Williams Lake Seniors Village, Community Update, June 19 2020
Dear Families,
We hope you are all staying safe and healthy!
There are NO cases of reported outbreak nor signs nor symptoms of COVID-19 in any of our residents or staff here at Williams Lake Seniors Village.
As the Province begins the transition that will see some of the rules relaxed, a gentle reminder that we continue to follow the direction of our provincial Health Officer, Bonnie Henry, and our no visitor policy remains in place. We understand your eagerness to come and visit your loved ones but at this time our no visitor policy remains the same. We continue to follow the direction of our public health officials to the letter 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.
We continue to appreciate all that you and your loved ones are doing to heed the precautions put in place to alleviate risk of exposure to COVID-19. We understand that at this time families may be feeling discouraged with the regulations put in place by our Provincial Health Officer, please do not disregard the guidelines as they are here to keep your loved one safe. Our expectation is that these guidelines are followed and to PLEASE be respectful and kind to our staff who are doing everything they can to keep your loved ones safe.
Please be gentle and kind to our staff even when feeling frustrated, we are all in this together.
Father’s Day
On Sunday we are honoured and excited to celebrate all Father’s living in our community. On Sunday we will be doing a mobile Father’s Day Brunch, our serving teams and chef are preparing eggs benedict, hash browns, bacon and an assortment of sweets and juices that will be delivered to your loved ones apartments on June 21st in honour of all the amazing men and father’s that live in our community. Our Recreation team has also decided to continue on the celebration by delivering gourmet cupcakes and homemade cards to all Father’s.
If you have gifts to drop off please be sure they are on the white cart, located at our main entrance, by no later than 3:30PM on Friday June 19th. Our teams are happy to deliver them to their suite after our sanitization process has been completed.
Protocols
We are following the direction of our public health officials to the letter 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:
Recreation Program
The Recreation staff are continuing to conduct one-on-one activities and small group activities while using best physical distancing practices. The Recreation staff are also going room-to-room each day to check on each resident and to drop off activities to keep resident minds sharp. Again, please remind and motivate your loved ones to participate in these activities.
In Assisted Living our Recreation Aide Jolene will be reaching out to schedule these activities directly with your loved one, and each resident will be prescreened before participating. All events will be facilitated by Jolene to make sure all precautionary measures are met. Bingo, Fitness, News and Views, etc. are among the list of activities we are hosting in our Bistro Courtyard while enjoying fresh air and sunshine!
In Long Term Care our Recreation Aides have begun small group therapeutic recreation activities. These activities will be hosted by our LTC Recreation Aides and will be adhering to all precautionary measures such as prescreening questions, social distancing, and thorough sanitization of the activity space before and after each activity. Residents have been so happy to have activities such as exercise, charades, music, darts, etc. back and ready for them to participate in each day!
To the extent staff are able to facilitate Facetime, Skype and window visits for residents they are doing so, amidst their other duties. Please reach out to Andrea, our Therapeutic Recreation Manager’s e-mail at ahodgetts@retirementconcepts.com or call 250-305-3314 to set up a schedule. We will be happy to confirm a date and time to connect you with your loved-one.
At this time, we are asking to please visit with your loved one over the phone or via Skype/Face Time only. At NO time is visiting in our main lobby or outside an option. You will be asked to leave immediately if these precautionary measures are not followed. Thank you for your understanding and helping put your family members and our staff’s health and safety first.
Just a friendly reminder that LPNS on care units will do their best to take phone calls from family members who call to speak to their loved ones however, at times you may be asked to call back or wait for a different time to talk to your loved one. Our residents’ care and needs come first and there are times when the LPN and Care Aides are providing care and cannot accommodate a phone call at the same time. Thank you for your understanding and support in being flexible about phone call times.
Friendly Outreach Support Program
A volunteer from an organization known as NICE (National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly) has reached out to our community to offer their free services to our residents and their loved ones during this difficult time.
This organization responds to the issue of social isolation among older adults and persons with disabilities.
Over the phone, they offer free, friendly outreach and brief counselling services. They are a team of social workers and social work students that are trying to address the isolation and loneliness that are too commonly experienced across the country. The initiative is called “TALK2NICE”.
Please reach out to www.nicenet.ca or 1 (844) 529-7292 if you would like to connect with them.
Main Dining Room
We are currently delivering all meals to individuals in their rooms. For lunch this delivery starts at approximately 12:00 and dinner at 5:00. Our servers will be wearing gloves and a mask. All meals will be delivered in disposable contains that may be tossed after the resident is finished enjoying their meal.
We have started to offer alternative choices back on our menu for our Assisted Living residents as of June 1st. Our Support Services Manager Kirstyn has worked diligently to create a safe way to gather resident’s preferences and have those selections delivered to their suites for mealtimes. Servers have gone suite to suite handing out menus. We are asking that each resident circle their preference for lunch and dinner for the 4-week period. Our staff have been to their suite to collect their selections or and are available to assist if help is needed.
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.
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.
Please note; effective next week and for the duration of the summer months, we will be moving to a weekly family email update schedule.
Thank You
Your Team at the Williams Lake Seniors Village