Saturday Nov 14, 2020, 7:15pm

Hello families & friends of Rosemary Heights,

I am writing to share the good news, that our AL staff member test result has come negative.  Thank you for your patience, and understanding.  I know how very hard these past few weeks have been, and we cannot thank you enough for your support & encouragement.

With the news being delivered so late, we will still serve meals via room service until the team can put the Assisted Living dining area back together, Monday the dining room will reopen.

Enjoy the evening

Maggie Amirani, General Manager

Saturday, November 14th

Hello Family and Friends of Rosemary Heights:

Happy Diwali to all!  Wishing you a Diwali that brings happiness, prosperity and joy to you and all your family.

We are still waiting to learn of the results involving an Assisted Living staff member.  The exposure resulted from a workplace in Surrey.  We will notify you once we learn of the results This staff member is currently home in self-isolation, shows no symptoms.   No residents in the Assisted Living building have displayed any symptoms related to Covid-19 at this time.  We continue to monitor all residents daily for any symptoms.

We have been notified that the outbreak of COVID-19 that was declared on the Long Term Care 2^nd floor on October 17, 2020 at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village, has been declared over by Fraser Health Population and Public Health, as of November 13, 2020.

Out of extreme caution, we have advised all Independent/Assisted Living residents to remain self-isolated in their rooms until we receive the test results for the staff member.  All recreation programs have been paused, and meals will be served via room service until further notice.  We have encouraged all residents to call the staff with any concerns or needs should they need anything. With the changes to meals being delivered via room service, times may be slightly delayed.

We have commenced and will continue the Step Down Phase in Long Term Care, as long as no further residents or staff show symptoms related to Covid-19.

The Step Down Phase doesn’t mean our Outbreak is over, it means that Fraser Health Authority and the community will be moving forward with implementing day to day operations very slowly, and can only remove the droplet precautions for now.  That means that staff no longer needs to don PPE gowns, but must still wear masks, safety eye goggles, and gloves when providing care.  Residents will continue to isolate in their suites, as much as they can, for another 14 days per Fraser Health direction, as long as there are no more symptomatic residents, and until the Outbreak is officially declared over by Fraser Health Authority.

If your loved one becomes symptomatic or needs to be swabbed, we will call the family and inform them immediately.

In long term care we will be slowly opening our dining rooms and Assisted Living will remain closed, family visitations are cancelled, and all group activities are paused.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to permit family visits during this time.

We are happy thrilled to report that we will commence zoom, skype, & FaceTime calls starting next week.  Calls will resume Monday, and some changes will occur.  Jaylene, our recreation Manager, will contact only the people whose schedule needs to be changed.  If you don’t hear from Jaylene today or tomorrow, and if you had a pre-existing scheduled call, these calls will resume as previously scheduled.  Please allow the team to get this restarted, and we will let you know when you can reach out to the team for booking timed slots.

Flu shots cannot commence until after the Outbreak has been declared over.  We do have the vaccines already at the community, and will administer the flu shots to all residents once we get the approval to do so.  Please be assured that intense safety precautions will be implemented to keep everyone safe and healthy.

Communication

We will continue to communicate with all families via email on a daily basis, until further notice.

In the event of a positive Covid-19 test result for a staff member or resident, we will provide all families of residents with a daily email update that will also be posted under Retirement Concepts Covid-19 Updates on our website.  We also phone the families of residents if their loved one has tested positive.  Should the condition of any specific resident change, their family and loved ones will be notified immediately.

For your knowledge, here is an example of what would happen if a resident becomes symptomatic over the next two weeks:

1) Resident will be isolated to their suite and placed on droplet precautions.

2) Resident will be swabbed for Covid-19 as well as the Flu, and family will be informed.

3) Resident will have cohorted care.

4) If the results are negative, the resident will be lifted off droplet precautions, as long as their symptoms resolve.

5) If the results are positive, we will begin our 28-day Outbreak Protocol and follow the directives of Public Health in order to minimize and contain the spread.

Deliveries

Monday – Friday 10am-2pm, and Saturday 1-3pm only, closed to all Sunday deliveries

All deliveries for all resident floors will be received at the lobby entrance vestibule.  This includes medication deliveries from pharmacies, other gifts, and mail.  All items will be sanitized and delivered directly to the residents’ suite.  Deliveries for all areas including Long term care 1^st & 2^nd floors along with Independent/Assisted Living can now be delivered.

When dropping items off, we would ask that families please follow the following guidelines to ensure loved ones will receive their deliveries in a timely manner:

1. Please use plastic bags, not reusable bags;
2. Please label all bags with the resident’s name and suite number.
3. In consideration of staff-to-resident priorities as well as infection control, please try to limit drop offs to essential items; and.
4. If possible, please sanitize the items before dropping off. We will re-sanitize as well to be safe.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the families who continue to send us positive, thoughtful kind words of encouragement and we thank you in advance for their anticipated patience and understanding, we do know how stressful this situation can be for you & especially for our residents.

A huge thank you to everyone on our team at Rosemary Heights for your hard work, grace, and persistence!

Wishing each of you continued safety and excellent health.

Stay safe, stay calm, and stay kind.

– Your team at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village (RHSV)