Menno Place – Staff Shortage – Karen Biggs, CEO on CityNews TV

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Karen Biggs, Menno Place CEO speaks to Ashley Burr of City News Vancouver about the staff shortage that we face since the Single Site order in March, 2020. Click to go to the Twitter page with the CityNews video.

Summary:

  • Care homes in BC are suffering major staff shortage
  • 675 staff at Menno Place – lost 39 casuals when we went Single Site only – Menno Place has vacant positions
  • The single site order ensures that staff do not work at other care homes and thereby increase the risk of infection throughout the care home sector
  • Menno Place, like all care homes, is working “short” every week and this is a risk as there is nobody to cover a shift for staff who are sick or on vacation

“When you don’t have staff available (and there is a COVID-19 positive case), care can deteriorate very quickly.” – Karen Biggs

  • The highest risk is that care can deteriorate rapidly if there aren’t enough staff available and a positive case of COVID-19 occurs in a care home.
  • Care homes are looking to the hospitality industry to hire housekeepers and dietary staff – finding ways of taking out-of-work Canadians and putting them into valuable employment

 

Visitor Update – July 22, 2020

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Visitor Update – July 22, 2020

  1. We are submitting our Safe Visiting Plan to Fraser Health today
  2. We are setting up our Visitor Centers
    • Visitor Centers will minimize traffic through the units so that residents and staff are as safe as possible
    • Visitor Centers will be a private and dedicated space for visitors
  3. Visits to begin July 27 in Menno Hospital for spouses – we will call you to make an appointment

Visitor Policy Update – July 10, 2020 – Video

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Family and Friends Visits Survey

Thank you to everyone (192 people) who has filled out the Family and Friends Visits Survey. We are so appreciative of your input as we put together the safe visits process for visits to begin at Menno Home, Menno Hospital and Terrace East Assisted Living. Take a look at the results of the questions – CLICK HERE

Visit Update Video (scroll down for video)

Sharon Simpson has done a video (scroll down) explaining the process and answering the questions that you asked in that survey. At this time, we are awaiting the funding to hire three full-time equivalent positions to assist with the visits. We are planning to have spouses / partners as first priority to visit their loved one. There will only be one designated visitor in our first phase of visits. Each visitor will have infection control protocols to follow. Those are some of the same protocols that we require of our staff, including wearing a mask. Our staff, by the way, also change their clothing each shift to wear freshly laundered clothing when they arrive at work. They wear goggles, masks and gowns. They are doing an incredible job of staying safe and keeping your loved ones safe!

As you wait for the in-person, no-touch visits to begin, please take full advantage of the Zoom calls and the Messages of Love programs that we’ve set up to communicate with your loved one. Some of you commented that you just want to see your loved one to know that they are doing okay. You can use Zoom for this, even if your loved one is non-verbal or unable to communicate, you can see how they are in their room on that day. This has worked for others to help ease the anxiety of not knowing how they are doing.

Here are the links:

Book a Zoom Call with Menno Home resident

Book a Zoom Call with Menno Hospital resident

Send a Message of Love (will be printed and delivered – you may include photos)

Smile Masks

On the mask-front, we have exciting news that 20 “smile masks” are en-route to Menno Place. They have vinyl where the mouthpiece is so that lips can be seen. They are $10 per mask, non-medical grade and hand-washable – created by a speech therapist who knows the importance of lips being seen when communicating. They fog up, so there’s instructions to minimize fogging that come with the mask. Call Terrace East Reception to order a mask: 604.851.4004 (Claire Colvin). We have also ordered 50 medical-grade smile masks, but don’t anticpate that they will arrive until late summer.

A Cautious and Phased Approach

We are saddened to see that there are outbreaks at two long-term care homes in BC (Vancouver Holy Family Hospital and Maple Hill) and, once again, deaths of residents who live in those homes. This is sobering and we are reminded how grateful we are that we are COVID-19 free – a tremendous feat with over 700 seniors on the same campus. Let’s continue to be vigilant and thank you for your patience as we await the promised funding and hire staff to do our best to ensure that we will continue to be COVID-19 free. Menno Place is committed to a cautious and phased approach to re-opening visits.

July 10 – Visitor Policy Update

Family and Friends Visits Survey Results

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On June 30, 2020, we sent Families and Friends a survey to give us input into their experience and thoughts. Here are the survey results of the 192 respondents – CLICK HERE

Since many of the respondents comments were confidential (names included), Sharon Simpson made a video and read most of their comments. You can watch the video here: FAMILY COMMENTS ABOUT VISITS RE-OPENING

 

Family and Social Visits – Frequently Asked Questions for Long-Term Care and Assisted Living – July 10, 2020

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Frequently Asked Questions – Long Term Care Visits at Menno Home, Menno Hospital and Terrace East Assisted Living

What are the requirements for me to have social visits with my family member or friend who lives at Menno Home, Menno Hospital or Terrace East Assisted Living apartment?

Family/social visits are limited to a maximum of one family member or friend. In the initial phase of visiting, residents will be able to visit with one designated family member or friend. This guideline does not allow for alternate designated visitors at this time.

What will I be required to do in order to visit?

  1. Be verified as the one designated visitor for your loved one for the initial phase of visits. This will be a resident’s spouse/partner if applicable. Otherwise, it will be the primary contact identified in the resident’s medical record. A spouse/partner will be prioritized for the first visits when we open the safe visitation program.
  2. Book your visit in advance. Menno Place will have an online booking calendar that will allow you to choose a date and time that is suitable for you. If you are not able to go online, you will call our Reception desk to book your visit.
  3. Follow all infection control protocols and processes:
  • Do not visit if you are sick. This includes respiratory infection or gastrointestinal infection or symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Identify yourself as the one designated visitor for this resident. You may be asked for photo ID and may have your photo taken.
  • Participate in the active screening process. This involves a staff member asking you questions about COVID-19 symptoms and exposure. They may take your temperature. These are the Active Screening Questions:
    1. Do you have a fever?
    2. Do you have a new or worsening cough?
    3. New or worsening sneezing?
    4. New or worsening sore throat?
    5. New or worsening shortness of breath?
    6. New or worsening fatigue?
    7. New or worsening aches and pains?
    8. New or worsening headaches?
    9. New or worsening vomiting?
    10. New or worsening diarrhea?
    11. Have you travelled outside the Fraser Valley?
  • Bring your own mask for the visit.
  • Receive instruction on how to wear your mask and any other required personal protective equipment during your visit.
  • Wash your hands with soap and water prior to your visit.
  • Use respiratory etiquette for any coughing or sneezing (into your elbow).
  • Do not touch your face.
  • Enjoy your visit in the designated area only.
  • A staff member will supervise your visit from a respectful distance to ensure compliance takes place and that no objects are passed between resident and visitor.
  • Maintain a distance of at least 2 meters from your loved one and staff at all times. This is a no-touch visit.
  • Comply with the visit ending at the agreed upon duration (30 minutes).
  • Wash your hands after your visit.
  • Book your next visit!
  1. What details do you know about the visits?
    • Length: At this time, we are planning 45 minute blocks of time for visits. Visits will be 30 minutes long, allowing for the visiting location to be disinfected between visits.
    • Number of Visitors: One designated visitor only. There will not be an opportunity in this initial phase to alternate or have multiple visitors.
    • Frequency of Visits: This is to be determined based upon demand and staff capacity to facilitate visits. We are taking a cautious and phased approach in order to
    • Location: Visits will take place both indoors and outdoors.
    • Weekend/Evening Visits: This will be determined by the staff capacity to facilitate visits. We consider this important to enable visits for those visitors who are unable to visit during the week or daytime.
    • Items/Gifts/Objects: No items can be brought into the care homes or passed between resident and visitor. The essential deliveries only policy remains in place.
    • Mobility: If a resident has mobility challenges, the visit will be assessed individually and a visit will be accommodated.
    • Plexiglass/Barrier: This is still to be determined as we plan the visiting locations.
    • Cancelling a Visit: Through the online booking calendar, you may cancel a visit if you are not able to attend. You may also cancel by phoning the Receptionist. Menno Place may cancel visits due to poor weather, staffing needs or non-compliance with protocols.
  2. How does COVID-19 impact social visits?
    • COVID-19 Symptoms or Exposure: Visitors who have COVID-19 symptoms, are in social isolation or have recently travelled will not be permitted to visit.
    • COVID-19 Outbreak: Social visits will only be allowed if there is no COVID-19 outbreak at the care home.
    • COVID-19 Second Wave: If there is a second wave of COVID-19, it is possible that visits will, once again, be restricted.

Visitor Policy – Long Term Care (Menno Home and Menno Hospital) and Assisted Living (Terrace East) – from BCCDC.ca

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Visitor Policy – Long Term Care (Menno Home and Menno Hospital) and Assisted Living (Terrace East) – July 8, 2020

On June 30, 2020, Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC Public Health Officer announced that visits for residents in long term care and assisted living will resume.

These visits will be according to the guidelines provided by the BC Public Health Officer and the Regional Health Authorities. Visits will begin in July and guidelines will be reassessed in August.

* General visitor protocols will include:

  • Do not visit if you are sick or have symptoms of COVID-19 or you are self-isolating because you may have been exposed or recently travelled.
  • Only one designated person is allowed to visit.
  • Visits must be booked in advance.
  • Visitors will be screened for signs and symptoms of illness, including COVID-19, prior to every visit.
  • All visitors are required to bring and wear their own mask.
  • Visitors must clean hands before and after visit.
  • Cough or sneeze into your elbow and do not touch your face.
  • Visits will take place in specific “visiting areas,” which will be organized by each residence.
  • Visits with seniors who have mobility challenges will be assessed individually.
  • Visitors should maintain a distance of two meters or two arm lengths from others.
  • Visits are not allowed if there is an active COVID-19 outbreak at the residence.

We await the funding to ensure safe visits.
We await communication from Fraser Health to receive the additional funds promised June 30th by Adrian Dix, BC Minister of Health to hire three full-time equivalent staff in each Menno Home, Menno Hospital and Terrace East. These additional staff will:

  • schedule visits
  • transport residents to and from the designated visitation area
  • be dedicated to ensuring infection prevention and control measures for COVID-19 are followed to support safe visitation
  • screen visitors to make sure visitors do not enter the building if they are sick,
  • ensure visitors wash their hands before and after the visit and practice respiratory (cough, sneeze) etiquette
  • ensure visitors maintain a safe physical distance of at least two meters from residents and staff, and
  • support monitoring the heightened cleaning protocols that will need to be followed between visits

Menno Place is working on the specific instructions for spouses, family members and friends for visiting at Menno Home, Menno Hospital and Terrace East. Our first priority will be for spouses to visit their husband/wife. There are 63 spouses of residents in our care homes, eight of whom live on the campus-of-care in Menno Apartments. It is imperative that all visitors understand that these are no-touch visits with a social distance of at least two meters between the resident and visitor at all times. In order to protect our vulnerable residents and staff, we are taking a cautious and phased approach to resuming social visits.

*Source: BCCDC.ca  | BC Centre for Disease Control | Ministry of Health, British Columbia

FROM THE BC CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL WEBSITE – CLICK HERE

Terrace East Dining Room re-opened – Day One!

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The Terrace East Assisted Living Dining Room was re-opened today for the 2nd floor residents to join together for a socially distanced meal. There were 17 residents who came down to the dining room. Staff facilitated the 6 foot spacing while they waited for their turn on the elevator. Residents sat at opposite ends of tables with at least 6 feet between them. John Dyck, Chaplain, sang a song and opened the lunch with a prayer of God’s grace and thanks for the spaghetti dinner. Following the ice-cream sandwhiches, the residents enjoyed a time of gathering and recreation with Timea who is a much-loved Recreation staff member at The Apartments.

Enjoy these photos of the dining room and scroll down to read the Memo that was distributed to the Terrace East residents:

Memo to Terrace East Residents – July 3, 2020:

Dear Residents of Terrace East,

We are very excited to announce that starting on Monday July 6th we will be inviting you back into the dining room for lunch, once per week!
Each floor will have a specific day that you will be invited to the dining room at lunch time. There will be a recreation program following the meal for all who wish to participate.

How will this work?
1. You will receive an invitation telling you which day of the week to come. Your invite will arrive the day before your turn in the dining room.

2. On your day you will be escorted to the elevator. Please stay in your suite until a staff member comes to get you. There will be 2 people allowed in the elevator at a time. Please stand on the green X.

3. We will be maintaining social distancing in the dining room. You will not be sitting in your regular seat. Staff will guide you.

4. Please wear your mask on the way to and from the dining room.

5. There will be signage telling you which door to use to enter the dining room and which door to exit from.

We are looking forward to see you all!
The Terrace East staff

Thank you for your gratitude and trust – comments on the recent survey about re-opening visits in long term care and assisted living

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Yesterday, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that visits will resume to long term care homes and assisted living apartments. We sent a survey to 1448 of you and we are receiving your feedback – thank you! We thought it would be encouraging for you to read what each other is saying in the survey. You said more than this, but here are a portion of your comments.

Comments from Families and Friends on a survey about reopening long term care and assisted living:

Thank you for your cautious approach to this Pandemic.

I am looking to you to decide what is best because you have helped keep them all safe so far. My grandma is my best friend and my best person. I can hardly wait to see her…but not if there is too much risk to her or anyone else. I am on board with whatever you come up with. I was so scared when my grandma was going to be put into a home. Hearing the horror stories that one does. But I have found such faith in you all at Menno Home for doing the right thing and being wonderful amazing caregivers to our seniors. My grandma always has nice things to say about it all. Thank you for your dedication.

Thanks for everything you have done to keep the patients at Menno safe during these difficult times!

Thank you for all you do.

I have total faith as to how you decide to open for visits. Thank you all for everything you have done.

I am heartily happy for all health personnel of Menno Home that they are taking care and supporting my wife.

I trust this opening up will be positive and safe for all. If rules can be followed and we all can cooperate it shouldn’t be any more risky than workers coming and going. I do appreciate what Menno has done to keep residents safe in this crazy time. Our thanks to all of you. THANK YOU from all of Dorothy’s family.

We really appreciate the caution that Menno staff have, and are, taking, to ensure that our loved ones remain healthy. It must be so hard to see all these seniors who are longing to be with their families and especially those whose cognitive abilities don’t allow them to understand very much about the current reality of the world we live in.

We really appreciate the caution that Menno staff have, and are, taking, to ensure that our loved ones remain healthy. It must be so hard to see all these seniors who are longing to be with their families and especially those whose cognitive abilities don’t allow them to understand very much about the current reality of the world we live in. I do want to see my Dad but more because I know he wants/needs to see us – in my mind, I just want to do my part to keep him and everyone else including staff, safe and if that would mean staying away longer, I would. That being said, the Zoom calls have been an absolutely HUGE blessing for all of us. To see his face and talk about what we are up to and to see him in his room where he lives, has been what has kept me feeling like I know how he is and how he is doing. If we did not have that option of connecting I would have totally lost my mind, so thank you for the “above and beyond” that all staff at Menno have demonstrated to make that possible. I have not had ONE moment of fear during this lock down because I know that he is living in the best place possible. And if despite all the hard work, COVID would have entered (or may still but hoping not!) I would still feel the same. Because I would know that everything humanly possible was done to prevent it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

We are very grateful for everything that Menno has done for my mum and the residents there…staff have been prompt, courteous and compassionate throughout and always trying to maintain safety.

I very much appreciate the thoughtfulness and perception which is threaded through this survey. It causes families to examine underlying fears, not only in regards to our own loved ones, but also by extension, the community of which they are a part… which adds a significant degree of complexity to answering the survey questions!… Some of the Q are difficult in ethical ways … does the importance of our visit outweigh the safety risk? The risk is not only to our loved one, but again, by extension, to the community as a whole. That is a responsibility I am uncomfortable with. I would not want to visit if my presence at Menno brought risk to my mother or the other residents… though I agree that visits always bring some risk, even in non-covid times. My initial assumption was that opening visits to Menno meant that there was no longer risk due to current information and careful practice … but the survey reminds me that there will always be some degree of risk with contact. Again, I thank you for the care that you take of our mother. This survey underlines how thoughtfully and systematically you undertake to proceed to the next step. Our prayers are with you.

I thank you all for your hard work, in keeping everyone safe and healthy through these difficult times. God’s strength to you all as you manage and try to figure this all out!

Excited to see Mom again. Thank you for all you do to take care of my Mom!! God Bless

Thank you for working towards visits AND for continuing with protective measures.

I am confident you Menno will take the necessary precautions to ensure Menno residents safety when visitors are permitted.

I am very worried about things opening up. Obviously, i want to see my mom every day but I also don’t want to be selfish if it could affect the health of anyone, staff or resident. My mom is pretty far gone in her own world so I am not even sure a visit with social distancing would be plausible. I miss her more than words but also want everyone safe. My bubble is very small and I have purposely kept it that way.

You have done a terrific job so far keeping everyone safe. I’m sure the visiting protocols you put in place for visiting will ensure the safety of everyone involved.

I am willing to be tested, have my temperature taken and be tracked. I have kept my circle and social contacts limited; I will continue to do that…seeing my loved one is my priority. How fortunate we are to have summer upon us…the gardens at Menno are wonderful for social distancing and for our visits.

Menno Place has been so successful in keeping Covid out, I would not want to jeopardize any residents by having visitors, if it poses any risk. You are all wonderful.

I truly appreciate the careful consideration that the Menno Group have used as we have gone through this pandemic.

As tough as it has been, I feel Menno has done the right thing by locking down early, and remaining locked down. I look forward to seeing wife after such a long time, but as I indicated above, I am concerned that there is definitely a risk involved.

I’m happy to know I will be able to visit my Mom, but with opening everything I feel very concerned about my Mom contract covid 19 if we open too soon it just take one person not to follow the rules.

Current restrictions have been successful in preventing spread of this virus of which I have been most impressed & satisfied to comply with. For this I am grateful.

Thank you to all the staff who have taken care of my parents during this challenging time. I felt confident that they were in good hands! Appreciate all the sacrifices and work they’ve done!

Thank you for taking such good care of all the residents during this time!

I understand the risk and am very grateful for all you have done to keep my loved one and all others safe during this lock down. I am willing to abide to your plan as it unfolds so long as if my loved ones is close to passing that we can come to be with him.

June 2020 – Update to Long Term Care and Assisted Living visits

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Today, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that, in the near future, one designated visitor will be allowed to visit safely with residents in long term care homes and assisted living apartments. She asked long term care homes to exercise caution and thoughtfulness to minimize risk to the residents and staff as they develop a safety plan for visits in the coming weeks.

Menno Home, Menno Hospital and Terrace East Assisted Living currently operate under the orders of Mark Lavoie, Fraser Health Medical Health Officer. The orders for essential visitors have not, yet, been changed. At this time, there are no changes to visiting at Menno Home, Menno Hospital or Terrace East Assisted Living as we await specific instructions and information from the Public Health Officer to guide us in the plans to open up visiting in long-term care and assisted living.

In today’s media update, Adrian Dix, BC’s Minister of Health announced funding for up to three full-time staff per care home/assisted living apartment to assist with the logistics of booking, cleaning and transporting residents to a safe space for visits. This will be essential for Menno Place as we anticipate 443 designated visitors booking visits with their loved ones once we open.

As it has been 100 days since the visitor lockdown began, we understand how difficult it has been for family members to be separated during this time. Please prepare yourself for a different way of visiting when these visits are opened up. There will be active screening questions prior to visiting, along with donning personal protective equipment along with social distancing.

Please give your feedback: Family and Friends Survey – Long Term Care and Assisted Living Visits – CLICK HERE