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Thursday November 5th

Hello Family and Friends of Rosemary Heights:

Thank you for your patience, I know we have all been waiting for the results of 3rd round of Point Prevalence testing/swabbing that occurred yesterday.  We are so happy to report that all residents & staff members have been tested have tested negative.

We remain with the 1 confirmed case of COVID 19 in our resident population on the Long term care 2nd floor-East Wing and this resident is showing no symptoms related to COVID 19 & is resting comfortably and remains isolated & under droplet precautions with dedicated staff tending to their needs.  We have been in contact with family on a daily basis. This resident will be considered recovered as of midnight Friday.

All 2nd floor residents remain isolated in their rooms where meals are delivered, and they are monitored closely. We had our Mid-Outbreak Audit last Friday with the Fraser Health’s Covid-19 Response Lead for our site, and we’re excited to announce that we had no outstanding action items from our Audit. This means we will be entering a Step Down Phase possibly next week.

The Step Down Phase doesn’t mean our Outbreak is over, but it means that Fraser Health Authority will allow us to hopefully remove the droplet precautions from all our residents who tested negative. Our one positive case will remain on droplet precautions for another number of days out of an abundance of caution. Residents will continue to isolate in their suites for another week or so per Fraser Health, as long as there are no more symptomatic residents, until the Outbreak is officially declared over by Fraser Health Authority.

We continue to cohort staff to work only on their designated floors and units to avoid cross contamination.

In an effort to prevent another Outbreak at Rosemary Heights, we will increase our infection control practices and revisit how our staff interact with residents in cohorts.  Families will be informed once the Outbreak is declared over, at which point family in-person visits can be resumed, with precautions. Over the next 2 weeks, we will retrain our team on Covid-19 Protocols frequently to ensure that they are aware of all procedures to be followed should a resident become symptomatic.

If your loved one becomes symptomatic or needs to be swabbed, we will call the family and inform them of what’s transpired.

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.

Our dining room remains closed, family visitations are cancelled – and all group activities are paused. Unfortunately, we will not be able to permit family visits during step down. After the outbreak is declared over in 14 days, we will resume these visits with precautions.

For those inquiring, Flu shots cannot commence until after the Outbreak has been declared over. Please be assured that intense safety precautions will be implemented to keep everyone safe and healthy.

Communication

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.

Protocols

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.

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 1st & 2nd 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 know how very hard these past few weeks have been on everyone.  We wish to thank families and loved ones in advance for their anticipated patience and cooperation, as well as for the kindness, understanding and support that has been shown.

Stay Safe, stay calm, & stay kind.

– Your team at Rosemary Heights Seniors Village (RHSV)