September 5, 2021
Dear Families and Residents of Kamloops Seniors Village,
We thank you again for your continued support during these uncertain times.
Please see our updates below as a follow up to our previous daily communication regarding our current Complex Care/Long Term Care 1B & 1C Neighbourhood Outbreak that was declared by the Interior Health Authority Medical Health Officer on Friday, August 27, 2021. The outbreak will continue for a minimum for 28 days from the last positive COVID-19 Case.
TODAY’S UPDATES
As of today, Sunday, September 5, 2021, our resident cases are now up to eight (8), with six (6) cases still active. We regrettably have had one (1) new Complex Care 1C Neighbourhood resident test positive for COVID-19.
We also have had two (2) new Complex Care 1C Neighbourhood staff members test positive for COVID-19. These new cases brings our staff case count to six (6) cases to date with five (5) cases still active. These staff members last worked on Wednesday, September 1, & Friday, September 3, 2021.
Therefore our home’s total number of cases to date is fourteen (14), with eleven (11) still active. Active cases are still considered within the infectious period.
All current positive residents are doing well & resting comfortably in their rooms with still no clinical concerns at this time. Staff members are resting at home and regular check-ins will continue.
As of Thursday, September 2, 2021 we proactively closed the Complex Care 1A Neighbourhood to visitors since one of the positive staff members had worked in this unit during the exposure window. We have also proactively cancelled recreation programs on 1A and 1A residents are being isolated to the neighbourhood only as we await further direction from the Medical Health Officer. In summary, the 1A Neighbourhood IS NOT on outbreak, we are just implementing proactive protocols as we await further direction from the Health Authority.
We are still continuing with low threshold testing in the event residents are showing any minor changes from their standard baseline behaviour (i.e decreased appetite, lethargic etc). You will be contacted by phone if your loved one is to be tested.
Our Recreation team has come up with an Action Plan for the affected Complex Care 1A, 1B & 1C residents to facilitate Recreation Aide 1:1 Visits & virtual visits.
This week, they delivered activity care packages to all isolated residents on all 1A, 1B, & 1C Neighbourhoods to utilize in their room, held mini outdoor concerts, and created cheerful window décor to keep everyone in good spirits.
– Our recreation team is also planning on beginning virtual visits starting Tuesday, September 7, 2021 to residents that are not actively sick or pending swab results.
o Please contact ksv-rec@retirementconcepts.com to book your virtual visit. Certain time slots are available for certain areas to reduce traffic back and forth.
o We thank you for your understanding and patience at this time.
– As of Friday, September 3, 2021, we have proactively cancelled all group activities throughout all six (6) Complex Care neighbourhoods and are transitioning to 1:1 Visits with a recreation aid until further notice
Please note, we attempt to provide all updates in a timely manner, however, since outbreaks can change quite rapidly, if anything is missed, we will provide details in the next communication.
What Does This Outbreak Mean?
Per the Interior Health and Medical Health Officer, the following Control Measures are in place:
– All Complex Care 1B & 1C Neighbourhood Residents are considered exposed with the recent positive resident cases, therefore they will continue to be isolated to their room and will enjoy tray service and meal assistance until further notice. This reduced contact provides increased protection to your loved ones and prevents exposure to the entire community.
– All group recreation programming throughout all Complex Care neighbourhoods has been proactively cancelled and are transitioning to 1:1 Visits with recreation aides until further notice
– Social Visitations continue to be cancelled on 1B & 1C Neighbourhoods; the 1A Neighbourhood is also proactively closed to visitation until further notice
o Social visitation continues on other remaining Complex Care neighbourhoods, as well as Independent-Assisted Living with standard screening protocols in place
o Visitors must continue to wear their medical grade mask to/from the suite through common areas & visits are only permitted in their loved ones suites or designated spaces (RC Courtyard, Front Gazebo Garden). The Assisted-Living Bistro and Patio are currently tenant spaces only and cannot be used for visits.
o Per the Interior Health Authority, if your loved one is unvaccinated, then masks must be worn at all times regardless of the visitor’s vaccination status
– Essential Visitation (per the BC CDC Guidelines) is permitted on the 1A, 1B & 1C Neighbourhoods for ONLY Fully Vaccinated Essential Visitors. They must follow full PPE parameters (gowns/mask/face shield). There is an approval process as the MHO will determine if a visit is essential.
– Palliative Visitation is permitted on the 1A, 1B & 1C Neighbourhoods, but visitors must follow full PPE parameters (gowns/mask/face shield) within the neighbourhood. Unvaccinated visitors must isolate 10 days from the date of the most recent visit date
– Urgent Appointments for 1A, 1B & 1C Neighbourhoods can continue, but must be approved/deemed urgent by their Medical Practitioner
– 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 future developments.
What Are the Next Steps?
– Our staff continue to diligently monitor our remaining residents for symptoms.
– Our Clinical Team is having routine calls three (3) times per week with the Interior Health and Medical Health Officer to review our outbreak response plan & to communicate further developments.
– Our staff continue to wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in all the right places. Any time staff are going into a COVID positive resident’s room to provide care they will be wearing full PPE (gown, gloves & goggles or face shield). All other times staff will be wearing masks and goggles or face shields other than when physically eating.
– We continue to be attentive to our hand hygiene practices. Hand washing, hand washing, and hand washing.
– Our housekeeping team continue to perform enhanced cleaning through the community including using our handheld electrostatic disinfection system throughout common areas & resident rooms as it’s able to spray larger surfaces more efficiently.
– We are diligently working to keep everyone safe and content during these unprecedented times.
CURRENT EVENTS
UPCOMING FEDERAL ELECTION
Kamloops Seniors Village will be hosting an onsite advance polling station for our Assisted-Independent Living tenants. Our station is arranged for Monday, September 13th from 9:30-3:00pm, in the lower level Multipurpose Room.
Due to the current outbreak situation on our Complex Care side, Long Term Care residents will not be able to participate & vote in person at the polling station. However, they will be able to vote by mail.
Therefore, Complex Care Residents’ families can go online and request a vote by mail package no later than the 14th of September, 6:00PM. The package is to be addressed to the resident’s Kamloops Seniors Village address, and then the recreation team will facilitate their vote, and mail the package on the residents’ behalf. If you have any questions, please reach out to our new Recreation Manager, Kiara Janzen kjanzen@retirementconcepts.com.
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.
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.
To provide some background knowledge of our community, Kamloops Seniors Village is a Campus of Care where we offer all three levels of care 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.
Sincerely, The Kamloops Team