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.

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In-Person Chapel Returns Sept 17!

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We are thrilled to announce that in-person chapel is returning to the Menno Place campus starting Sunday September 17th 2-3pm!  This service will take place once a month in the Menno Hospital chapel.

Everyone is welcome:

1. Residents who are able to come on their own may do so.
2. Residents who need assistance must have a family member or friend bring them or designate someone to do so. We are not able to provide staff to porter residents at this time.

Gathering in person for worship is a significant part of one’s faith experience. We want to provide this opportunity. Thank you for participating with your loved one to make it possible.

Volunteers Needed! Not every resident who needs assistance has family members or friends who are available to help. If you or someone you know would like to facilitate an in-person worship experience for those who need it please contact one of the Menno Place chaplains – Andy (Andy.Capesinio@mennoplace.ca), Ann (Ann.Thakker@mennoplace.ca) or Kerry (Kerry.Dyck@mennoplace.ca) . Thank you!

Family and Friends (Family Council) Meeting – Sept 21

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On September 21, 2023, 2:30pm-3:30pm, Family and Friends (Family Council) will be meeting in person, with the option of attending online via Microsoft TEAMS. The meeting will take place in the Menno Hospital Conference Room (near the Fireside Café – behind the Receptionist’s desk).

If you plan to attend online through Microsoft TEAMS, please click the link below to join the meeting by video, or call the number with the code beside it to call in to the meeting. It is recommended to download Microsoft TEAMS onto your device to benefit from all its features, but you can still click the link and use TEAMS through your internet browser.

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device:

Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 280 601 967 688
Passcode: RJktVT
Or call in (audio only)
+1 778-731-1352,,960291101# Canada, Port Moody
Phone Conference ID: 960 291 101#

Family and Friends is a regularly scheduled meeting for family members, friends or representatives of residents in Menno Home and Menno Hospital. Our guest speakers will be Chief Executive Officer Sujata Connors, Menno Home Director of Care and Infection Control Kim Scott and Recruitment and Talent Specialist Kristina Van Der Zwan. Each will be discussing their roles and how they support our staff, residents and families at Menno Home and Menno Hospital.

Family Council is a great way to connect and learn about the opportunities that are on the Menno Place campus, as well as getting to know other family members that are on a similar journey with their loved ones in long term care. We hope you will be able to join us.

Join the fun for Grandparents Day on September 9th!

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It’s a free afternoon for the whole family! Join your loved one in the Menno Place courtyard on September 9th from 11am – 2pm for games, crafts, live entertainment and more!

Read more

Staying Cool in Hot Weather

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It’s going to be hot for the next couple of days. Make sure you know how to stay cool and safe and watch out for symptoms of heat exhaustion.

How to keep your body cool and comfortable:

  • Drink lots of fluids
  • Stay in a cool space
  • Wet a facecloth with cold water and put it on the back of your neck
  • Dress in loose fitting, light colored and breathable fabrics
  • Pay attention to how you feel and watch for symptoms of heat exhaustion

How to keep your apartment cool and comfortable:

  • Make sure the heat is turned off
  • Keep your doors and windows closed during the day (you can open them overnight)
  • Close your blinds or curtains
  • Limit outside walks to the early morning
  • Cool off in the air-conditioned common areas of your building

Watch out for symptoms of heat exhaustion:

If you experience any of the following symptoms move to cool space immediately and let someone know you are not feeling well: skin rash, heavy sweating, headache, dizziness or fainting, nausea or vomiting, rapid heartbeat and breathing, muscle cramps, extreme thirst, and/or dark urine or decreased urination.

Leonard Klassen
Interim Manager of Independent and Supportive Living

If you have any questions please contact reception – 604-851-4004 (Terrace East and Terrace West) or 604-851-4000 (Primrose Gardens and Pavilion).

Increased Water Restrictions in Abbotsford

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Due to prolonged dry weather the city of Abbotsford has raised the water restrictions to level 3. This will not cause any changes to resident care – showers, meals, and laundry remain the same – but residents and visitors will notice some changes to the campus grounds.

These changes include:

  • All fountains on campus have been turned off
  • Grass will not be watered and will go dormant and turn brown

It’s important that we all work together to follow the guidelines and help conserve water. What can you do to help?

For Residents:

  • Please let staff know right away if any of the taps in your apartment are dripping or leaking
  • You can still water plants on your balcony/patio using a watering can

For Staff and Families please remember to follow the city guidelines:

  • Lawn sprinkling is prohibited
  • All water features must be turned off
  • No washing cars or boats
  • No filling or refilling pools

The hanging baskets by the main doors of each building are on a drip system so they will not be affected by these changes. Thank you for working with us to be good neighbors. If you have any questions about water restrictions please contact Leonard Klassen – Leonard.Klassen@mennoplace.ca .