Hello families and friends of Rosemary Heights Seniors Village

We are very pleased to share there are no signs or symptoms of COVID-19 in any of our residents or staff here at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village.  We continue to monitor all residents & staff daily for any symptoms.

This is a quick update letting you know that everything continues to be stable and nothing has changed since yesterday.

The Public health nurse still deems as a low risk, and they are declaring us on an enhanced monitoring outbreak until the morning of Dec 28^th and the Public health nurse has indicated that these restrictions will remain in place until Dec 28^th.   We will respect their decisions as they are thinking of our safety & the residents.

 Christmas isn’t a season it’s a feeling!

The feeling of Christmas is stronger than ever this year at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village!  Through the generosity of an abundance of strangers including children, students and adults shows the Spirit of Christmas that exists in the Surrey/White Rock area.  We promise to make Christmas Day special for our resident’s despite this pandemic!

As far as we are aware, there was no contact with our independent living or assisted living floors. At this time, Independent and assisted living residents are still able to attend to their essential needs, medical appointments but social visits are discouraged.  If you are selecting to take your loved one that lives in Assisted Living for Christmas dinner, we wish you an enjoyable time.   Please note this could all change should any residents or staff become symptomatic.

COVID 19 Vaccine

We have just received our notification from Fraser Health to have 15 of our staff members vaccinated. Below is an exert from Fraser Health

COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics at Fraser Health:

• Staff and medical staff of long-term care and assisted living homes are a priority for receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
• We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through processes to establish the clinics and schedule staff and medical staff for the clinics.
• Our first clinic started this week.  Future clinics will be offered at other locations in Fraser Health in the coming weeks.
• We are allocating care homes across Fraser Health time slots for vaccination at each clinic.
• After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine if you experience any symptoms similar to a COVID-19 infection, it is recommended that you be tested for COVID-19. You can continue to work while the test is pending. While the COVID-19 test is pending, you must wear a gown, gloves, mask, and eye protection while providing direct patient care. 

Please know that the care and safety of residents is our number one priority. We will always act swiftly and with purpose to keep everyone safe.  

We will continue to offer scheduled video calls for those families who live out of town or are unable to come in for any reason. Please connect with Jaylene Smillie in our recreation department by emailing jsmillie@retirementconcepts.com or by calling 778-545-5000 ext. 1007

For all long term care units 1^st & 2^nd floors, if you have an in person visit scheduled from now until Dec 27^th, these are now all cancelled and all group activities have been paused for 2^nd floor. We have already started booking in person visits from Dec 28^th on wards.

Also, please keep in mind that we will be limiting all zoom, skype, FaceTime calls on Dec 25^th to 15 minutes max to ensure we are able to get as many people as possible. Thank you for your understanding!

Designated Visitor schedules will now be accepted in our designated meeting areas. There is no change in Mandate of number of visitors (one only) as per Health Authority – protocols remain as is:

• Each tenant and/or resident will be allotted one assigned family member for their visitations.
• Our priority is protecting the residents/tenants. Family/social visits are limited to a maximum of one designated family member or friend at a time (we are not permitted to have alternative visitors per the Provincial Health Officers).
• Please note that all visitors are now required to wear a medical mask when coming to Rosemary Heights and/or to visit their loved one. Cloth masks are no longer acceptable.
• To request  visit times/dates email this address  rhsv-familyvisits@retirementconcepts.com  for visitation.  Please include your name, contact telephone number, and name of resident your email.  Allow 48-72 hours for reply. Keep in mind that we will initially hold monthly visits only in order to accommodate everyone and it will be first come first serve. 
• Please arrive a maximum of 5 minutes before visitation appointment to complete pre-screening requirements
• All visits will be held indoors now that the Fall/Winter weather may be unpredictable.
• Visits will be 30 minutes and will not be able to accommodate extended times. Please adhere to social distancing and sanitization protocol at all times. * No food or drink are permitted during these visits*. 
• AND PLEASE NOTE: Should the community have any type of outbreak, visits will cease immediately

Communication

As a result of the one confirmed case of COVID-19, we will provide families with a daily email update that will also be posted under COVID 19 updates on our Corporate website. Should the condition of any resident change, their family will be notified by phone immediately.

 Protocols

We are following protocols established by the Health Authority, the Office of the Provincial Health Officer and BC Center for Disease Control.

We will continue to act upon their latest advice, and will adapt our operations as necessary and recommended. 

 Deliveries

**Holiday Deliveries**

**We will happily deliver any of your loved one’s holiday deliveries every day (except Sundays) including Dec 24^th   and Dec 25th between 10a- 2pm, and Dec 26^th   from 1-3pm and closed Sunday Dec 27^th **

All deliveries 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.

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.

Please try not drop off items after hours, we do not have staff to be able to accept it and may be left outside until the designated time listed, if you do, you will be taking your chances & we will not be responsible for anything that is left after hours.

Acknowledgements

We would like to send a big “THANK YOU” out to all of our amazing residents and families for all the wonderful treats you have dropped off for the staff here at RHSV.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated and the treats have been enjoyed immensely by all the staff.

We also wish to acknowledge our entire leadership and front-line team for their untiring efforts and support to ensure the safety of your loved ones.

– Your team at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village (RHSV)