August 19, 2021

Dear Families and Residents of Kamloops Seniors Village,

We were informed this morning, August 19, 2021, that a fully vaccinated staff member who last worked on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 in the Complex Care 1C neighbourhood, has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The staff member is isolating at home and doing well with minimal symptoms, regular wellness checks will continue. The situation is considered low risk as the staff member had diligently worn their mask and PPE their entire shift.

We had a call at 11:00 am this morning with the Health Authority and medical health officer (MHO) and received some further information and or direction.  At this time the health authority is NOT declaring us on an outbreak but rather in a “heightened precaution” mode until they further speak with the staff member.

We are well prepared to look after this situation as we have been involved in COVID drills and preparedness programs since early in the pandemic.

Our staff will diligently monitor our residents for symptoms. Only residents with symptoms are to be tested per the health authority. Therefore, if your family member requires testing, you will be contacted by phone.

We have put into action a number of protocols below, with the goal of protecting our residents as best we can:

• Our housekeeping team will be continue performing enhanced cleaning, including using our handheld electrostatic disinfection system that is able to spray larger surfaces more efficiently.
• We have grouped the Complex Care 1C Neighborhood where both staff and residents will remain on 1C as its own cohort and not circulate with other residents at this time. This reduced contact provides increased protection to your loved ones and prevents exposure to the entire community.
• Recreation activities will continue for 1C Residents within their own Neighborhood only.
• As a precautionary measure, we must unfortunately cancel all family visitations for the 1C Neighborhood ONLY at this time until further notice.
• Our staff continue to wear appropriate PPE at all times, as well we continue to be attentive to our hand hygiene practices. Hand washing, hand washing, and hand washing.

We have notified our health authority and will work together with them for further testing, monitoring and prevention protocols. These events will be communicated to you in daily communications such as this, which will also be posted to the Community Update Section of our Website after it is sent out to you.  If you have other family or friends who would like to be updated, please feel free to direct them to www.retirementconcepts.com

Deliveries

All deliveries continue to be received.  All items will be sanitized and delivered directly to the resident’s suites.

When dropping items off, we ask families to follow the guidelines below to ensure loved ones get their deliveries in a timely manner:

• Please use plastic bags, no reusable bags;
• Please label all bags with the resident’s name and room number;
• Try to limit drop-offs to essential items; and
• If sending food or drinks, please send single serve disposable items.  No homemade food or fruit please.  All items will need to be sanitized.  Please do not send food that needs to be refrigerated.

Teamwork 

Again I would like to re-iterate that we are NOT in a COVID outbreak at this time but taking a proactive approach.  I can assure you that if there are any changes we will notify you in a timely manner.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of the leadership team. We would like to thank you in advance for all for your understanding, patience and support.

If you are looking to stay up to date on current COVID-19 information, we encourage you to look at the following resources.  They are concise, accurate and informative.

• www.bccdc.ca
• https://www.safecarebc.ca/
• https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates
• www.interiorhealth.ca

Sincerely

The Kamloops Seniors Village Leadership Team