Williams Lake Seniors Village, Community Update, July 8 2021

Dear Families, 

Welcome to our latest update at the Williams Lake Seniors Village! 

As our province has entered into phase 3 of the BC restart plan, the rapid changes of restrictions and guidelines have slowed for our communities, this is a welcomed phase. With the significant decrease in weekly changes please be advised that we are transitioning away from weekly community updates effective from, July 8 2021. If we are to experience a + COVID-19 case in our community these communication emails will commence right away to keep all families and friends up to date.

If or when there are significant changes we will send a family communication out to ensure we are capturing any new or added guidelines.

As we shift into a new normal life and these updates stop we want to remind families and friends that our email and phone lines are always open. If you have questions or need clarification on anything please don’t hesitate to reach out! We would love to hear from you.

We look forward to seeing you around the community when you come to visit!

REMINDERS FOR YOUR LOVED ONE TO STAY SAFE:

Please help us by reminding each resident daily of the following four items:

1. Practice social/physical distancing (6 feet apart) when required
2. Perform proper Hand Hygiene (Wash hands frequently for 20 seconds with the alcohol-based sanitizer or soap and warm water) 20 seconds 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 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 to keep COVID out of our building. Please remain diligent in your current practice to help keep our home a safe place.

Thank you all for your support and patience as we roll out this new visitation process.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

VISITING INFORMATION

INSIDE VISITS

Please see below the exciting changes to visitations in Long Term Care, Assisted Living and Independent Living that began April 1st. If you require help or need clarification please don’t hesitate to reach out, we’re happy to help!

• All residents will be allowed regular, frequent, and routine opportunities for social visitation
• Visits must allow for a minimum of 60 minutes (they must be booked in advance).
• To book your visit (The 24 hours’ notice period has been removed. We are now booking same day visits – please remember that we are NOT accepting walk in’s, visitors must call ahead to book a time. If your loved one lives in LTC please continue giving our care teams 24 hours’ notice if you plan to have them join you for an outing or an overnight visit) please email wlsv-familyvisits@retirementconcepts.com or call 250-305-3281. A follow up email confirmation will be sent when your visits has been scheduled.
• Visits in Assisted Living & Independent Living are being scheduled 7 days a week starting at 8AM and last entrance into the building at 8PM daily.
• Visits in Long Term Care are being scheduled 7 days a week starting at 10AM and last entrance into the building at 7PM daily.
• When you arrive for your visit please park on the street or at the back of the building ONLY. Parking at the front of the building is reserved for AL/IL residents or for family member picking up a loved one for an outing in the marked location a MAXIMUM of 15 minutes.
• Number of visits per day to the community will be designed to continue to meet operational health and safety requirements in keeping with the sanitization and screening guidelines. We are able to accommodate more than one visit per week per resident, as we have the operational capacity. Our screeners will do their best to fit you in if we have the capacity. Please remember that drop ins cannot be accommodated.
• Visitors are permitted to bring pets. If possible we do suggest these to be outside visits for the enjoyment of both the resident as well as the pet.
• The “single designated social visitor” restriction will be removed, allowing additional family and friends to visit
• The number of visitors will be expanded, allowing up to two visitors, plus a child (defined as 18 or younger) at any one time
• Visits will be allowed to be made in the resident’s room, a designated visiting space, or on outings with no requirement for isolation afterwards. On outings, residents will be offered a mask before exiting

• Visitors will be asked only to visit with one resident at a time, and to limit their group activities.
• Physical contact—including hugging—will be allowed, provided visitors wear a mask and follow proper infection control procedures (e.g. hand hygiene and cough etiquette)

• Removing physical distancing requirements between residents
• Resuming resident communal dining and small group social or recreational activities for residents, within a facility unit or floor
• Removing requirement for 14-day isolation for admissions into the facility, and providing immunizations if needed

We ask families and residents to keep in mind the following requirements:

• Social visitation will continue to require advanced booking, screening of visitors, use of medical masks, and practicing frequent hand hygiene. A new mask and hand sanitizer will be provided at the entrance and visitors must don a mask and perform hand hygiene.
• Social visitation will be suspended during outbreaks and enhanced monitoring periods
• Essential and compassionate visitation remains in place and any resident who requires this is supported
• We encourage you to sanitize your hands, belongings, and gathering spaces frequently
• Visitors are asked to stay home if they are feeling unwell. Please don’t come if you’re not feeling well
• Regular screening of residents and visitors for signs of illness will continue to be performed. If there are any concerns in regards to COVID-19 symptoms the visitor may not be permitted
• Please consider limiting your visits to one care home per day to ensure limited cross contamination

• Visitors, DO NOT remove your mask at any point during your visit.
• Visitors cannot partake in any food or drink as masks must remain on at all times, however you can still bring a treat for your loved one to enjoy.

OUTDOOR VISITS

We have an outdoor space for visiting! This space is for both Long Term Care, Assisted Living and Independent Living families. It is the grassy area to the left of the AL/IL doors. Up to 10 family members can meet here with a resident at one time. These visits must be booked 24 hours in advance by calling the Recreation Department at 250-305-3314. They are for 60 minute time slots and masks must be worn at all times. The space is not accessible by electric wheelchair and is a lawn space without permanent seating.  Please call the Recreation Department if you have any questions regarding our outdoor visits.

PROTOCOLS 

Aside from the visiting 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:

• Ensuring no staff member is working in multiple facilities
• Staff are working strictly within an assigned unit and not multiple units
• 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. If you are attending a scheduled in person visit feel free to bring your supply items with you. After our team sanitizes the items you may take them with you to your visit.

Please remember that NO medications, including cough drops, cough syrup, voltaren gel, etc. should be brought in and given to a Long Term Care resident/loved one. All medications must be received from Care Rx only!

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 – Sundaybetween 8:00am and 3:30pm.

   Please DO NOT drop off items 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 daily.

   Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time.

Protecting our communities and their loved ones is our top priority at Retirement concepts.  The benefits of this social interaction are said to currently outweigh the risks of COVID-19 and we are thrilled to be able to see families together again. Please understand there are still risks associated with this and our guidelines and protocols are in place to do all we can to keep our community safe. Any non-compliance of the current requirements and guidelines may result in the visit being suspended. We ask families and friends to practice safety and caution in order to keep all of our residents and team members safe and healthy during this time.

Lastly, we encourage everyone to keep within the provincial guidelines in your daily lives. As restrictions ease, your loved ones safety is also in your hands. Performing hand hygiene, proper PPE, self-monitoring for symptoms and enhanced sanitization in your day to day is now more important than ever.

Thank You,

Your Team at the Williams Lake Seniors Village