MEMO: Air Conditioners in Menno Apartments

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Date:               April 23, 2025
To:                   All Residents of Menno Apartments
Re:                   Air Conditioners

Dear Residents of Pavilion, Terrace West, Terrace East, and Primrose Gardens,

Warmer weather is just around the corner and it’s time to think about air conditioners.  The common areas of each apartment building – the dining rooms, hallways and lounges – are air conditioned, but individual apartments are not.

Please note the following process for getting your air conditioner installed. (If you want to get an air conditioner, see below for the details.)

  1. We are asking every resident to contact the Life Enrichment Team by April 30th to let us know YES or NO regarding wanting an air conditioner installed.
  2. If YES, we need you to sign the work request at the front desk as it has a $36 fee.
  3. If NO, we still need you to inform us to ensure that no one gets missed.
  4. Once you have signed up, please ensure that your air conditioning unit (along with the extension cord) is in your suite, unboxed, ready to install by May 5th.

Installations are scheduled to begin on May 5th. Our plan is to complete this project before the May long weekend. Removals are tentatively scheduled for after Thanksgiving (approximately mid-October). We will communicate our disconnect plans closer to the date.

For any requests for installations received after April 30th, we will process them when our maintenance team has time.

Please contact the Life Enrichment Team at 604-851-4004 with any questions.

Leonard Klassen,
Manager of Community Enrichment

AIR CONDITIONERS AT MENNO APARTMENTS

Please note the following important information:

  1. Only PORTABLE A/C units are permitted in the suites. These are the type that vent through a hose; in-window units are not permitted.
  2. Only high-efficiency units up to 8000 BTUs are permitted. Large amperage/BTU units (greater than 11 amps/8000 BTUs) will trip the breakers.
  3. Menno’s Maintenance Team MUST install the units in each suite. The annual installation fee is $36.00 and includes removal of the unit after the hot season. We ask that units are removed during the winter months due to building envelope management.
  4. Residents must provide a 3-prong extension cord (minimum length of 6’). It must be rated for at least 11amps.

  5. The A/C unit must be unboxed and in suite with extension cord when request is made to Life Enrichment Team for installation.

 

Celebrating Easter

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Send Your Thanks to the Visitation Hosts

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This is your chance to say thank you to the visitation hosts before the program ends at the end of April.

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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.

LTC Family Council Forum – April 17

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Greetings to all Long-Term Care family caregivers and family council supporters!

Fraser Association of Family Councils (FAFC) is hosting its next Family Council Forum and you* are invited:

Date: Thursday April 17 2025
Time: 7-8 PM
Place: Virtually

Click here to Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 861 9554 5047
Passcode: 029337

Dial by your location
Meeting ID: 861 9554 5047
Passcode: 029337
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kc23qAsO5m

* This forum is for families of residents in long-term care who are engaged with their family council or seeking to start one.

Each care home will have a chance to participate – bring your success stories as a council alongside issues and challenges you are experiencing. Come to share and learn about family councils in the Fraser Health region.

The forum is hosted by Lisa Dawson, interim Chair of FAFC.

Volunteer with FAFC! Help us with our core work of forming and maintaining councils in the Fraser Health region.

Family Council – Expression of Interest

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We would like to extend a huge thank you to all Menno Home and Menno Hospital families who were able to attend our recent Family Council Information Session on March 20th, 2025. We appreciate the enthusiasm expressed and look forward to supporting the start-up of a family-led Family Council here. For those who were not able to attend the Information Session, we encourage you to kindly take a moment to review the PDF linked below and consider participating in the start-up of a new Menno Place Family Council.

Family Council Information Session PDF

At this point, we are asking for an expression of interest from family members and friends who may be able to lend a leadership hand in getting the new family-led Family Council up and running. This initial process of kick-starting the council will only take about 1-3 hours of your time over the next month.

If you are interested in supporting our Family Council in this capacity, please reply directly to either Kim or Dan at the email addresses below by April 30, 2025. Lisa Dawson, Interim Chair of Fraser Coastal Association of Family Councils, will then reach out to this group to provide support and guidance. The next step will be to have the pre-inaugural family group meet with Lisa virtually to confirm structure, governance and promotion of the new council.

The involvement of Menno Home and Hospital family members and friends is crucial as we move forward, and we are excited about the potential of this Family Council! Thank you once more for your attention to this initiative. We look forward to hearing from interested parties!

Kim Wiebe kim.wiebe@mennoplace.ca (604)851-1361
Dan Janzen dan.janzen@mennoplace.ca (604)851-1350

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

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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.