Hello Everyone!

Welcome to our latest updates at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village! We hope you are all staying safe and healthy and are happy to report there continues to be no signs or symptoms of COVID-19 in any of our residents or staff at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village.

With the continuing Covid 19 numbers, both locally and in other health authorities, restrictions will remain in effect for our tenants, residents and families.  We will be continuing to follow the direction of our provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and our general NO VISITOR policy remains in place.

As a reminder, the vaccine is not 100% effective, and there are new variants going around that may not be prevented by current vaccines. Please remind your loved ones not to relax the practices of hand hygiene, physical distancing, and other safety measures that will keep them safe and healthy.

Should you notice that your loved one is experiencing any cold or flu symptoms, or are generally not feeling well, please remind them to stay inside their suite and please inform a staff member.

***Please note, with the recent announcement from Dr. Henry today regarding visits, there has not been any communication to us at site level and we are still mandated to follow orders from our Health authority and until they make changes, we will abide by our safety protocols until further notice ****Once we learn of such changes, we will communicate to you directly.

Protocols

Aside from the single visitor policy, we are following the direction of our public health officials and have full infection prevention and control precautions in place. Staff continue to monitor residents closely and are ensuring the following protocols are being adhered to:

• Restricting ALL visitors from the premises/only those who have been deemed essential may enter the building at this time
• Ensuring no staff member is working in multiple facilities
• Staff are screened for their temperature upon entrance to the building, and midway through their shift
• Social distancing is occurring among residents in each facility, including during mealtimes
• Ensuring ongoing, environmental cleaning and increased frequency of high touch surface cleaning in order to break the chain of infection
• Staff and residents are committed to regular/proper hand hygiene to break the chain of infection, and wash their hands with soap and water and apply hand sanitizer frequently.

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

Visitor

Please be aware there are no changes in our visitor policies despite community vaccines until the Provincial Medical Health Officer modifies them.

Per the BC Centre for Disease Control, and Provincial Health Order directive, there are currently two categories of visitors for Retirement Communities, Essential Visitors & Designated Visitors for Social Visits.

Essential Visitors provide visits for compassionate care and/or are paramount to the patient/client’s physical care and mental well-being. The Health Authority or Facility staff will determine if a visit is essential. Whereas, Designated Visitors are for social occasion visits, and under these guidelines, each resident is permitted to have ONE designated visitor with bookings made in advance.

• Each tenant and/or resident will be allotted one assigned family member for their visitations.
• All visitors, staff, tenants and residents will be required to wear a medical grade mask while in Rosemary Heights Seniors Village. The mask MUST be worn at all times and for the duration of your visit to the building, as well as the entirety of the 30 minute visits.
• 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).
• 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 a return call/reply. Keep in mind that we will initially hold monthly visits only in order to accommodate everyone.
• Please arrive a maximum of 5 minutes before visitation appointment to complete pre-screening requirements
• 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.
• Please do not bring items for your loved one to your visit, this would include food or drinks, place on the cart before entering & we will sanitize and deliver the package on your behalf.  Also the in person visits MUST be held in the assigned visitation room-no exceptions unless you are going for a walk around the property for your visit.
• AND PLEASE NOTE: Should the community have any type of outbreak, visits will cease immediately.

Recreation Program

With Spring upon us, we are looking forward towards clearing Winter away from our resident’s patio areas so we can work together with the residents to bring blooming flowers and brighter days to look forward too, however the rain keeps getting in our way.  With raining days, our amazing ladies in the recreation department offer activities such as trivia, crosswords, crafts, ice cream socials, exercise classes to keep everyone who wants to participate busy.

Our team is dedicated to ensuring our residents are able to connect to their families and loved ones.  We are happy to assist with virtual visits via FaceTime, Skype, and zoom, and we can arrange for phone calls with your loved ones.

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

Easter coloring contest ***REMINDER***

There is still time to submit a colored page for our Easter Egg coloring contest for our resident’s grandchildren (& great grandkids)!

It is a Covid-friendly activity we would like all of our residents, staff and their families/grandchildren to participate in.   We will display the completed pictures in the front lobby area/dining rooms of the community and will have 3 prizes total for 3 different age groups.  The fun part will be the residents of Rosemary Heights Seniors Village will be the judges. I have attached a copy of the coloring page on this email for you to print.  Feel free to add a small photo of your child to attach to the picture, so residents can share and see photos of their young loved ones. Please have the colored page back to RHSV (please drop off at the delivery cart between the front door entrance) by April 2nd. The winners will be picked and announced in the April 8^th.

Hair Salon

It gives us joy to say we are still on track to reopen the hair salon in the first week of April.  Rhonda has given me permission to include her contact telephone number & email for families to reach her to book an appointment for your loved one. Please be patient & allow Rhonda time to be able to set schedules, her contact number is 604-626-5449 and her email address is pace_rhonda@hotmail.com.

Fraud/Phone Scam Alerts

Unfortunately, it’s that time of year where phone scam and phishing emails are on the rise due not only Coronavirus, but tax season as well. Please remind your loved ones to beware of these scams and to NOT provide any personal information (SIN, Credit Card, Care Card, or Date of Birth) over the phone, or click on a random link in an email.

Deliveries

**Delivery hours are between 9am- 3pm, Mon-Sat and closed Sundays**

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 do 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

Thank you

Thank you for keeping yourself safe, and therefore keeping everyone around you safe. There is hope on the horizon, and we will make it to the other side by continuing to be patient, kind, and considerate for one another.

Lastly, we need to highlight & give thanks & praises to this amazing team we are blessed to be a part of.  We will be celebrating the team by hosting a staff appreciation day today, on National Waffle Day, with a Waffle buffet celebration with all the works.  We can’t waitJ

Take care, and let’s take care of each other.

– Your team at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village (RHSV)