MEMO TO ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENTS – COVID PROTOCOL UPDATE

/in ,

MEMO HANDED TO TERRACE EAST (ASSISTED LIVING) RESIDENTS APRIL 1, 2021

**EDIT: Dining Room Times

Lunch :  11:30 – 12:00 – Coffee & Tea Service

12:00: Meal Service Begins

Dinner: 4:30-5:00 Coffee & Tea Service

5:00 Meal Service Begins

 

Date:              April 1, 2021

To:                   Assisted Living, Terrace East
Re:                  Changes to Social Visits

________________________________________________________________________

Effective Today – Changes to Social Visits

On March 25, 2021, Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC’s Public Health Officer (PHO) announced significant changes to the way that families and friends can visit residents in Assisted Living and Long-Term Care. For the first time in a year, you will be able to welcome family and friends into your apartment. This will not be the same as it was before the pandemic as there are still very high numbers of COVID cases in the community and we are being urged to be vigilant and careful.

As most of the residents in Assisted Living received 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, the PHO has allowed visitors, once again, into your apartment suites.

What is different about how these visits will take place?

  1. Every visitor has to pre-book their visit 48 hours in advance. They will not be able to enter the building if they haven’t booked their visit. Visits can be booked at MennoPlaceLife.com using an online booking calendar. The visitor must do the booking. We will let you know if you have a visit booked. Visits can be booked 7 days a week with a start time between 10am and 5:45pm on weekends and 8:45am – 5:45pm on weekdays.

 

  1. The visitor can ONLY come and go through the main entrance of Terrace East. They will be screened (asked about COVID symptoms and COVID risks) and must pass before they are allowed to enter the building.

 

  1. All visitors MUST wear a medical mask supplied by Menno Place. They must wear it for their ENTIRE visit. They can’t take it off. It must cover their mouth and nose at all times. This mask is a layer of protection for your visitor. It must be worn.
  2. Visitors must sanitize their hands when they enter the building and frequently while they are in the building or visiting you. By practicing hand hygiene, they add another layer of protection for all the people who live and work in the building. Although most are vaccinated, some are not. There are valid reasons (medical and personal) for individuals to not get the COVID vaccine.
  3. Your visitor may NOT buzz up through the enterphone system at the front door. Do not let anyone up through this door buzz system.

 

  1. Visitors can only be in groups from the same household with a maximum of 2 adults + 1 child under 18. You can’t have more than this number of visitors at one time in your apartment.

 

  1. The lounges and common spaces are NOT available for visiting. You can only visit in your apartment suite inside the building.
  2. Visitors can only visit YOU. They must stay 6 feet away from other visitors, residents and staff.
  3. Visitors will bring you deliveries and groceries. There will be no more delivery of these items by the Menno Place team. Your visitor will be responsible to sanitize items to ensure that they are safe for you. Your mail will continue to be delivered to your apartment.
  4. Your visitor can HUG you! They can hold your hand! They do not need to be 6 feet away from you. Your 2 doses of vaccine are a strong defense against COVID-19. If you have not been vaccinated, you will want to be very cautious and wear a medical mask when you are closer than 6 feet from your visitor.
  5. You may not visit with another resident in each other’s apartment suites. This has not changed.

 

  1. As over 90% of you have been vaccinated TWICE, you no longer have to wear a mask inside the Terrace East apartment building. If you haven’t been vaccinated, you will want to be cautious and continue wearing a mask.

 

  1. Dining all together in the dining room will begin today, April 1st! If you are not vaccinated and wish to dine in your apartment, please let nursing staff know your preference. ** SEE EDIT AT TOP OF PAGE WITH DINING ROOM TIMES. We encourage you to help remind your loved one of the time the meal time begins starts as they set a new routine going down to the dining room everyday. Feel free to make them a poster reminder, or anything that will help them remember.

 

  1. There is no limit to the number of visits you can have nor how long they can last.

 

  1. Your visitor may book an outing for you. This must be done through the nursing team.

 

  1. Your visitor can book an outdoor visit with you in the Living Waters Garden or the patio.

 

CHERYL DAWES

MANAGER OF COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT

604 851 4020

MEMO: Primrose Gardens HOT Water Shut off

/in

This MEMO was delivered to all PRIMROSE GARDENS residents on Friday, March 26, 2021

Date:             March 26, 2021
To:                  All Primrose Residents
Re:                  HOT Water shut down TUESDAY, MARCH 30
________________________________________________________________________

 

Dear Residents of Primrose Gardens,

The HOT water will be shut off for a portion of the day, Tuesday, March 30th.

The valves need to be replaced on the hot water boilers so we can continue to enjoy our on demand hot water. This water shut off is scheduled to start at 8:00am and if all goes well, return around 1pm. It may take longer depending on how the work goes.

The cold water will continue to run and your toilets, sinks, etc will continue to have running water, just cold.

If you have a scheduled shower assist with Fraser Health or private caregivers, you may wish to try and reschedule for a day with hot water, if possible.

Thank you for your co-operation!

Cheryl Dawes,
Manager of Community Enrichment

NEW Health Care Support Worker program at Menno Place!

/in

MEMO

Date:             March 24, 2021

To:                  Menno Place Resident’s Family & Friends

Re:                  New Position at Menno Place:  Health Care Support Worker

________________________________________________________________________

 

Menno Place is pleased to announce that we have been approved for 18 Health Care Support Worker (HCSW) full time positions fully funded by the Government of British Columbia’s Health Career Access Program (HCAP).  This program was developed in response to the urgent staffing needs across long-term care and assisted living sectors in BC.

The HCAP program works like a co-op – successful candidates work at the site and go to school for the HCA program at the same time.  Each candidate goes through the same hiring/onboarding process as all regular staff, requiring a clear criminal record check, immunizations, references, etc.  This is a temporary position when, once completed, the person graduates with their HCA certification.

The HCAP education and training program will take approximately 12-18 months to complete.  It provides an opportunity for individuals to receive paid employer-sponsored training leading to a HCA credential.  The candidate must make a 12 month commitment to the employer to work as a HCA at the site once they have graduated from the program.

Menno Place has received approval for 8 candidates for Menno Home, 6 candidates for Menno Hospital and 4 candidates for Menno Apartments – Assisted Living.

Jeanette Lee

Director, Human Resources

Menno Place

Menno Home & Hospital TV Channel Guide

/in

The most up to date channel guide for Menno TV in Menno Home & Hospital (Long Term Care).

Please note this channel guide IS NOT for Menno Apartments (Terrace East, Terrace West, Pavilion, Primrose Gardens).

Download your copy here > Menno Home/Hospital TV Channel Guide!

Video: Menno Place Team Appreciation Event

/in

This week, we held our Menno Place Team Appreciation event over Zoom.

We usually hold this event in our chapel – in fact, it was our last gathering together as a staff team in March 2020. We honour our staff and recognize them for their years of service and excellent attendance. We usually reach out to co-workers, staff, residents, families and friends for individual nominations – Safety Champion, Creative Solutions and Living Our Values.

This year, we decided to honour ALL of the Menno Place Staff as Healthcare Heroes. This has been the toughest year that any of our staff have experienced and they have been AMAZING! We also provided Food Trucks as a way of saying thank you to the amazing team that serves here and is the HEART of Menno Place.

 

Watch the Team Appreciation Event!

The video is 33 minutes in length.

Thank you, families and friends for your unwavering support for our staff during this extraordinarily difficult journey through the pandemic. You are amazing in your advocacy, your unfailing love and your team spirit and we know it! Thank you!

CLICK HERE if you want to share any words of encouragement.

CLICK HERE to see the words of encouragement family & friends have shared with us.

RESIDENT INFO: INDEPENDENT LIVING – CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS, GIFTS, VISITING

/in , ,

This memo will be handed out to Independent Living on December 15, 2020.

MEMO

Date: December 15, 2020
To: Menno Place PAVILION, TERRACE WEST, PRIMROSE GARDENS Independent Living Apartment Residents, Family & Friends
Re: New Infection Control Guidelines for the Holiday Season 2020 in effect until at least January 8, 2021

________________________________________________________________________

The holiday season this year will be challenging for all of us as we face unprecedented COVID-19 positive case numbers in our community. Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has released infection control guidelines for this season, until at least January 8th. As you live in a congregate living environment, we have outlined some additional protocols that will serve to keep you safe.

How does this affect you, a resident of Pavilion, Terrace West & Primrose Gardens?

  1. Essential Outings Only
    Essential outings do not include: visiting family homes, shopping, going out to restaurants or cafes, attending church, or receiving external salon services (the TE hairdresser and on-site foot care are still be available). They do include essential medical appointments. This is NOT the time to be out and about.
  1. Essential Medical Appointments Only
    If a medical appointment could prevent an eventual visit to the ER, it is considered essential. An example of a non-essential medical appointment is a regular visit to the dentist.
  1. Groceries delivered Registered Visitors
    Groceries can to be delivered through the Registered Visitor. Residents may leave the Menno Place campus for essential supplies. i.e. to pick up medications that cannot be delivered. Groceries can also be ordered online and delivered through a Grocery Delivery Service.
  1. Walks Off-Campus are Permitted
    If you go for a walk with someone else, remember to wear your mask and stay 6-feet apart.
  1. Christmas Celebrations – Christmas dinner can be brought to you by your Registered Visitor(s). It should be in a wipeable container. They may join you for your Christmas meal. You are asked to stay in your apartment suite with your Registered Visitor(s) as your household bubble. Wear masks when you aren’t eating. Sit 6 feet apart when you are eating together.
  1. If you go to a family home over Christmas, you will be required to self-isolate in your apartment for 14 days upon your return to your Independent Living Suite. [su_highlight]THIS IS HIGH RISK and not recommended by the Provincial Health Officer.[/su_highlight]
    You will be billed for the isolation process and required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
  1. Christmas gifts and decorations can be brought in by the Registered Visitor. All gifts will need to be quarantined for 48-hours.
  1. Hospital Visits and Returning to 14-Day Isolation – All residents who go to hospital will be on 14-day isolation upon returning to their apartment suite. This includes day procedures, ER visits, overnight stays. There is no minimum time in the hospital visit to qualify for 14-day isolation.

What continues?

  • The regular meal rotation in the dining room will continue.
  • The Terrace East hairdresser and Pavilion are still open.
  • Foot care is still available – three footcare nurses.
  • Flower deliveries are being received as long as they are in a wipeable container.
    Orders can be made through Buckets Fresh Flower Market in Abbotsford at abbotsfordflorist.com

What is the process if a resident has been in contact with a COVID positive person?

As the prevalence of COVID in the Abbotsford community grows, so does the risk that a resident in the Menno Apartments will be infected with COVID. Since August, we have three instances of a COVID positive person entering our Independent Living apartment buildings. Two were Fraser Health Home Support workers and one was a Registered Visitor.

What happens after we discover that a visitor to an apartment suite is COVID positive?

  1. Enhanced Cleaning: We continue our enhanced cleaning around the apartment buildings – high-touch points (elevator buttons, door handles, railings, smash bars on the doors) are being cleaned multiple times per day.
  2. Isolation for 14 Days: The resident in isolation must stay in their suite for 14 days while they MIGHT be infectious.
  3. Isolation Cart: We immediately put an isolation cart outside the apartment suite of the resident who has been in contact with a COVID positive person.
  4. COVID Swab Test: If they have any symptoms, they will be swabbed. For independent living residents, the registered visitor will take them to the COVID testing site for the swab.
  5. Rely on Registered Visitors: Registered Visitors play THE primary role in supporting a resident who is in isolation. They may enter the suite in full PPE to provide essential services for the resident. The Registered Visitor supports the resident with food, daily active screening for symptoms and social contact. If they develop symptoms that require additional support (vomitting or diahrrea) these are supported by the Registered Visitors or Home Support (privately contracted by the resident or Fraser Health Home Support contracted through Home Health). Menno Place does not have the staff to provide care, laundry or housekeeping support for those who are not already clients.
  6. Full PPE to enter the suite: Any entrance into the apartment suite during isolation (symptoms or not) MUST be done in full PPE. The PPE is in the isolation cart beside the apartment door with donning and doffing instructions (gown, gloves, mask, goggles).
  7. Appropriate Disclosure to keep all safe: If there is a COVID positive in the apartment building, we will share this with the residents in the apartment building, staff who work in that apartment building and all of the Menno Place campus (staff, residents, families). We protect the privacy of the individual, so we don’t communicate the name of the COVID-positive individual to those who do not need to know.

Keep yourself and others safe this holiday season! Remember to wear a mask over your mouth and nose outside of your apartment. Stay 6 feet apart from others. Use hand sanitizer or wash your hands with soap and hot water regularly. Do not touch your face. Practice proper respiratory etiquette.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact Cheryl Dawes, Manager of Community Enrichment for Apartments at Cheryl.Dawes@mennoplace.ca or 604-851-4020.

RESIDENT MEMO: TERRACE EAST – ASSISTED LIVING

/in ,

This memo has been handed out to residents of the Terrace East Assisted Living Apartments as of 2:30pm, December 11, 2020

MEMO

Date: December 10, 2020
To: Menno Place TERRACE EAST ASSISTED LIVING Apartment Residents, Family & Friends
Re: New Infection Control Guidelines for the Holiday Season 2020

________________________________________________________________________

The holiday season this year will be challenging for all of us as we face unprecedented COVID-19 positive case numbers in our community. Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has released safer protocols for all of those living in Assisted Living facilities in B.C.

How does this affect you, a resident of Menno Place Terrace East Assisted Living?

  1. Essential Outings Only
    Essential outings do not include: visiting family homes, shopping, going out to restaurants or cafes, attending church, or receiving external salon services (the TE hairdresser and on-site foot care will still be available).
  1. Essential Medical Appointments Only
    If a medical appointment could prevent an eventual visit to the ER, it is considered essential. An example of a non-essential medical appointment is a regular visit to the dentist.
  2. Grocery Deliveries Continue
    Groceries can to be delivered to Terrace East Reception 9:00am-11:30 am, seven days a week. Residents may leave the Menno Place campus for essential supplies. i.e. to pick up medications that cannot be delivered.
  3. Walks Off-Campus are Permitted

If you go for a walk with someone else, remember to wear your mask and stay 6-feet apart.

  1. If you go to a family home over Christmas, you will need to self-isolate in your apartment for 14 days upon your return to Terrace East. [su_highlight]THIS IS HIGH RISK and not recommended by the Provincial Health Officer.[/su_highlight]

You will be billed for the isolation process and required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

  1. Christmas gifts can be delivered to Terrace East Reception beginning Dec 10 until Dec 21 in order to be quarantined for 48-hours. Deliveries can be made Every day from 9:00am to 11:30am. Gifts will be delivered to residents

What continues?

  • The regular meal rotation in the dining room will continue.
  • Physically distanced activities led by the Menno Place Recreation Team continue (no singing).
  • The Terrace East hairdresser is open.
  • Foot care is still available.
  • Safe Social Visits with your one Designated Visitor continue in the Terrace East Lounge Sunday through Friday between 11:15am and 6:15pm (except STAT holidays). All Designated Visitors have received links to make bookings.
  • Flower deliveries are being received as long as they are in a wipeable container. Orders can be made through Buckets Fresh Flower Market in Abbotsford at abbotsfordflorist.com

Keep yourself and others safe this holiday season! Remember to wear a mask over your mouth and nose outside of your apartment. Stay 6 feet apart from others. Use hand sanitizer or wash your hands with soap and hot water regularly. Do not touch your face. Practice proper respiratory etiquette.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact Cheryl Dawes, Manager of Community Enrichment for Apartments at Cheryl.Dawes@mennoplace.ca or 604-851-4020.

Send a Christmas gift to your loved one at Menno Place!

/in , , , , , , , ,

Here’s how you can safely deliver a Christmas gift to your loved one this year.

Read more

Bring your Christmas Cheer – we need you – come decorate!

/in

**Would you like to encourage the Menno Place staff and residents? **

We have an idea… maybe it’s a bit “out there”, but we think it will feel joyful and wonderful and encouraging. We need some cheer – and so do you!
These are strange times and we need a boost of hope and joy and love and peace. Our staff need a boost of encouragement and energy and smiles. Our residents need a boost, knowing that the community is cheering them on.

So, what’s our big idea?

We are inviting the people who love and care for seniors and Menno Place to come here and decorate any of our trees and shrubs around the campus. We are asking you to come to us and show your support by making our trees and bushes alive with joy and love and strength and community support.
We welcome you with your ornaments and your ribbons and your dangly-doos and your happy sounds. Bring your instruments, your voices, your prayers and your good will as you decorate. Bring your banners and signs and glitter and ribbons. We welcome it all! Cut loose and bring us the cheer of Christmas – and cheer us on!
Bring your families and school cohorts. Be safe, and come and bring your joy! We want you here. We want to see you cheering us on. We need you.
We don’t have plugins, so electrical displays are not an option, but we welcome everything else that beautifies.
There’s a familiar Christmas story that many of us watch every year – it’s all about how a Grinch tried to steal Christmas from the good people of Whoville. Nothing could stop Christmas – nothing.
Even when every part of traditional Christmas was taken from them, the Who’s in Whoville sang:
Christmas day will always be
Just so long as we have we.
We need you. Will come and bring the Christmas love and cheer? Nothing, even COVID, can stop the love and togetherness that we have as a community. Will you show us your support?