Tuesday November 17th

Hello Family and Friends of Rosemary Heights:

Good news to share, the other staff member who became ill over the weekend in the Independent/Assisted Living building has shared that it was a negative result.   Thank you to our wonderful residents for their patience and understanding, we know how hard this has been and we are so very grateful for each one of you

There continues to be no signs or symptoms of COVID-19 in any of our residents/tenants or staff here at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village, and for that we are very grateful. Should the status of our Community change in any respect, please know that we will immediately contact families. We continue to monitor all residents & staff daily for any symptoms.

With this recent news we will be reopening our dining room for LUNCH tomorrow in the Assisted Living building and all recreation programs that have been paused, we will be looking to restart later this week or next week at the latest.

We will continue to offer virtual 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

I know everyone is anxious to restart the in person visits, we will be looking at a safe return to in person visits next week, we are being very mindful to ensure we restart very slowly, I will be very happy to share when we will restart the visits with you.

We will be now setting up dates to administer flu shots for all the residents and will let you know the dates once we can, it could be as early as next week.  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 now move to sending out a weekly letter every Thursday to communicate to all the families.  We will also post the weekly updates under Retirement Concepts Covid-19 Updates on our website.  Should the condition of any specific resident change, their family and loved ones will be notified immediately.

Protocols

We are trusting that you and your families are following the Provincial Health order in a cumulative effort to flatten the curve.  Below is what the order has stated.
The order is in effect from November 7, 2020 at 10:00 pm to November 23, 2020 at 12:00 pm.

Social interactions and gatherings

Socialize only with those in your immediate household. No gatherings of any size.  This also means that all of our residents must remain in Rosemary Heights unless they are leaving for an essential medical appointment only, no walks around the building until this new order has been lifted or changed, and no meeting for any social time, please do not ask your loved one to come and meet you by our patio areas or outside.

Do not invite friends or family to your household.  Funerals and weddings may proceed with your immediate household only. Funeral or wedding receptions at any location are not allowed, including reception events held at community-based venues.  This includes events of fewer than 50 people

Workplace safety

All businesses and worksites must conduct active daily in-person screening of all onsite workers using the COVID-19 symptom check list that is part of every business restart safety plan. Workplaces must ensure that all workers and customers maintain appropriate physical distance and wear masks when appropriate. Extra care should be taken in small office spaces, break rooms and kitchens

Travel

From November 7, 2020 at 10:00 pm to November 23, 2020 at 12:00 pm travel into and out of the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley should be limited to essential travel only.

Enforcement

During a public health emergency under the Public Health Act, the PHO can make orders as needed. You must follow the orders.  Orders can be enforced by police or other compliance and enforcement officials. People who don’t follow the order could be fined.
BC’s Medical Health Officer and CDC have been notified. 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.

With strict compliance to the direction and protocols of our public health officials, we remain seriously committed to full enhanced preventative & precaution infection control protocols. We continue to monitor residents & staff closely and adhere to the following protocols:

• restricting ALL visitors except deemed essential visitor or compassionate visit
• ensuring no staff member is working in multiple communities
• staff are working strictly within an assigned neighborhood floor
• staff are removing outside clothing and footwear before entering the premises
• staff are pre-screened for their temperature & health indicators upon entrance to the building and midway through their shift
• social distancing is occurring among residents in each neighborhood, including during mealtimes
• appropriate application and removal of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the use of individual slings (cloth component of a personal lift)
• ensuring ongoing, enhanced environmental cleaning and increased frequency of high touch surfaces in order to break the chain of infection
• staff and residents are committed to regular/proper hand hygiene to break the chain of infection, by washing their hands with soap and water and applying hand sanitizer
• ongoing education to adapt and ensure current compliances are met, questions answered and team confidence in enhanced care protocols

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.

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:

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

Acknowledgements

We know that this has been a stressful time and we want to ensure we keep everyone healthy, and we will continue with the safety protocols even if some feel they are extreme, this is what we need to do.

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 acknowledge 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)

Our next update will be sent this Thursday Nov 19th.