Village to align with the new mandate from Dr. Bonnie Henry. This means there are no visitor limits moving forward unless the community becomes on an official outbreak per the Medical Health Officer.

Visitors will still need to meet the following guidelines:

• Visitors (aged 12 years & up) will need to be fully vaccinated with 2 doses and show proof of vaccination with a BC Vaccine Card or equivalent
• All Visitors continue to be screened for signs and symptoms
• Visitors (aged 12 years & up) must complete a rapid test prior to entry into the home; please see rapid testing parameters below
• All visitors (ages 5 years and up) are required to keep their medical grade mask on at ALL times while in the building, including while in their family member’s/friend’s private room
• Visitors cannot consume food or drink while in the home since masks must be kept on at all times
• Eye Wear protective equipment parameters, is also implemented for Long Term/Complex Care visitors only.
• Perform hand hygiene prior to and after your visit

Visitors will be permitted between 8:30am-9pm excluding the following times:

• LUNCH HOURS
  • 11:45am – 12:45pm (Complex Care lunch)
  • 11:45am – 12:45pm (1^st Seating) or 12:45pm – 1:45pm (2^nd Seating) (AL/IL lunch)
• SHIFT CHANGE
  • 2:45pm-3:15pm
• DINNER HOURS
  • 4:45pm-5:45pm (Complex Care dinner)
  • 4:45pm – 5:45pm (1^st Seating) or 5:45pm-6:45pm (2^nd Seating) (AL/IL dinner)

If possible, we ask that visitors try not to arrive in large groups in order to alleviate the pressure on the screening area. Please be patient if there is a line up as some visitors may need to wait outside if our lobby is at capacity.

RAPID TESTING PARAMETERS

 Every visitor 12 years and older entering Kamloops Seniors Village will have a rapid test conducted per mandates by the Provincial Health Officer.

Due to the influx of new visitors, we have developed the following plan to manage the visitor volumes, as well as to prevent congestion in our lobby area in accordance with the Health Authority’s recommendations.

POINT OF CARE RAPID TESTING

• Point of Care rapid testing will continue to be available for visitors here at KSV at time of screening, however if there is a line or our lobby is at capacity, we may request visitors to wait outside prior to screening and in your vehicles for the duration of their 15 minute waiting period
• Visitors may also be able to complete their tests in their vehicle if the lobby is also at capacity
• Visitors MUST wait the 15 minutes until results are ready prior to going to your family member’s suite; therefore, please come at minimum 20 minutes early to be screened, tested, and wait for your results

TAKE HOME RAPID TESTING KITS

• Kamloops Seniors Village will be providing one (1) small box of take home rapid tests PER SUITE for family members to test prior to arriving at their visit.
• The box will be given to the first family member that comes to visit and they will be responsible to share the tests with the rest of the family.
• We will be tracking when boxes go out and the number of visits used prior to providing further kits. We will restock families with kits as needed.
• Family members will report their test results at time of screening

We are entrusting for families and friends to be honest with the hope to keep everyone safe. Please continue to self-monitor yourselves and postpone a visit if you are experiencing any active cold like symptoms.

VISITATION AREAS

 As the weather becomes warmer outside, families are welcome to utilize some of our outdoor spaces for your visit.

Complex Care residents and families are welcome to utilize the outside secured courtyard which is accessible from the 1^st floor lobby by the Beech/Alder Lane neighbourhood doors. There is enough space for families to distance themselves from other groups.

In addition, our outside front garden gazebo area can be used for visits by all families, as well as the walking path around our building. We will be restricting visits on the 2^nd Floor Complex Care balcony and Assisted-Independent Living patio areas so they can be reserved as resident and tenant only spaces.

SPRING COVID-19 BOOSTER PROGRAM

As announced earlier week, the Province will be rolling out a spring booster vaccine program for seniors in long-term care and assisted living facilities. We are still awaiting further details from Interior Health for how this will be executed and for proposed dates. For long term care residents, families will need to provide a new consent for this booster, so we will reach out separately with those details. Assisted & Independent Living tenants provide their own consent on the day of the clinic.

SAFETY REMINDERS

 As the snow continues to melt and the weather gets nicer, a lot more tenants and residents will be embarking on walks on our grounds and parking lots. Please remember to drive slow when entering and exiting our parking lots, as well as watching for pedestrians when backing up. We appreciate your awareness of others.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Our hatchlings arrived couple of weeks ago! And now we have five chicks chirping in our lobby! Stop by to check them out before they head back to the farm in a couple of weeks!

For Easter, we are happy to welcome back our KSV Family to the grounds for our Outdoors Kids Easter Egg Hunt (ages 1-12), on Good Friday, April 15, 2022 at 2PM, followed by an ice cream social and live music! Please email Kiara Janzen kjanzen@retirementconcepts.com to RSVP your grand/child by April 14, 2022 so we can ensure we have enough eggs! Remember to Bring Your Own Basket!

For Easter Sunday dinner, residents will be enjoying a delicious traditional ham supper with all the fixings.

Complex Care Family Council

Kamloops Seniors Village’s Family Council is made available to Family Members of Complex Care residents. We invite new resident’s families to join the council, participate in the meeting, and provide a voice for your loved one! Meetings are held on the 4th Monday of every month via ZOOM during COVID, excluding December July and August. The Zoom link and minutes are sent out the week prior. The meetings are self-directed by the families with KSV Leadership present for support. Our next meeting is in on Monday, April 25, 2022, time to be determined.

Acknowledgements

 We wish to thank families and loved ones in advance for their patience and cooperation as we manage this new visitation process. We will be transitioning to bi-weekly emails, and then at minimum monthly communication. Any changes or updates will be communicated accordingly.

Sincerely,

The KSV Team