August 21, 2021

Dear Families and Residents of Kamloops Seniors Village,

As previously communicated, on August 19, 2021, we were informed that a fully vaccinated staff member who last worked on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 (Evening Shift) in the Complex Care [Long Term Care] 1C neighbourhood, has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

On, Friday, August 20, 2021, we were informed a subsequent staff member on the 1C Neighbourhood has also tested positive, & last worked on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 (Day Shift).

We had a call on Friday, August 20, 2021 with the Health Authority and medical health officer (MHO) and discussed the second positive case. The two cases have been identified as unrelated per the health authority’s contact tracing since both staff members developed symptoms on the same day & had no contact with each other. Therefore, at this time the health authority is still NOT declaring us on an outbreak but rather remain operating in a “heightened precaution” mode.

Both staff members are isolating at home and doing well with minimal symptoms, regular wellness checks will continue. The situation is still considered low risk as the staff members had diligently worn their mask and PPE their entire shift, & since both cases are unrelated.

As of today, Saturday, August 21, 2021, we have had no further developments of positive staff cases or any residents with symptoms, therefore we will continue to monitor the situation and await further direction from the Health Authority.We assure you we are putting the safety of all residents first.

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 are diligently monitoring our residents for symptoms. As a standard practice throughout the pandemic, ALL residents are continued to be screened twice daily for COVID-19 symptoms including their temperature.Only residents with symptoms are to be tested per the health authority and the BC Centre for Disease Control parameters; their information is found here. Therefore, if your family member requires testing, you will be contacted by phone.

These circumstances have not affected the delivery of services for our Independent-Assisted Living tenants, nor the Residents in our other Complex-Care neighbourhoods.

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 Neighbourhood 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 now be cancelled & put on hold until further notice as of today August 20, 2021 to decrease further traffic within the neighbourhood, until we have further direction from the local Medical Health Officer.
• As a precautionary measure, we must unfortunately cancel all family visitations & outside appointments for the 1C Neighbourhood 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 will continue to work together with the health authority 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
• August 12, 2021 – News Release – COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers
• BC CDC COVID Testing Parameters “When to Get a COVID Test”

Sincerely

The Kamloops Team