We have a few quick updates to share with all of you, and as always, we encourage you to share with other close family/friends who may be regular visitors of the home.
Staff are being tested for COVID-19 a minimum of twice, throughout the month of June. The first round of testing has just finished in our home (June 8 & 9th) and will take place again on June 22nd & 23rd. This is part of the province’s proactive approach to keeping all residents in Long Term Care Homes safe, as restrictions in different areas of our province start getting lifted. At this time residents are only being tested if they are showing symptoms.
If you are calling to speak to your loved one’s nurse, please try to avoid calling between the below hours, as the nurse will be out in the home areas administering medications: 7-9:30am, 4-5:30pm & 7-8:30pm.
Drop off times for non-essential items continue every Tuesday 8-10am and Friday 430-630pm. Please leave labeled items in the collection bins at the front door.
We would also like to remind all of you that when visiting your loved one at the window you MUST still maintain physical distancing of 6ft/2m. It is absolutely vital that this space is maintained, even with a screen in the window. There is still open air flow through the windows and thus, a risk of spreading this virus. We understand how difficult this is for everyone, and we want to make sure that visits continue, but the safety of our residents will remain the number one priority. If hearing each other is an issue we can make arrangements for a phone call or Facetime while you visit.
If you are coming to visit your loved one at the window, please give us as much notice as possible. Often times we are getting calls just moments before family are coming and it can be difficult to arrange depending on where staff and residents are and what other duties they are tending to. Please be patient with us as we try to accommodate as many families as we can. We continue to schedule Facetime’s and window visits daily and are more than happy to connect you with your loved-one.
We hope to implement the option of an outdoor visit in the near future. Arrangements would need to made through our Activation department like all of the other types of visits we have been doing (window, phone, virtual) and may be restricted to certain hours of the day with social distancing rules adhered to. As well, the weather will play a huge factor (i.e. temperature, rain). Our plan is to await the results of the COVID-19 testing our staff just went through, as well as monitor the impact of the province restarting various services in the community before implementing this type of visit. Thus, we hope we can make a decision about this by the end of the month.
