Williams Lake Seniors Village, Community Update, December 17 2020
Dear Families,
We hope you are all staying safe and healthy!
General Visiting Information
These visits are physically distanced and there can be no touching or close contact of any kind for the safety of our residents. Our spaces will have the safe distances marked to make these protocols easier to follow. Staff will facilitate each visit and be present for the duration of your visit which will be 20-30 minutes in length, and staff will also sanitize the space thoroughly after each visit.
Please do not hesitate to call Andrea with any questions you may have regarding visits, essential delivery drop offs for residents, or anything resident-focused. She will be happy to help! If you are the designated visitor for LTC, AL or IL residents, and have not scheduled your next visit, please contract Andrea at 250-305-3314 or ahodgetts@retirementconcepts.com to do so.
Medical Health Officers Orders
This is a reminder to PLEASE comply with the directives given by Dr. Bonnie Henry as it pertains residents of senior’s communities leaving for ESSENTIAL OUTTINGS ONLY. Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Williams Lake and surrounding area every precaution needs to be exercised for the health and safety of everyone living in the community. An ESSENTIAL TRIP is outlined as a doctor’s appointment, optometry appointment, hospital/lab appointment, and grocery shopping ONLY.
Failure to comply with these directives will result in Williams Lake Seniors Village being placed on lockdown.
Designated Visitors
If you are the designated visitor, prior to your visit please check in with yourself. If you are feeling unwell, have symptoms of COVID-19, or have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19 please call to cancel your appointment.
Please note that all visitors are now required to wear a medical mask when coming to visit their loved one. Cloth masks are no longer acceptable. At this time, isolation gowns and gloves are NOT required. Our teams will be here to assist during your scheduled visit, should you have any questions.
As the holidays approach we understand that many of you will want to visit your loved ones. A gentle reminder that our directives of one designated visitor remain the same throughout the Holiday season. Unfortunately we do not have any extra time slots over the holidays but will be continuing with our regularly scheduled visits. If you have a reoccurring weekly visit it will remain the same. If you schedule your visits at different times weekly we will continue to do our best to accommodate your schedule and fit you in. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these very different holidays.
The recreation department is still offering video calls for designated visitors with residents if visiting in person is not an option. To the extent staff are able to facilitate Facetime and Skype for residents they are doing so, amidst their other duties. Andrea, our Therapeutic Recreation Manager, will be the contract for Virtual visits. If you have questions, please utilize the information in this document or contact Andrea at 250-305-3314 or ahodgetts@retirementconcepts.com
Assisted Living/Independent Living Visits
When it is your time to visit your loved one, please make your way to our Assisted Living entrance. Please make sure your mask is on correctly and is covering your nose before you enter the doors. You will be greeted by one of our staff members who will walk you through the pre-screening process and bring you to the designated visiting location. For Assisted and Independent living you will have your inside the Country Kitchen.
Long Term Care Visits
When it is time for your visit, please enter our main doors and approach the pre-screening table. Please make sure your mask is on correctly and is covering your nose before you enter the main doors. You will be greeted by one of our staff members who will walk you through the pre-screening process and to the designated visiting location. Long Term Care visits will happen in either the Hair Salon or in our downstairs visiting space!
Recreation Program
As we head into December the holiday season is upon us. Although we are not able to do some of the traditional celebrating that we have done in years past (large events and live music) we have planned many small socially distanced programs to keep the spirit of the season bright! Over the next month we are having a holiday door decorating contest, many small socially distant Christmas parties with Christmas pudding and holiday music, Christmas baking, and Christmas light tours on our bus!
Assisted Living & Independent Living
In Assisted and Independent Living we will be having three virtual and socially distanced paint afternoons for our residents. Megan, who previously did our in person paint nights, will be instructing us over Zoom! Please follow @RetirementConcepts on Instagram or Facebook to see pictures of these events!
In Assisted Living and Independent Living, all recreation activities are to be signed up for in our “Recreation Events” binder located at the “Sign In/Sign Out” table in the main lobby. The list of events happening each week with the number of spaces available are in this book. Residents are encouraged to sign up for these activities. Residents must sign up in advance for these activities, at this time “drop ins” are not available.
All events are still being held with the same precautionary measures and all residents will be prescreened before participating. All events will be facilitated by Olena to make sure all precautionary measures are met and social distancing requirements are met. Fitness, News and Views, Christmas baking, Documentary Club,, and Bingo are among a few of events happening this week that your loved ones are encouraged to sign up for and participate in!
Long Term Care
In Long Term Care all activities will be hosted by our LTC Recreation Aides and will be adhering to all precautionary measures and residents will be prescreened, social distanced during programming and a thorough sanitization of the activity space before and after each activity will occur. Residents are encouraged to participate in activities such as exercise, Christmas crafts, charades, music and reading.
We will continue to offer Scenic Drives for both our Assisted Living, Independent Living and our Long Term Care residents. We are following the directives given from Interior Health for these scenic drives to ensure the safety of the residents. We are thoroughly sanitizing the bus before and after the drive, ensuring residents sanitize their hands upon entry and exit of the bus, ensuring that alcohol-based hand rub with at least 70% alcohol content is available on the bus, the bus driver is wearing a mask, and clients are not permitted to exit the bus during the outing. In addition, cohort groups have been created with 6 residents per group. Residents will stay in the same cohort group each time they attend country drives. All clients are being monitored for new or worsening cough, sneezing, runny nose, fever, sore throat, difficulty breathing, or episodes of vomiting and/or diarrhea prior to participating in a bus outing. These Scenic Drives will be very good for our residents mental health and we are excited to be able to safely offer this to them.
Christmas at Williams Lake Seniors Village
This year we are thrilled and so thankful to have the tremendous support of our generous community! We are receiving many Christmas present donations for our Assisted Living, Independent Living, and Long Term Care residents, as well as many offers from community members and schools to write cards and sing virtual carols. We are so grateful for this support as it lifts our resident’s spirits up during the holidays, which is needed now more than ever.
In Assisted Living and Independent Living we are thrilled to announce the “24 Days of Christmas” Giveaway. Every day of December we will be giving away gifts from local businesses to our residents! We are so thankful to our generous business community in Williams Lake for making this happen and know that these gifts will put smiles on our resident’s faces! Pictures to come!
We would like to thank The Mantle, Woodland Jewelers, Shoppers Drug Mart, HUB Insurance, South Broadway Liquor, 3 Gen Cabinetry and Construction, D&D Passports Etc., The Open Book, Karamia’s Donairs, Gordo’s Rent-All, Finning, Interior Properties, Bob’s Footwear, Suzanne and Jenny’s, DG’s Car Wash, Pancificanna, Walk Rite, Comer Cold Beer & Wine, Just Because, Marshall’s Store, Crosina Reality, Mulberry Lane, Smart Style, Total Pet, and Bosley’s for donating gifts to our residents (and their pets!).
Hair Dresser
Vicki from the Country Cottage will be cutting hair every Saturday and Sunday starting Saturday October 31st from 10:00am-4:00pm for our Long Term Care residents. If you would like your loved ones haircut, please call Andrea at 250-305-3314 or send her an email at ahodgetts@retirementconcepts.com.
Dining & Housekeeping
All social distancing and strict sanitization procedures will be executed before and after each meal. We can offer a maximum of two people per table, as per our Provincial Health Officer’s guidelines, and for the safety of our tenants we have removed table clothes, center pieces and are using reusable condiments at this time. Tables will not be pre-set to ensure safety and cleanliness before residents sit down to enjoy their meal.
Kirstyn is delighted to announce the new Winter Menu started on Monday, December 14th. Some new menu items are BBQ chicken sliders, turkey ruben on rye, and waffles, berries, whipped cream and bacon for brunch on Sundays!
Menus are given out at the end of each week for the following week. Residents are asked, at that time, to select what main course they would like and our servers collect the papers at the end of the dining time. Alongside our Support Services Manager, Kirstyn, our Support Service team work together to make sure all preferences are met and everyone has a pleasant dining experience. All completed menus are then returned to each resident so they have their selections to refer back to.
We will also be hosting Christmas dinner on December 25th for all residents with all the fixings! Our chefs are hard at work creating a menu that we are sure will make Christmas extra special! Along with all the favourite Christmas dinner classics will be an assortment of fresh pies for dessert. Independent Living residents are welcome to join. Tickets are $12.00 and must be purchased by Friday, December 18th at noon.
If you have any questions about meals, menus, or housekeeping please contact our Support Service Manager, Kirstyn, at kjorde@retirementconcepts.com or 250-305-3309.
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:
If Required:
All deliveries will be received at the front door. This includes groceries, medications, flowers, and gifts. All will be sanitized and delivered directly to the resident’s suites.
Dropping items off: We would ask that families please follow these guidelines as I am sure you want your parent or loved-one to get their deliveries in a timely manner.
Please DO NOT drop off items on the weekends or after hours, they will not be accepted and will be left outside until the designated time listed above. Due to high volumes of items being dropped off our drop off hours are set to accommodate thorough sanitization processes and timely deliveries to your loved one’s suite while we are fully staffed. We ask that ALL deliveries be dropped off on the white cart by 3:30pm Monday-Friday.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time.
Reminders for your loved-one to Stay Safe: Again, the following four points are so critical to discuss with your loved ones. Please help us by reminding each resident daily of the following four items:
We want to thank everyone for their cooperation and patience during this difficult period.
Thank You and Merry Christmas,
Your Team at the Williams Lake Seniors Village