The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
NOVA SCOTIA
Outdoor visits held at LTC homes
NEW WATERFORD — Bobbie Macdonald and Paula Hutchinson casually talked the way old friends do during their scheduled half-hour visit on Friday at Maple Hill Manor.
It was the second visit the former neighbours have had in the facility's courtyard since the province eased some visitor restrictions put in place due to COVID-19.
The inside of the courtyard gazebo is marked off into four sections where residents sit and talk to their visitor who stands at the railing. Blue lines and numbers on the concrete floor of the gazebo show where the residents have to stay to ensure social-distancing requirements are met.
“I'm really impressed with how they have it set up here,” said Macdonald. “Paula's sister was the first one to come for a visit and she posted a photo on Facebook. I was impressed.”
Before the COVID-19 outbreak in Nova Scotia resulted in the chief medical officer closing all long-term care homes to visitors, Macdonald would visit Hutchinson weekly, sitting side by side painting.
“Paula has a lot of family and friends who were always visiting her,” Macdonald said, smiling. “Isn't that right, Paula?”
“Yes, I have a lot of family and friends,” said Hutchinson. “It was a little bit hard (not seeing them) but it will get easier now.”
Wilhemus van Hal, recreation director of Maple Hill Manor, said they schedule 16 visits per week and they're going well. Anyone who's requested a visit with a resident has had one, however some people are choosing to wait.
“Some families have chosen not to visit yet, based on the health and wellbeing of the resident,” he said. “They want to wait to protect the resident.”
After each 30-minute visit, van Hal said they thoroughly disinfect and clean the area before the next one.
Some residents don't understand why they have to stay two metres away from their visitors.
“Some of our residents with Alzheimer's disease and dementia are having a hard time understanding they have to keep socially distanced,” van Hal said.
“As much as the families and the friends want to hug their loved ones, it's our residents that are having a hard time understanding why they can't.”
For these residents, van Hal said they have attendants sit with them during the visits. Along with helping them maintain their distance, they help them find words when they can't.
During Macdonald's last visit, a resident was there with an attendant and the New Waterford resident said the way the staff worked with the client stood out.
“The woman kept getting up and the attendant, it was nice how they would get her back to the table. She'd just say, 'Oh, look, your tea. Don't forget your tea,' and they would come back,” Macdonald recalled.
LAST TO RESUME VISITS
Seaview Manor Care Home in Glace Bay will be the last facility in the area to start outdoor visits when they begin today.
CEO Eric Doucette told the Cape Breton Post in June they were “approaching this cautiously” to ensure resident and staff safety.
“Residents and families should be aware there is always a risk for transmission considering we are now bringing the larger outside community onto our property and our residents continue to remain extremely vulnerable,” said Doucette.
“Yet, we are reassured that our two Nova Scotia Nursing Home Association representatives on the provincial planning group addressing outdoor visits have been heard and many of our collective concerns about reopening have been addressed in the resulting provincial protocols.”
Both Seaview and Maple Hill Manor had no known cases of COVID-19 among residents or staff, as was the case for the other two long-term care facilities in Glace Bay — Taigh Na Mara and Victoria Haven Nursing Home. Doucette said their goal is to keep it that way.
“We will be following the provincial protocols which include allowing only two visitors,” he said. “Unfortunately, families will not be able to bring food or gifts for residents. We are maintaining strict infection control.”