October 7, 2022
Happy Thanksgiving to our Kamloops Seniors Village Family! May the warm glow of autumn surround you and your families as you celebrate the holiday with your loved ones. The leaves are falling, but the gorgeous sunny weather here in Kamloops is bringing smiles to everyone’s faces.
Please read the entire communication so you are familiar with the current medical health orders & reminders, and please share with your families!
Please visit the BC CDC Website for current restrictions for Care Homes in the province.
KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK READER’S CHOICE 2022
Kamloops Seniors Village has humbly been acknowledged once again as the Best Seniors Home in Kamloops for the 5th Year in a Row! This is a testament to our entire KSV Staff that take such good care of the residents and tenants, as they become part of our KSV Family!
RECENT COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Over the last few months we have had some building projects take shape around KSV. Our painters were here this summer to start our multi-year paint project of the building’s exterior and trim. And our entrance and back patio woodwork got freshened up with new stain.
Our front parking lot area got a mini face lift with new pavement replacing the aging stamped concrete, as well as a portion of our “KSV Loop” walking path got re-paved as well. We have already received rave reviews from our daily walking group that they love it.
We have also been fortunate to receive some new items for long term care due to provincial grants over the spring and summer. You may have seen new occasional chairs, dining room chairs, patio furniture and interactive white board TVs around the home; as well as new sensory carts and interactive ABBY boards are busily being installed around our Complex Care neighborhoods.
* ABBY™ is an ‘Ambient Activity Technology’ installed in Long-term care facilities to provide people who live with dementia opportunities to engage in meaningful activities. Here is a link for more information.
LICENSING & ACCREDITATION UPDATES
As a licensed Complex Care community with Interior Health, we have to be accredited by a national accreditation body with certain standards of care that we must meet. In 2018, KSV was Accredited with Commendation by Accreditation Canada. In November 2022, we are being accredited by CARF-Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. Therefore, our KSV Leadership teams are busy preparing for this to ensure we meet their standards for quality of care. Surveyors will be evaluating our community later in November 2022.
For Assisted & Independent Living, we are going through a similar process through BCSLA – BC Seniors Living Association to receive a Seal of Approval for our standards of care & services. We are just waiting on the surveyors to come to KSV to conduct their evaluation on October 18, 2022. Our evaluation was delayed from last fall due to the Coquihalla Highway washout.
SPECIAL EVENTS
For Independent & Assisted Living, we had some fun walking outings down at Pioneer Park & Pineview Ponds, and Lunch at the Dunes, plus many scenic drives. In October, some tenants are going to Eagle Point for lunch, our walking club is heading out McGowan Park & the Rivers Trail – plus lots of musical entertainment!
Our Complex Care residents will be enjoying lots of Thanksgiving and Halloween Themed Crafts, Trivia, Bingo, plus pie baking, scenic drives and more!
Both Residents & Tenants enjoyed Oktoberfest and The Terry Fox Run in September and we are looking forward to a jammed packed October with our “KSV Fall Fair” & Western Days with fun carnival games, special animal visitors, a pie tasting contest and more! Plus Halloween Festivities with painting pumpkins, and our Halloween Party!
Today, KSV celebrated our 18th Birthday and our Kamloops This Week Reader’s Choice Award. Kamloops Seniors Village opened back on October 7, 2004! We celebrated and distributed cake to our staff, residents and tenants which they happily enjoyed!
For Thanksgiving, our tenants and residents will be enjoying a delicious feast on Monday, with Turkey, Stuffing, Carrots, Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, accompanied with Cranberry Sauce & Gravy, plus delicious pumpkin pie!
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME CHANGE
Just a reminder that Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 6, 2022, at 2:00 A.M. In the evening of Saturday November 5, remember to set your clocks back one hour (i.e., gaining one hour) to “fall back.”
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & CODE OF THE MONTH
In addition to the annual Code Green drill, we perform 3 monthly Code Red fire drills to enable our staff to practice the protocols and procedures in the event of a fire. It also enables the tenants and residents to hear the sound of the fire bells. Our Assisted-Independent Living tenants participate by coming outside of their suite door and practice gathering at their muster points. We conduct 1 Live Drill during the daytime and 2 Table Top Drills for evening and overnight staff.
As part of our monthly education, we also perform table top drills of other emergency codes. October’s code is CODE GREY – Technology or Power Failure. All teams will review the processes of when and in the event our home loses power, or if our technology infrastructure goes down. We do have a back-up generator to power our emergency systems and lighting. Assisted-Independent living tenants are reminded to have their own emergency supplies like a large flashlight just as if they were in their own home!
VISITATION HOURS
The same visitation parameters remain in place as follows:
Visitors will be permitted between 8:30am-9pm excluding the following times:
Please respectful of not visiting during meal times. You may be turned away if you arrive during these times without prior approvals:
DELIVERIES AND DROP-OFFS:
All deliveries will continue to be received at the front desk and we will call the tenants &/or resident care staff to come and pick up their items right away. Please ensure you label all items with a name and room number to ensure all packages are received as quickly as possible.
For floral deliveries & orders, please ensure there are NO LILIES in the arrangement for allergy precautions.
VISITATION REMINDERS
Visitors will still need to meet the following guidelines:
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. Rapid tests only need to be conducted every other day or within 48 hours of your visit.
Point of Care Rapid Testing continues to be available here onsite at KSV prior to your visit. 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.
Visitors are also welcome to conduct “TAKE HOME RAPID TESTS” at home prior to their visit to speed up the screening process and wait times. Visitors will report their negative test results at time of screening. We have “take home test kits” available to families from our screener desk. We just ask that you share the box with your family first, before requesting more.
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
A reminder that families are welcome to utilize some of our outdoor spaces for your visit since common indoor areas are unavailable for visits.
Complex Care residents and families are welcome to utilize the outside secured courtyard which is accessible from the 1st floor lobby by the Beech/Alder Lane neighbourhood doors. There is enough space for families to distance themselves from other groups. There is also the 2nd Floor Balcony patio facing the valley, which can be accessed from the 2nd Floor Complex Care Foyer area. Families are also permitted to visit on the AL Dining Room Patio as well, just be respectful of social distancing.
Assisted & Independent Living visitors are welcome to utilize the outdoor patio off of the Dining Room, or the Lower Level south garden gazebo. We just ask that you respect others and safely distance yourself from other groups, and please walk directly through the Bistro to the patio without stopping inside.
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.
For Complex Care, please ensure you sign the resident out of their neighbourhood on the white board by the door, and preferably inform a staff member so we know where the resident is in the event of an emergency. Assisted-Independent Living tenants need to sign out in the book at the reception desk by the outgoing mail box when they are leaving the property.
SAFETY REMINDERS
As 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.
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, October 24, 2022, at 10AM since meetings are on hold during the summer.
Acknowledgements
We have transitioned to a monthly communication. Any changes or new updates will be communicated accordingly.
Sincerely,
The KSV Team