Seniors’ Residences
“We have a pandemic team set in place that meet daily and reports are sent out to board members” mentioned Brendalee Piironen, Director of Wales Home. “We are issuing letters and press releases to families and we have a pandemic bulletin board in our lobby, employees are always updated.”
Rather than wait for press releases to be sent out, the Wales Home makes sure to follow the news and they act upon new developments immediately.
Many of the measures that the Wales Home currently has in place were already implemented before the Premier even announced his regulations.
“We are not taking any chances and we are minimizing the risk as much as possible,” said Piironen. “We are proud of the measures we already had in a place on a daily basis and the additional measures that are being set in place, everyone is taking this very seriously.”
Like the Manor, all visits to the Wales Home are banned unless someone is at end of their life. If that is the case, the home’s Director of Health Services will carry out an evaluation of the family member wanting to visit, asking questions like whether they have travelled recently, and if they pass the criteria they will be allowed in.
The Wales Home has upped their regular cleanings, they are consistently putting out reminders for people to follow protocols, like washing faces and hands when entering and leaving the long-term care units. There is minimal circulation in the building, and social distancing is set in stone.
That in mind, the staff are trying to keep things as normal as possible for their residents.
“The activity department is doing very small group activities and they are doing one on one activities with people in long term care,” Piironen said, explaining that residents are not allowed to leave the property but can go for supervised walks to get some fresh air.
The home’s computer specialist is also busy setting up Facetime so that residents can keep some sort of contact with their loved ones during this time.
“Want residents to have quality of life but we want them to be safe at the same time.”
Piironen expressed particular gratitude to those who are working out of necessity and to anyone making the extra effort to follow regulations out of the safety of employees and seniors.
With seniors’ residences being closed off to everyone but personnel, Grace Village is currently trying to find ways to break social isolation without compromising ministry directives.
“Before the Ministry even mandated it, we went into the first shutdown to everyone but immediate family,” said Doug Bowker, Director at Grace Village. “Then we wanted a full shutdown which was only a couple of weeks ago. We shut off all visitors, friends, family, volunteers, we shut it all down and this is terrible for our seniors. They are already isolated and now they are even more isolated.”
Having to cancel all their group activities has been a major downfall for the residence. “We had to stop all group activities, which hurt, but the two recreational staff are spending all of their time going around doing one on one activities with our residents. While we can’t do groups, they are very busy going one on one to reduce and eliminate the isolation.”
Window visits have also been set up to help curb this isolation. “We instituted an invitation to people to do window visits since all of our residents are on the ground floor. We have a schedule and family members and friends can make an appointment and come stand outside the resident’s window and talk to them on the phone.”
They have also set up a special e-mail address for family and friends to send a message and these will be printed and hand delivered to residents by care staff.
Like the Manor and the Wales Homes, Grace Village are taking the always changing measures and regulations very seriously.
All staff that are arriving for their shift are screened every day before entering the building, there are daily consultations with doctors, and residents cannot leave the property. “Because we have enclosed court yard gardens that have really good walking paths, we have left them open but we have shut down external walks.”
A certain degree of normalcy is what this residence is striving for. “We are doing everything we can to make life as normal as possible for seniors that can’t get out in a world that is completely abnormal now. The bottom line is that we have the lives of 120 seniors that we support and nothing can be put that at risk.”