Hello Everyone!
We hope you are all staying safe and healthy! It is so important to follow the directions to keep yourself and everyone else safe. We are happy to report today we have no new resident or staff displaying any symptoms of COVID-19 here at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village.
Hard to believe that June is upon us, and a very special day, Father’s Day will be celebrated.
Our team, Rosemary Heights Seniors Village (RHSVstrong), is excited to be participating in the Canadian Cancer Society’s Plaid For Dad campaign and we would be thrilled to have you involved, too!
Did you know that 1 in 9 Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the lifetime? Prostate cancer doesn’t stop being a life-changing and life-threatening disease in the middle of a global health crisis. Families facing this disease, and people who will be diagnosed in the future, still need our support.
Here’s how to take part:
1) Donate to our workplace team – simply visit our fundraising page:
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=956199&langPref=en-CA
2) Wear Plaid for Dad on Friday, June 18 and post a photo to social media with #PlaidforDad!
All donations and fundraising will support ground-breaking prostate cancer research. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of Canadian families facing prostate cancer!
Thank you for your support.
CHANGES IN LONG TERM CARE
We are pleased to announce a change coming to our community and the transition to change to a Special Care Dementia Unit for responsive behavior residents. It is called a Behavior Support Transition Neighborhood (BSTN).
Sometimes a person is not able to communicate and they might use behaviors to tell us what they want or need. These behaviors can include hitting, kicking, yelling out and/or cursing. We call these responsive behaviors. If these behaviors become a safety concern for the person or others, they might need to move into this separated neighborhood within our care home.
The unit is intended to meet the special needs of our residents with more specialized recreation programs, clinical programming and increased staffing again to support the needs of this specific client population.
Over the next month or so, we will be working with the Health Authority to prepare for the roll out of the program and the admission of new clients to the unit. If you have any inquiries or questions, please feel reach to our Director of Care, Aisa Nacorda or myself (Maggie-GM)
Summary of the “In Building” social visitation guidelines:
We will continue to have a Screener/Greeter at the front doors which all visitors must come to and be pre-screened, temperature taken and sign in. You will also be provided a sanitization kit that contains a medical graded cleaning wipe and ask that help do your part & clean high touch areas before you leave from your visit. If you do not have a medical grade mask one will be provided for you. The guidelines state you can have 2 adults and 1 child (18yrs or younger) at a time in your suite following all guidelines. When the visit is over, they must sign out and go directly out. Please remind your family and friends that in order to keep everyone safe, we will continue to keep track of all visitors in the building.
For the safety of all of our residents & staff, and to minimize the possible risk of exposure we are requesting that visits occur in your loved one’s suite/room only, please do not access common areas, any patio areas, dining areas or walk hallways. No food or beverage are to be consumed by any visitor during the in person visit within Rosemary Heights (however residents can).
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.
HOW TO BOOK A VISIT:
To request visit times/dates email this address rhsv-familyvisits@retirementconcepts.com for visitation.
DO
DO NOT
X Remove your mask at any time
X Please do not touch your mask (sanitize hands if so)
X Do not drink or eat during your visit
X Drop in without an appointment
Our team members first & main priority is the wellbeing & care of our residents that reside at Rosemary Heights.
Family/friends can bring in food/beverage only for the resident you are visiting and visitors are advised not to partake in consuming any food or beverage during your visit, keep your mask on at all times. This is also printed on the sign in waiver form a visitor signs every time you come in for a visit, if you are unable to adhere to appropriate precautions, you will be excluded from visiting.
Outings
Long term Care: If you would like to take a resident out, you must still schedule this in advance. Please give the Nurses on the floor as much notice as possible, preferably 24hrs prior, so they can ensure your loved one is ready.
Independent/Assisted Living: You do not need to schedule an outing for our IL/AL residents because they are able to meet you out front or at the door. Please arrange this directly with the resident. If you need to come up to the suite to assist the resident prior to the outing, then a scheduled visit is required.
We strongly recommend all residents follow the current Public Health Officer (PHO) order on gatherings and events.
Essential Visitors: Please know that if you are already an essential visitor you will continue to be at the request of your family member. Please note that all visitors are required to wear a medical mask when coming to visit their loved one. Cloth masks are no longer acceptable.
NO visitors will be permitted at Rosemary Heights if an active outbreak is in progress.
Recreation Program
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.
Join us on National Health & Fitness Day:
Join our group chair Yoga live stream through Zoom on June 6, at 2pm. Please RSVP to Melissa at mtoth@retirementconcepts.com, or call 604-209-1486.
Hair Salon
The hair salon is open! Please contact Rhonda to set an appointment, phone number is 604-626-5449 and her email address is pace_rhonda@hotmail.com.
Deliveries
**Delivery hours are between 9am- 3pm, 7 days a week**
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.
Please do not drop off items after hours, it 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
We ask that families share this information with all parties you believe will be in contact with your loved one. We have all worked so hard together over the last year, please remain diligent in your current practice to help keep our home a safe place.
If you have any questions or general inquiries, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can contact Maggie, General Manager at mamirani@retirementconcetps.com or call 778-545-5001.
Gratitude continued………
Use gratitude to counter stress & uncertainty
“Gratitude is an emotion that grounds us and is a great way to balance out the negative mindset that uncertainty engenders,” said Dr. Guy Winch, author of the book Emotional First Aid. When we express gratitude, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin — two hormones that make us feel lighter and happier inside. If we want to take care of our minds during this pandemic, understanding how to trigger this feeling is an important tool to have at our disposal.
Before you can trigger it, let’s understand why gratitude is so important. We experience gratitude when we shift our focus from what we don’t have to what we do, and when we take time to appreciate and be thankful for those who have contributed to the abundance in our lives. Nearly a decade of research by Dr. Robert Emmons — the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude — and others has found that people who have regular gratitude practices are healthier, happier, and have better relationships. Further research suggests that gratitude is also key in helping individuals and teams persevere in challenging tasks.
Think of your mind like your digestive system — what you put in it impacts how you feel. When you flood your mind with a constant flow of worry, envy, resentment, and self-criticism (compounded by a barrage of news and other media) it negatively impacts your mental wellbeing. A gratitude practice is like a workout and a healthy eating plan for your mind.
In the article Why Gratitude is Good, Dr. Emmons shares, “You can’t feel envious and grateful at the same time. They’re incompatible feelings, because if you’re grateful, you can’t resent someone for owning things you don’t.” He goes on to share that his research found that people with high levels of gratitude have low levels of resentment and envy. When we take time to focus on what we are grateful for, we choose positive emotions over negative, thus we take steps to nurture our mental health and wellbeing. How do we trigger gratitude in ourselves? It’s simple. We take time to shift our focus.
Have you ever noticed that when you are looking to buy a new phone or a jacket all of a sudden everyone around you has it? That’s because, consciously or unconsciously, whatever we are focused on is what we see. If we want to trigger gratitude in ourselves, we need to intentionally shift our focus to that which we are grateful for. The simplest way to do this is through questions and prompts and a few daily rituals.
Pause and reflect
When you find yourself stuck in a constant state of worry, or hyper focused on what is not working around you, try to pause for a second and ask yourself one or two of the following questions.
By taking time to write down your answers, we consciously redirect our attention to that which we are grateful for. It’s also a great way to look back and realize what we may have thought of as insignificant was actually the things that brought us joy.
Resources
We take care of those that have been entrusted to us, and we also need to take care of each other. Your Mental health is an important part of your physical health and personal well-being. With so much happening, it’s normal to feel worried and overwhelmed. Below is some resource that help support you.
BC – Healthlink BC – 310Mental Health Support at 310-6789 (no area code needed) for emotional support, information and resources specific to mental health. – https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/mental-health.
We’d like to thank all staff for their continued dedication to Rosemary Heights. The past year has not been easy, but we have made it this far because of your determination, empathy and unwavering commitment to your residents, their family members and to each other. I am so very proud to work with such amazing team members.
Thank you for working incredibly hard, for stepping up in emergency situations and for being there for those who needed care most. Most importantly, thank you for your compassion, we appreciate everything you do. You have made a huge difference in the lives of our residents.
– Your team at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village (RHSV)