Current 2023 Protocols for Respiratory Illness

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Current 2023 protocols are now in place. Please note that these are updated from when we were in the COVID pandemic.

Showing care and concern for each other is our overarching approach.

The procedures vary depending on which apartment building you live in.

Staff are required to wear medical masks in common resident areas of all buildings.

Medical masks are optional for residents who have NO symptoms.

Visitors are asked to wear medical masks in all common areas (masks are available at the front entrances of each building).

 

 

As we stated at the beginning, showing care and concern for each other is our overarching approach. Let’s all do our part to avoid spreading illness. Thank you for your commitment to doing your part in following our protocols.

Smitha Varghese, Interim Manager of Assisted Living (604.851.1337)
Leonard Klassen, Interim Manager of Independent and Supportive Living (604.851.4006)

Shake Out Earthquake Drill – Thurs October 19, 2023

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Menno Place will practice our earthquake preparedness safety drill  – the Great British Columbia ShakeOut – on Thursday, October 19th at 10:19am! DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON. All staff and residents at Menno Place will be participating with practice drills.

Drop, Cover, and Hold On when the earth shakes.

Taking the proper actions, such as “Drop, Cover, and Hold On”, can save lives and reduce the risk of injury. Everyone, everywhere, should learn and practice what to do during an earthquake, whether at home, work, school or traveling.

If you’re at Menno Place on Oct 19th, please prepare to participate in this drill.

At 10:19am you will hear an announcement: “Earthquake drill STOP, DROP, COVER, HOLD ON”

  • You are required, if safe to do so, stop current activity, drop to the floor and take cover under a table or desk.
  • You should count out loud for the duration of the simulated earthquake. This will help keep you focused and calm, as well as providing an indication of how long shaking can last.
  • When the shaking portion of the drill stops, stay in place and count to 60, giving displaced objects a chance to settle.

Some education tips:

  • Residents in beds, recliners, wheelchairs should not be transferred until after the shaking stops. Stay put. Cover your head and neck with your arms or a pillow until the shaking stops.
  • Wheelchair users: lock the wheels, cover your head and neck.
  • A safe place for residents who cannot drop is next to an inside wall away from moving/falling objects
  • Do not use doorways

For those who use adaptive equipment:

 

Upcoming Vaccine Clinics at Menno Apartments

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We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting vaccine clinics (both Flu and Covid) in each of our Menno Apartments buildings.

Pavilion – Thursday, November 2nd
Primrose Gardens – Friday, November 3rd

Beginning today, a questionnaire will be circulated to each tenant offering them the opportunity to sign up for vaccination. Each tenant can make their choice about both the Covid vaccine and the Flu vaccine. Please follow up with your loved one if they may have difficulty completing the form. Forms can be handed in to reception or put in the suggestion boxes located in each building.

If you have any questions, please contact reception at 604-851-4000.

Leonard Klassen,
Interim Manager of Independent & Supportive Living

Hymn Stories – October 2023

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The writer of Count Your Blessings, Rev. Johnson Oatman Jr., was one of the important and prolific gospel song writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Find out more about this gospel song!

Click to listen.

Read more

Concert in Care – September 27

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The next Concert in Care is happening Sept 27 in the Menno Hospital chapel featuring Julie Begg on clarinet and Karen Lee-Morlang on piano. All are welcome to join us.

COVID, FLU OR COLD – Protocols for Visitors

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The population of Menno Place residents is among the most frail and vulnerable in our communities. The elderly may experience COVID, flu or colds with more severity and even life-threatening outcomes than those who are younger and healthier. When they contract a contagious illness, they will be put into isolation in order to reduce the risk of spread to others living and working in our care home.

Visiting a care home when you have COVID, flu or cold symptoms exposes many people to the possibility of contracting these illnesses. This includes our residents and staff. Our staff work hard to stay healthy and will be more successful if they are not exposed to any of these contagious illnesses. Your commitment to refraining from visiting (with symptoms) is essential to keeping both residents and staff safe.

What to do if you have symptoms of COVID, Flu or Cold

  1. Postpone your visit to your loved one.
  2. Be prepared for the upcoming COVID, Flu or Cold season by having COVID rapid tests in your home BEFORE you have symptoms.
    Pick up a box of tests FREE from any pharmacy.

If you have any of these symptoms, take a COVID test:

  • fever or chills
  • cough
  • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • fatigue
  • muscle or body ache
  • headache
  • new loss of taste or smell
  • sore throat
  • congestion or runny nose
  • diarrhea
  • nausea or vomiting

POSITIVE COVID TEST

If the test is positive for COVID, you may not to visit at Menno Place for FIVE days. You may return on the SIXTH day after your positive COVID test if you are symptom-free.

NEGATIVE COVID TEST

If the test is negative for COVID, seek a medical opinion. Consider how you manage other illnesses that you do not get tested for like cold and flu. Stay home if you are feeling unwell and resume your regular activities, such as work, when you feel you are able to manage them. If you have a fever you should stay home until it is gone without medication.

NEGATIVE COVID TEST + INCREASING SYMPTOMS

If the test is negative AND your symptoms are getting WORSE, test again for COVID.

Do not visit at Menno Place until you are able to manage the symptoms. To be safest, do not visit until you are symptom-free. If you have a fever, you should stay home until it is gone without medication.

 

Welcome to Pooja – Executive Director of Care Services

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From: Sujata Connors, CEO
To: Menno Place Team
Re: Executive Director of Care Services

Please join me in welcoming our newest team member: Dr. Pooja Mishra!

Pooja will be joining us Tuesday, September 5th as the Executive Director responsible for Long Term Care and Assisted Living. Working in dyad partnership with Dr. Ken Dueck, she will join the executive team in expanding our relationships with key stakeholders and leading clinical strategies to support resident and family centred care and aging in place.

Pooja is driven by her passion for helping and healing people. Over the last 20 years her career has focused on the care of seniors and vulnerable populations.  Pooja started her healthcare journey in India where she graduated from medical school and completed a residency in ENT surgery from a large multispecialty hospital. After a decade of practicing as a physician, she pursued and completed her postgraduate education in hospital administration. She used this education to broaden her healthcare leadership experience by working in different care settings such as primary care, ambulatory care, and community services.

Pooja comes to us with significant skills in continuous quality improvement, team building, collaboration, and negotiation.  Over the past seven years, she has been leading community programs like home health, home support, and palliative care in Canada.  She has led large teams and collaborated with multiple stakeholders to implement person and family centred care in community programs. Most recently she worked as the Director for palliative care, cancer care and the general internal medicine clinic at Richmond Hospital.

Pooja lives in Delta with her husband and two teenage kids (son 17, daughter 15). During her free time she can be found gardening, long distance running, and swimming.

Pooja sent the following message to be shared with the team:

“I am eager to join the team and be part of this tight knit community. I look forward to working with all of you and learning from all of you. I hope that over the course of a few weeks after I join, I get a chance to meet you all in person. Meanwhile, if you would like to connect with me please feel free to reach out Pooja.Mishra@mennoplace.ca.”

We are excited to see Pooja apply her experience and first-class education to support Menno Place in reaching our goals.  She will be located in the MBS corporate office space, so be sure to drop by and say hello!

Grandparents Day is almost here!

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It’s fun for the whole family on September 9th from 11am – 2pm! Bring your loved one from their unit or apartment into the courtyard with you to enjoy the live entertainment, food, and more!

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You Have the Power to Protect Our Residents

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Do you know that you have a superpower? We’re entering cold, flu and COVID season. Staff and visitors have the power to keep our residents safe and healthy by being vigilant about we bring into their home. We’ve all seen how difficult it is when residents have to go into isolation. Let’s work together to keep our residents safe and our dining rooms and activities open.

Here are 4 ways you can protect our residents:

  1. Do not visit if you are feeling sick. While it may be just a sniffle for you it can cause a serious health risk for our more vulnerable residents. Please stay home until you are symptom-free. If you’re not sure if you should come, stay home and save your visit for another time.
  2. Wash your hands. Please wash your hands or use hand sanitizer every time you enter one of the buildings on our campus.
  3. Respect any restrictions or isolations. If a resident becomes sick he or she may need to be placed in isolation in order to reduce the spread. Please respect the isolation protocols and know that all staff are doing everything they can to return the resident safely back to their regular routine as quickly as possible.
  4. Consider getting a flu shot. If you are able to, getting a flu shot helps reduce the risk of bringing a flu virus into our buildings.

Thank you for working with us to reduce the need for isolation and keep our residents as safe and healthy as possible. More information about how to stay healthy during the colder months can be found here: https://www.fraserhealth.ca/winterhealth

Hymn Stories – September 2023

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The Love of God, written and composed by Frederick M. Lehman by 1919, has its roots in a Jewish poem, written in Germany in the eleventh century. The Jewish poem, Hadamut, in the Aramaic language, has ninety couplets. Find out more about this gospel song!

Click to listen.

Read more