Fire Equipment Safety Testing Apr 11-17, 2025

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Fraser Valley Fire Protection will be on our campus April 11 – 17 to conduct our annual fire equipment inspection as required by code.  For residents in the apartments a technician will need to enter each apartment. The technician will be wearing a uniform shirt with the Fraser Valley Fire Protection logo on it. Residents do not need to do anything during the test and can stay in their apartment while the test takes place. The test is brief but it can be loud. Residents are asked to remain seated during the test and keep out of the way of the technician.

Please note these tests will cause the fire alarms to sound briefly. They may also cause the fire panels to beep. The bells will turn on and off quickly. In the event of an actual fire alarm the bells would sound and keep ringing.

Announcements will be made in each apartment building at lunch to remind the residents. Each day that the technicians are here they will begin around 8am and work their way through each building floor by floor. We are not able to predict when they will reach each room. For the apartments the testing usually lasts most of the day.

The schedule for 2025 is:

  • Friday, April 11, 2025, starting at 8:00 AM: Menno Hospital
  • Monday, April 14, 2025, starting at 8:00 AM: Pavilion
  • Tuesday, April 15, 2025, starting at 8:00 AM: Terrace East and West
  • Wednesday, April 16, 2025, starting at 8:00 AM: Primrose Gardens
  • Thursday, April 17, 2025, starting at 8:00 AM: Menno Home

If you have any questions for Menno Home and Menno Hospital please contact Garry Janzen. For the apartments please contact Leonard Klassen.

National Caregiver’s Day in Canada

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National Caregiver’s Day recognizes the incredible commitment, hard work, and heart of these caregivers. We see it on our campus every day.

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Effective Immediately: Staff & Visitors, No longer required to wear masks

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Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, has officially declared the end of the 2024-2025 respiratory illness season. Staff and visitors are no longer required to wear a mask in resident spaces.

Staff are no longer required to wear a medical mask in resident care spaces and places where residents gather. Masking may be required on a case-by-case basis if deemed necessary on the basis of a point of care risk assessment, as per Menno Place’s infection prevention and control policy.

Visitors are welcome in all buildings on our campus. They are asked to refrain from visiting if they are sick. Visitors must still sanitize their hands for residents and staff safety.

Thank you all for your commitment to our residents and their safety.

Update on our new TV and WiFi System at Menno Apartments

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MEMO

Date:  March 27, 2025
To:       Family and Contacts of Menno Apartment Residents
Re:       Update on our new TV and WiFi system at Menno Apartments
________________________________________________________________________

Dear Family and Contacts of Menno Apartment Residents,

Our switch over to our new TV and WiFi system is almost complete. At this time I wanted to update you on what has changed and ask for your help to support your loved one as they get used to the new system.

Our residents may need help to:

  • Familiarize themselves with a new TV remote and new TV home screen
  • Access to Menno TV Channel (formerly known as Channel 10)
  • Connect their devices to WiFi

As always, the LEA team will be available to assist during regular hours, but with everyone switching over at the same time, your support will speed this process up significantly.

Television Package

All suites have received a brand new set-top box with a new remote. This new box is an app-based smart TV set-up. In other words, it is now possible to log into apps like Netflix or YouTube directly through the TV box. Navigating the system is slightly different. We have distributed a cheat sheet and an updated list of channels to every suite.

Unfortunately, our local channel is no longer “Channel 10”; it is now a “Local Camera” App accessed directly from the home screen. But rest assured, our Menno TV Channel is still live and available. The Telus TV cheat sheet has instructions on how to access it along with pictures of what the new screen looks like.

The new remotes have one additional feature we haven’t announced to the residents yet. There is a Google Assistant button that allows voice control of the remote. Feel free to assist your family member/friend if you feel this will benefit them.

Lastly, the new system allows devices connected in the suite to cast to the TV. I’m sure this feels intuitive to the younger generation, so feel free to utilize this feature if you want to show your loved ones some pictures from your phone via casting.

I want to thank the Telus technicians for their work on this over the past few weeks, and my Life Enrichment team members who are doing what they can to assist with learning a new system. Please join me in expressing my thanks to them when you see them.

Click here to download the Telus TV Cheat Sheet
Click here to down the updated List of Channels

WiFi Network Upgrade

The other major component of our upgrade is a completely updated WiFi network. To summarize, every apartment now has their own private network with their own password to access the internet. This will allow devices such as smart speakers, wireless printers, WiFi enabled smart plugs, Google Home devices, Alexa, etc. to properly connect and be used.

My team has distributed a print-out to each suite that has the unique password for that suite. (You can see an example of this here.) Every member of the Life Enrichment team has access to the passwords and we can very quickly print a new one or provide you with the information you need. Please note that the new network is called “Menno Place Resident WiFi” (do NOT use Menno Place Residents any longer). Each suite has the password written out, along with a QR code for quick access. Again, I would appreciate your assistance in getting your loved ones’ devices on this new network. (The old network will be taken offline soon.)

Thanks for your support.

I have repeatedly heard appreciation for Menno Apartments providing the telecommunication services for our residents. I trust this will continue to be the case. Currently, I’m asking for your assistance in helping our residents learn to navigate the new systems. My team is grateful when we see a child/grandchild or friend assisting someone in connecting to the internet. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the Life Enrichment team with further questions.

Leonard Klassen,
Manager of Community Enrichment

Importance of Pendant Use and Nurse Assessment after a Fall

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MEMO

Date:   March 26, 2025
To:       Terrace East Residents
Re:       Importance of Pendant Use and Nurse Assessment after a fall
________________________________________________________________________

Dear Residents of Terrace East,

This is a reminder about the importance of using your pendant if you experience a fall, even if you don’t feel hurt. The pendant is an important safety tool that helps ensure you get the help you need right away.

Please remember that after any fall it is essential to have a nurse assess you, even if you feel fine and can get up on your own. This helps ensure your safety and well-being.

Push the pendant to inform the care staff if you fall. Do this at any time of the day or night. And do remember that the pendant can be used at other times if you need assistance from the care team (it is not only for use if you fall).

Thank you for your cooperation!

Road Resurfacing on Primrose Street Starting March 24

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MEMO

To: All Menno Place Staff, Residents, and Visitors
From: Bas Kervel, Director of Support Services
Date: March 21, 2025
Re: Road Resurfacing on Primrose Street and Surrounding Area Starting March 24

__________________________________________

The city of Abbotsford will be in our area to complete road resurfacing from March 24 – 29, weather permitting.

The road works will affect Wildwood, Primrose, Wilerose, Brundige, Kay and Stevenson as marked on the map below. During the period of work the roads will be limited to local traffic only and NO STREET PARKING will be permitted.

Staff, residents, and visitors should expect delays and plan accordingly.  If you need to pick up a resident from Terrace East during this time it may be easier to enter through the main doors of Terrace West.

Please remember to keep a safe distance from equipment working on the road and follow all direction given by traffic control persons.

Reminder: It’s time to file your income taxes

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Income tax returns are due April 30th. This deadline is especially important for any residents who receive government funding – either in Funded Assisted Living or Long-Term Care – as rates are calculated annually using information from the Notice of Assessment.

For Residents Living in the Apartments

If you live in the apartments and would like help filing your income taxes help is available through the Community Volunteer Income Tax program sponsored by Revenue Canada. Forms are available at the LEA offices in Primrose Gardens, Terrace East and Pavilion. If you have any questions you can contact the LEA team at (604) 851-4004.

For Residents Living in Long-Term Care

All primary contacts for residents living in Long-Term Care received a letter via email.

MEMO: TV and WiFi Upgrade for Menno Apartment Residents

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Date:               March 12, 2025
To:                   All Residents of Menno Place
________________________________________________________________________

Dear Menno Apartment Residents,

I am writing to inform you all of an upgrade coming to our TV and Wi-Fi system at MENNO Apartments. This upgrade is needed in order to ensure our system functions well.

What does this mean for you?

Over the coming weeks, a TELUS representative will enter each of your suites and replace some of the equipment. You will be getting a new TV cable box and a new remote.

We will also be changing our wireless network and be giving each of you your own password. This will improve the system so we can better connect your devices that require Internet connection.

Unfortunately, any of the recordings you have saved on your current PVR will be lost. The new boxes are also PVR enabled and so we hope you can re-record shows that you want to watch.

Some of you have added channels and/or a second TV box through TELUS top up program. We are waiting for final details on how this may transfer. If this situation applies to you, please let one of the LEA team members know.

Thank you. I appreciate your flexibility as we don’t have complete firm dates for all the installs. We will keep you updated as best we can via daily announcements.

Leonard Klassen, Manager of Community Enrichment

You can contact the Life Enrichment Team at 604-851-4004

A Prayer for Pandemic Observance Day – March 11

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March 11 is Pandemic Observance Day in Canada. For all of us who lived through the pandemic alongside seniors is it a tender time to remember. There was so much loss – lost loved ones, lost time, lost community. And now, years past that first fateful day, some things have gone back to normal and some things never will. In light of all of that we asked Kerry Dyck, one of our Chaplains, to write a prayer for the day. May these words bring you comfort.

Our Loving God,

On this day while taking time to look back and remember our experience during the Pandemic we admit that we’d rather not.

Those were hard days filled with long, difficult hours. But as we cast our gaze behind, we know that you are with us giving us strength, even as you were during the pandemic months of loss, disorientation and discouragement.

Lord, we lament what was lost.

Even though we had lots of time on our hands we lament the time we lost. We lament the missed opportunities caused by the pandemic. We grieve the relationships that suffered under the weight of strain whether due to physical separation or the separation that comes from seeing things differently.

Most of all, loving God, we are sad because we lost dear people to Covid. Oh, how we miss them! Our hearts are heavy. And yet even there you meet us and are with us.

Open our eyes and hearts to your comfort this day. Remind us that you were with us then and that you still are today. May your hope and love fill our minds and hearts with peace for you are the God of all comfort. Lord, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but we know that you hold tomorrow in your loving and gentle hands.

This we pray by faith, even if its only a tiny bit,
in the name of Jesus,
Amen.

Seminar: Vital Conversations About Aging

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You’re invited to a seminar happening at Clearbrook MB Church in Abbotsford.

What: Vital Conversations About Aging presented by Lorraine Dick
Where: Clearbrook MB Church 2719 Clearbrook Road, Abbotsford
When: Thursday, March 20. Doors open at 9:30. Seminar begins at 10:00
Cost: Donations Optional

This seminar is about the hard conversations that come with aging. It is designed for seniors and their families.

Some of the topics that will be covered are:

  • How to make decisions about driving, moving, and downsizing
  • Taking care of relationships – with family and God
  • How do I want to be cared for when I am no longer able to care for myself?
  • Organizing and collecting important documents
  • End of life decisions