Williams Lake Seniors Village, Community Update, May 13 2021

Dear Families, 

We hope you are all staying safe and healthy!

Medical Health Officers Orders

We are DELIGHTED to hear of Dr. Bonnie Henry’s new directives regarding the easing of visitation restrictions in Long Term Care and Assisted Living that began April 1st. Please see “Visiting Information” for the following changes and to see how to book a visit.

Please take into consideration new guidelines from Dr.Bonnie Henry that strongly urge people to stay within their community/ quadrant of their city.

Second COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic

All residents of the Williams Lake Seniors Village who received their first dose of the vaccine in January will be receiving the second dose of their COVID-19 vaccine today, THURSDAY MAY 13^th. If your loved one received their first vaccine at a later date please follow the link below to register them for their next vaccine when the time is right. Public Health has notified us that all BC residents do have to wait 16 weeks between their first and second dose.

At this time Public Health is only bringing vaccines for residents – staff/essential visitors will need to register online for their second dose using the website – https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register

As our clinical teams are prepare for the arrival of the vaccine please remind your loved ones in Assisted Living and Independent Living that we will call them directly to schedule their vaccine time.

The vaccine brand you received for your first dose will also be the vaccine brand you received for your second dose. e.g. If you received the Moderna vaccine for your first dose you will also receive the Moderna for your second dose.

AL/IL Mock Evacuation

Tomorrow, Friday May 14^th 2021, is our annual MOCK evacuation. Due to COVID-19 precautions and restrictions staff will be coming suite to suite to ensure all residents have prepared their bags in the event of an actual evacuation. There are instructions posted on the back of all residents’ front doors to show exactly what is needed or what is a good idea bring in case we need to leave the building.

The Mock Evacuation is mandatory for all residents to participate in. Pet Owners- Please use this time to practice your pet’s evacuation too!  Cats/ Dogs in pet carriers please!

Visiting Information

We are thrilled to be sending this email out today with information and booking details for visits moving forward. As most of you were made aware, Dr. Bonnie Henry has made some very exciting changes to the current COVID-19 guidelines in Long Term Care and Assisted Living Communities that have been revised provincially effective April 1^st 2021. All residents of WLSV, including those living in Independent Living, are included in the following.

• 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 (Minimum 24 hours’ notice) 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.
• We would ask that during the initial stage of this re-opening, you consider other families and residents trying to book visits as well and limit the on-site visits to one per week.
• Visits 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 current AL/IL vehicles 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 encourage families to be considerate about the duration to allow capacity for more residents to have visits in the community
• Visits will be scheduled in one hour blocks with a suggested maximum of 2 blocks per resident visit
• 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
• Strict adherence to Infection Prevention & Control practices are essential. 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
• Once the visitor is in a resident space they are asked to keep their mask on and are asked to frequently perform hand hygiene
• Please consider limiting your visits to one care home per day to ensure limited cross contamination
• Food and beverage can be brought in- resident is more than welcome to eat and drink. Visitor cannot eat and needs to wear mask at all times during the visit.

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 for your understanding and cooperation.

Extra Visiting Information

We have been so excited that our residents and their loved ones have been able to connect over the last few weeks in a special way. We just want to remind visitors of a few things:

• If looking for a nurse or care aide please use the call bell in the resident’s room. They are located on the wall and if you pull it, you will shortly hear from someone who can assist you and your loved one.
• We are able to accommodate more than one visit per week per resident at the moment, as we have the operational capacity. Our screeners will do their best to fit you in if we have the capacity. Please remember that visits must be booked 24 hrs in advance and drop ins cannot be accommodated.
• When you leave the building please remember to safely dispose of your used mask in the marked garbage cans OR take home and dispose accordingly. PLEASE DO NOT throw your used mask on ground.
• 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 right 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 Andrea at 250-305-3314. They are for 60 minute time slots and masks must be worn at all times. The space is not accessible to an electric wheelchair and this is a lawn space without permanent seating.  Please call Andrea if you have any questions regarding our outdoor visits.

Recreation

Some Recreation updates for May:

• We are starting our Gardens! Plots have been assigned and as the weather warms up residents and gardening programming is increasing!
• We are having a house plant re-potting day on May 17^th at  11:15am in the Court Yard

We are going to be doing much more outdoor programming as the weather gets nicer including Bocci Ball, Gardening, and outdoor socials. We will continue to offer as many outings as are operationally possible.

Please let Andrea Know if you have any suggestions or comments about the Recreation programming! We’d love to hear what you have to say!

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 Salon has opened for all residents at the Williams Lake Seniors Village. AL and IL residents are asked to sign up in the Recreation Binder for their preferred date and time. At this time our hair dresser, Vicki, will be available Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s from 10-4 each week. AL/IL residents are asked to bring cash to their appointment as that is the only payment type available

If your loved one would like a reoccurring time slot please speak to Andrea at 250-305-3314 or 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.

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. Spring Menu started Monday, April 5^th!

On May 20^th we are having a BBQ Lunch for all of our residents (IL resident’s included)! This is going to be a fun way to welcome summer.

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:

• 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.

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