Hello Everyone!

Welcome to our latest updates at Kamloops Seniors Village! Spring has sprung, green grass is appearing, and the sun is brightly shining here in Kamloops, bringing smiles to the faces of our tenants and residents!

With current Covid 19 numbers & risk of new variants, restrictions will remain in effect for our tenants, residents and families.  We will be continuing to follow the direction of our provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and our general NO VISITOR policy remains in place.

However, Dr. Bonnie Henry’s recent announcement, has new social visitation guidelines in effect as of April 1, 2021. The team at Kamloops Seniors Village (KSV) have aligned with new parameters set out by the Provincial Health Officer and the Interior Health Authority (IHA):

• All residents will be allowed regular, frequent, and routine opportunities for social visitation
• Visits must allow for a minimum of 60 minutes (they still must be booked in advance). This means visits cannot be scheduled less than one hour before the closing of visiting hours. If visiting hours end at 8pm, the last booking available will be 7pm.
• Number of visits per day to the community will be designed to continue to meet operational health and safety requirements in keeping with the sanitization and screening guidelines.
• The “single designated social visitor” restriction has been removed, allowing additional family and friends to visit through appointments
• The number of visitors will be expanded, allowing up to two visitors, plus a child (defined as 18 or younger) at any one time;
• Visits will be supported in the resident’s room, a designated visiting space, or on outings with no requirement for isolation afterwards. On outings, residents will be offered a mask before exiting
• Visitors will be asked only to visit with one resident at a time, and to limit their group activities.
• Physical contact—including hugging—will be allowed, provided visitors wear a mask and follow proper infection control procedures (e.g. hand hygiene and cough etiquette)

We ask families and residents to keep in mind the following requirements:

• Social visitation will continue to require advanced booking, screening of visitors, use of medical masks, and practicing frequent hand hygiene. A new mask and hand sanitizer will be provided at the entrance and visitors must don a mask and perform hand hygiene.
• Social visitation will be suspended during outbreaks and enhanced monitoring periods
• Essential and compassionate visitation remains in place and any resident who requires this is supported
• Strict adherence to Infection Prevention & Control practices are essential. We encourage you to sanitize your hands, belongings, and gathering spaces frequently
• Visitors are asked to stay home if they are feeling unwell. Please don’t come if you’re not feeling well
• Regular screening of residents, visitors and staff for signs of illness will continue to be performed. If there are any concerns in regards to COVID-19 symptoms the visitor may not be permitted.
• Once the visitor is in a resident space they MUST keep their mask on at all times while in the building throughout the entirety of their visit and are asked to frequently perform hand hygiene
• Please consider limiting your visits to one care home per day to ensure limited cross contamination
• The Medical Health Order further states to stay in your home community & limit travel for medical and essential travel only
• As there will be a significantly higher amount of people in our building, we ask that you arrive no earlier than 5 minutes prior to your visit.
• Social Outings: For those on Complex Care, if you would like to take your loved one out of the building we request a minimum of 2 hours’ notice to ensure that your loved one is set up for success for their outing. Please contact the nurse on your loved one’s floor to arrange the outing.
• Escorts to and from visits are still required. If you would like to leave prior to the end of your 60 minute visit we will provide you with contact information upon arrival to connect with the screeners to ensure you have an escort out of the building.
• Visits will not be permitted in common spaces such as the dining room, Bistro, on the back deck or in any other common resident spaces.

Social Visitation Scheduling Reminders:

• The April 2021 Social Visit Schedule is now full, but the cancellation wait list is available. The May 2021 Visitation Schedule opens today, April 15, 2021. Social Visits can still be scheduled every 7-10 days depending on availability within our visitation hours.
• Email is the preferred method for these reservations. Please submit visitor requests to Carollyn Anderson at canderson@retirementconcepts.com
• We must know 48 hours prior to the scheduled visit, the names of all persons who will be attending that visit. We ask that you contact Carollyn to confirm this information.
• The monthly schedule opens on the 15^th of each month for the following month. Email Carollyn with requested date(s) for visitation which are filled on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and allow 72 hours for reply. A waitlist will be set up for cancellations.
• A reminder, visits still MUST be booked every month, there are no standing visits for the same time slot month to month
• At this time, time slots will be booked in one hour time slots to operationally support the safe visit parameters.
• Should you need to cancel your visit, please let us know, as we have a waitlist for most dates
• We ask that our resident/tenant families give your very best effort in reducing community outings 14 days prior to your scheduled visit and be mindful & aware of your immediate bubble to keep your loved ones safe
• New Screening Process: There is a new form to be completed at the time of every visit.
  • We will check and document your temperature upon arrival. The reason for the additional information is due to contact tracing now that we have more visitors.  Every individual visiting, aside from young children must complete the screening questionnaire.  Small children can be added to one of the adult’s forms.
  • Please ensure you have your vehicle license plate (if applicable) ready when you arrive for your visit, as it is required on the new screening form

You, as family members play a key role in the continuing success of this Visitation Plan.  As we all work together to closely follow Health Authority protocols, should any family member not adhere to the safety parameters that we have in place, they will be asked to leave.

With the warming weather, Window Visits are a great alternative for larger family visits. Window Visits are continuing with the same following guidelines:

1. Please plan visits with a limit of up to 6 people (Window Visits only)
2. No open windows, please use telephones
3. For all residents in Complex Care, window visits can still be safely scheduled and supported through the care staff. Contact your loved one’s nurse to facilitate the window visit.

Recreation Programs

Our AL Tenants “Travelled to Paris” this week to celebrate Spring Time in Paris with entertainment by Linda Fenrich. Our Complex Care residents will be starting to enjoy Garden Club and activities outside to enjoy the sunshine & fresh air. The scenic drives continue to be a great hit with both tenants & residents.  They can’t wait to explore the area once again.

We are continuing to provide scheduled virtual visits for residents & tenants. Please reach out to our recreation team by e-mail at KSV-REC@retirementconcepts.com or call 250.571-1806 to set up a time via Skype or FaceTime. We will be happy to confirm a date and time to connect you with your loved-one.

Deliveries and Drop-offs:

All deliveries will continue to be received at the front desk and will be sanitized, bagged 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, please ensure there are no LILIES in the arrangement for allergy precautions.

Reminders for your loved one to Stay Safe:

Please help us by reminding each resident daily of the following four items:

1. Practice social/physical distancing (6 feet apart) when required
2. Perform proper Hand Hygiene (Wash hands frequently for 20 seconds with the alcohol-based sanitizer or soap and hot water) 20 seconds or greater is so important.
3. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
4. If exhibiting any symptoms (fever, cough and difficulty breathing) please alert staff immediately.

 We ask that families share this information with all parties you believe will be in contact with your loved one. We have all worked so hard together over the last year to keep COVID out of our building. Please remain diligent in your current practice to help keep our home a safe place.

Thank you all for your support and patience as we roll out this new visitation process.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.