August 27, 2021
Dear Families and Residents of Kamloops Seniors Village,
We thank you again for your continued patience during these uncertain times.
To provide some background knowledge of our community, Kamloops Seniors Village is a Campus of Care where we offer three care levels under one roof.
On the West side of our building, we have 114 Complex Care/Long Term Care Studio Suites within six (6) Neighbourhoods. Three (3) Complex Care Neighbourhoods are located on the first floor (1A, 1B, &1C), and then three (3) Neighbourhoods are located on the second floor (2A, 2B, & 2C). And then on our East Side of the building, we have 101 Assisted-Independent Living apartment style suites.
Today, Friday, August 27, 2021, we had an afternoon call with the Interior Health Authority and Medical Health Officer (MHO). The MHO has reviewed our current COVID cases and facility information. We regret to inform you they have declared a COVID-19 Outbreak on the Complex Care/Long Term Care 1B & 1C Neighbourhoods ONLY, with ongoing contact tracing investigations occurring. The outbreak will continue for a minimum for 28 days from the last positive COVID-19 Case.
On the positive side, this outbreak DOES NOT affect our Independent & Assisted Living Apartment side of the building, nor the remaining 1A, 2A, 2B, & 2C Complex Care Neighbourhoods at this time. This may change upon further developments.
Recreation group activities and programs continue in the unaffected areas following our standard health & safety precautions. We are diligently working to keep everyone safe and content during these unprecedented times.
What Does This Outbreak Mean?
Per the Interior Health and Medical Health Officer, the following Control Measures are in place:
What Are the Next Steps?
Thankfully, we have had no further staff or residents with signs or symptoms, and all affected residents on the Complex Care 1C Neighbourhood are resting comfortably in their room.
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 neighborhood, has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
On, Friday, August 20, 2021, we were informed a subsequent 1C Neighbourhood staff member had 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 that time the health authority did NOT declare us on an outbreak but rather directed us to operate in a “heightened precaution” mode.
We had another call with the Health Authority on August 24, 2021. Since the 1B & 1C neighbourhoods share a kitchen area, the Medical Health Office directed us to cancel social visitation & recreation activities on the 1B Complex Care [Long Term Care] Neighbourhood.
On August, 25, 2021, as a precautionary measure, the Medical Health Officer and Interior Health directed us to COVID test all residents on the 1C Complex Care [Long Term Care] Neighbourhood, as well as 2 unvaccinated residents on the 1B Neighbourhood.
Unfortunately, three (3) tests have come back positive on the 1C Complex Care [Long Term Care] Neighbourhood, 2 of which were asymptomatic. All remaining residents’ tests were negative.
We contacted the affected resident’s families and IHA began contract tracing after they were notified.
Both staff members are still isolating at home and doing well with minimal symptoms, regular wellness checks have continued.
All updates will continue to 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.
Teamwork
We would like to thank you all for your understanding, patience and support. It takes a village and we appreciate all the kind words of support we have received thus far. They mean so much to us and especially the staff.
Contact Information
If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Cara Haughton, our Community Relations Manager at 250-574-0037, or via email.
Staff COVID-19 Vaccination Information
We also wanted to provide some further information regarding the current mandates for staff vaccinations. As a licensed Long Term Care (Complex Care) and Assisted Living community, we follow the mandates of the BC Provincial Health Officer. The current health order stipulates that the COVID-19 vaccine is encouraged, but not mandatory.
Recently on August 12, 2021, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Medical Health Officer, announced a new upcoming mandate where all Long Term Care & Assisted Living staff must have a Covid-19 vaccine by October 12. The details of the news release is found here.
We continue to promote immunization to our staff, but they have until October 12 to comply with the new mandate. We are awaiting the details of this mandate in writing from the Interior Health Authority in order to comply by the October 12 deadline. All staff continue to wear masks and proper PPE in addition to stringent hand washing protocols.
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness. It can spread through droplets when a person coughs or sneezes, or touching the virus with your hands then touching your face before washing your hands. Symptoms of COVID-19 may be mild or severe. These may include fever, cough, fatigue, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, headache, malaise, vomiting or diarrhea. More severe symptoms can include difficulty breathing or chest pain. While most people will experience mild illness, older adults and people with pre-existing medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness. Symptoms can be checked online at https://covid19.thrive.health/
For more information you can call 1-888-COVID-19 or text 604-030-0300 for non-medical COVID-19 questions and 8-1-1 for medical COVID-19 questions.
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.
Sincerely, The Kamloops Team