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Hello Everyone!

Welcome to our latest updates at Kamloops Seniors Village! What A Week It Has Been Here in Kamloops, from the ‘natural’ fireworks show on Canada Day prompting some unnerving hours for neighbourhoods and rural areas, to the extreme hot weather, to more thunderstorms. We are thankful to our City Firefighters and the BC Wildfire Service for their efforts on the surrounding fires and efforts to keep our community neighbours safe!

 We also wanted to let you though that we will be extending our weekly newsletter through the summer and fire season to keep everyone updated and will reassess in the fall once the province moves into Step 4 of the Restart Plan. We appreciate our KSV Family’s feedback and are delighted that you all enjoy these weekly notices!

We are continuing to follow the direction of our provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry. Current BC Provincial Medical Health Orders can be found here.

In regards to BC’s Restart Plan-Phase 3 & yesterday’s announcement from Dr. Bonnie Henry & Minister Dix, we will update families of any policy changes upon receiving written confirmation from the Interior Health Authority.

The only written update we have received from the Health Authority is that the Medical Grade Masks policy is still in effect even with changes in mask guidance for other public indoor settings. Therefore, masks are still required in Health Care Settings and visitors must wear a medical grade mask at all times until further changes are confirmed.


Current Events: Recreation & Dining Programs

Our recreation team continues to do a great job – for Assisted Living, we have resumed weekly shopping trips and for Complex Care, we have resumed special luncheons from their favourite take out places, of course in small groups and following current guidelines.

Next week our Complex Care residents are looking forward to Hawaiian Socials, a Scenic Drive, and the musical stylings of the Outback Girls in the RC Courtyard (weather & smoke dependant). Our Assisted Living tenants will be enjoying Strange Brew as entertainment next week as well as a Scenic Drive!


ASSISTED LIVING MAIL BOX DELIVERY

We are also excited that Canada Post has resumed mail delivery to the Assisted Living Mail Centre mail boxes as of Thursday, July 8, 2021. Therefore your loved one can now retrieve their mail once again from their assigned mail box. Their mail box number is equal to their suite number. Their key is the small key that was provided at move in. We have put signs up to communicate this change to our tenants, but in case they ask loved ones, please direct them to the mail centre and or come ask our team for assistance.


KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK READER’S CHOICE 2021

VOTING IS NOW OPEN! Kamloops Seniors Village has humbly been acknowledged as the Best Seniors Home in Kamloops for the past 3 Years! This is a testament to our entire KSV Staff that take such good care of your loved ones, as they become part of our KSV Family! Let’s Make it 4 Years in a Row! Here is the Link to vote for all Categories – “Seniors Home” is under the Services. We appreciate your continued support.


VIRTUAL VISITS

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.


EXTREME WEATHER SAFETY

 We are so glad that the heat wave is over and we have returned to some ‘cooler’ seasonal temperatures. We sincerely appreciate everyone for their patience as we navigated through the heat wave and getting our HVAC system working to its optimal usage. We are thankful for the recent drop in temperatures that should enable our systems to now run at a prime capacity.

And now with the smoke advisory, we are happy to report we have just received some Air Scrubber machines that you will see around the building to filter the incoming air and remove the smoke particles to keep our building safe and smoke free!

With the recent hot temperatures, we ensured staff, tenants and residents keep all suite windows closed & curtains drawn enabling the air conditioning to work most efficiently. We also have put out reminders to stay hydrated, limit outside exposures during the hottest parts of the day, and wear a hat, sunglasses and light clothing if going outside. We wish everyone a safe week ahead!

For families that might plan to take residents/ tenants out, we encourage limited sun & smoke exposure outdoors, especially between 10:00 AM and 4:00PM. If outings cannot be postponed, please encourage & ensure your loved one is donning of light- colored, loose clothing, and a hat outdoors.

Please pay close attention to how those around you feel. Watch for symptoms of heat illness, which include: • dizziness or fainting; • nausea or vomiting; • headache; • rapid breathing and heartbeat; • extreme thirst (dry mouth or sticky saliva); and • decreased urination. If you or your loved one experiences any of these symptoms during hot weather, immediately move to a cool place and drink liquids. Water is best!


EVACUATION PROTOCOL REMINDERS

 In light of the recent fire activity around Kamloops, we wanted to remind you all of our evacuation protocol in the event we have to evacuate due to a nearby interface fire. This evacuation is known as a “Code Green.” Luckily we ran through our Code Green drill recently back in May 2021 with our Independent-Assisted Living tenants and our staff in Complex Care, so the information is fresh in our minds.

We are required to evacuate the building when we are notified of an “Evacuation Alert”, due to the number of people that live at KSV. This will hopefully give us more time to evacuate residents to safety. We do not stay and wait for the “`Evacuation Order” which would greatly reduce the amount of time we have to leave the building.

Our tenants have a checklist on the back of their door of the items to bring with them – an overnight bag with a few days worth of clothing, personal care items, important documents/ID, valuables, medications, incontinence products, and if applicable, their pet in a pet carrier. Our Complex Care staff will pack the needed items for all residents in Full Care as we prepare to evacuate.

We will all muster by floor/neighbourhood and use our local arranged resources for transportation to our designated evacuation centre (wherever that may be based on the current fire situation). Emergency food, water, and care supplies will accompany each bus. For families that can accommodate their loved one are encouraged to pick up and go to your residence in the interim, we just need to track everyone’s destination. We of course would provide communication to all families of the evacuation and provide necessary daily updates.

We wish for everyone’s safety during this now too close to home fire season.


ANNOUNCEMENTS

 We are happy to report, we have successfully filled the role of the Therapeutic Recreation Manager (TRM) and are happy to be welcoming Kiara to our KSV Family.  Kiara comes to us from Ridgeview Lodge where she was also working as the Recreation Manager and so she is bringing her wealth of knowledge to share.  Pleases join me in making Kiara feel welcomed.  She starts her new position on July 26th.

As noted a few weeks ago, we are sad to reveal that our incredible General Manager, Lisa Robitaille, will be leaving KSV, but on a positive note, we just learned that Lisa will be extending her stay! She has happily agreed to continuing part time (3 days per week) to support our KSV team as we actively recruit a new General Manager to ensure as smooth of a transition as possible.


VISITATION UPDATES

Effective Monday, July 5, 2021, there are some changes to our visitation parameters:


CURRENT VISITATION GUIDELINES

Here is a summary of the “In Building” social visitation guidelines as of April 1, 2021:

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

DO’s

DON’T’s


SOCIAL OUTINGS:


WINDOW VISITS

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.
  4. Contact your loved one’s nurse to facilitate the window visit.

“In Building” Social Visitation Scheduling Reminders:

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,


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 September as we hold no meetings in the summer.


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.


SUPPORT & RESOURCES

As a caregiver, you are not alone and you what you do is incredible. As the Pandemic continues on, remember to take care of yourselves and get that much needed self-care and support.

Family CareGivers of BC and Provincial Agencies such as the Alzheimer’s Society have great resources and workshops to handle your loved ones diagnosis & offer support. Family CareGivers of BC also has a Caregiver Support Line for emotional support at 1-877-520-3267, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am – 7:00 pm.