Hello families and friends of Peace Portal Seniors Village,

Yesterday we had a resident become symptomatic for COVID-19 symptoms and they were swabbed. Today, we received confirmation that the resident is positive. The family of that resident has been informed and we are currently working with the Health Authority to re-implement appropriate protocols. The 1^st floor where this resident resides is under droplet precautions and team members are utilizing full protective equipment to deliver care for all residents on this floor. The affected resident has one on one care and that care staff member is not working with any other residents at present.

We recognize this news will create concern and anxiety for residents, family members and other loved ones. Please know that the care and safety of residents is our number one priority and we are treating the situation very seriously.

At present, we are working to establish what level of contact may have occurred between this individual and fellow staff members and residents. Due to us being under lockdown and residents being isolated to their suites already, we’re hoping for the spread to be minimal.

All residents have been in isolation in their respective rooms where they will continue receiving tray service, and will be monitored closely. Staff will also continue to function as cohorts and on specific floors and not on a facility-wide basis.

Until further notice, the dining room has been closed, family visitations have been cancelled and all group activities have been terminated.

Communication

As a result of the one confirmed case of COVID-19, we will provide families with a daily email update.  Should the condition of any resident change, their family will be notified immediately.

To inquire about facetime/skype or phone calls, please contact: Sandra Kaethler at skaethler@retirementconcepts.com. At this time we will only be able to offer virtual visits on the 2^nd floor until Fraser Health can advise us of what protocols can be in place for 1^st floor.

Protocols

BC’s Medical Health Officer has been notified and the Peace Portal Seniors Village is following protocols established by the Office of the Provincial Health Officer and BC Center for Disease Control.

We will continue to act upon the latest advice of BC’s health ministry and will adapt our operations as necessary and recommended.

 Deliveries

All deliveries will be received at lobby entrance vestibule. Only if necessary, this includes medications deliveries from pharmacy, floral, gifts, mail. All items will be held in isolation for 24 hours, sanitized and delivered directly to the residents’ suite.

Dropping items off: We would ask that families please follow these guidelines to ensure loved ones will receive their deliveries in a timely manner.

1. Please use plastic bags; no reusable bags
2. Make sure to label all bags with resident name and suite number
3. Try to limit drop offs to essential items, for infection control and in consideration of staff to resident care priorities.
4. Please sanitize, if possible, the items before dropping off. We will re-sanitize as well to be safe

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank families and loved ones in advance for their anticipated patience and cooperation as we manage through this event. We also wish to acknowledge our entire leadership and front line team for their untiring efforts and support to ensure the safety of our loved ones!

If you have any further questions or inquiries, please don’t hesitate to reach out to either myself or Dupinder Saran who is our Director of Care (dsaran@retirementconcepts.com) – we’ll be doing our best to be on the floor to support the team and residents so we may take a bit of time to get back to you but we appreciate your patience and we will do our very best to support you wherever we can!