Williams Lake Seniors Village, Community Update, February 4 2021

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 to 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.

These protocols are in place for everyone’s continued safety. In order to keep our site COVID free, anyone that does not adhere will be required to quarantine for 14 days.

As per the directive of the MHO, all Independent Living and Assisted Living residents returning from Cariboo Memorial Hospital MUST self-isolate for 14 days. This directive will change when the outbreak at Cariboo Memorial Hospital has been declared over. UPDATE: Residents going to CMH for lab or diagnostic procedures are exempt from this order and DO NOT have to self-isolate when they return home.

Designated Visitors

We ask that you remain cautious and diligent in following the regulations of keeping 6ft during the visits, keeping your mask on, and cancelling your visit if you have symptoms. We are very excited to be able to connect you with your family in person once again.

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 required to wear a medical mask when coming to visit their loved one. Cloth masks are not 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.

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 visit 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

Assisted Living & Independent Living

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, 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, crafts, charades, music and reading.

Hair Dresser

We are excited to announce that our hair dresser will be returning on the weekend of February 6^th to cut hair for our Long Term Care clients only for the time being.

She will be offering haircuts every other weekend. Our hairdresser is increasing her prices and therefore we will be contacting all long term care primary contacts via phone to update the consent forms. Feel free to contact Andrea at 250-305-3314 or ahodgetts@retirementconcepts.com if you have any questions regarding this information.

Dining & Housekeeping

On Friday, February 12^th we are excited to celebrate Chinese New Year! Our wonderful cooks will be creating a delicious meal to welcome the “Year of the Ox”!

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.

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.

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:

• Restricting ALL visitors from the premises
• Ensuring no staff member is working in multiple facilities
• Staff are working strictly within an assigned unit and not multiple units
• Staff are removing outside clothing and footwear upon entering the premises. They are bringing their work clothes in a sealed bag as a precautionary measure.
• 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
• Appropriate application and removal of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the use of individual slings (cloth component of a personal lift).
• 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.

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.

1. Please use plastic bags, no reusable bags
2. Make sure to label all bags with resident full name and room number
3. Try to limit drop offs to essential items. There are days when staff are overwhelmed trying to keep up
4. Please sanitize, if possible, the items before dropping off. We will re-sanitize as well to be safe
5. Please leave all items on the white cart label “DROP OFF LOCATION” outside the Front Door. Our staff will receive the items once you are back in your vehicle.
6. Items may be dropped off Monday – Fridaybetween 8:00am and 3:30pm.

   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:

1. Practice social distancing (6 feet apart)
2. Perform proper Hand Hygiene (Wash hands frequently for 20 seconds with the alcohol-based sanitizer or soap and hot water) 20 second or greater is so important.
3. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
4. If exhibiting any symptoms (fever, cough and difficulty breathing) please alert staff immediately.

We want to thank everyone for their cooperation and patience during this difficult period.

Thank you,

Your team at the Williams Lake Seniors Village