To all Residents and their Families,
I would like to take a moment to thank each of you for your continued patience and resilience. We are pleased to report that, with your support, and with our staff’s ongoing dedication under the careful direction of our leadership team, we have demonstrated one of the best COVID-19 safety records in Western Canada! To date, there have been no resident cases of COVID-19 in any Golden Life Village. This is commendable, and we thank you for helping in that effort.
Our Independent and Assisted Living Villages have been transformed. We have markings to ensure social distancing, signage to explain group sizes, proper screening protocols and personal protective equipment available when required. We are elated that over the past couple of weeks our Villages have ensured safe environments that follow all provincial guidelines. This has allowed us to open up our dining rooms, increase fitness classes, resume bus service, and ease restrictions for residents requiring access to services in the greater community. Unfortunately, we are still under provincial orders that only essential visitors are permitted into the Village. However, you may come to the Village for a scheduled safe outdoor visit.
We continue to remind the residents who choose to access community services and businesses to follow proper social distancing, to not attend large gatherings, and to wear appropriate personal protective equipment. The protective equipment is for the residents’ own wellbeing, as well as for the safety of residents within the Village. A large majority (over 80%) of our resident base is choosing to remain in the Village and to not risk potential transmission from the community. Therefore, it’s imperative that our practices continue to be respectful of their safety and security. Residents who choose to venture into the community are required to be screened upon return and we request that they wear masks, whenever possible, both in and out of the Village to prevent any risks to themselves, other residents, and staff.
Over the past couple of days, we have heard from a Provincial Health Officer of an instance when a family gathering of 30 individuals resulted in 15 COVID-19 cases. We urge those who are bringing family out to please follow all provincial recommendations and orders and to not attend large gatherings. In addition, we are still under strong provincial recommendation to not accept non-essential items such as gifts and flowers unless they have gone through our sanitization process.
Most of our provincial orders remain unchanged for both BC Long Term Care and Alberta Supportive Living. There are currently no options for visits or deliveries. We have been asking our Health Authority Partners for updates as to when we will be able to accept visitors and we are still waiting on this much anticipated news.
With Father’s Day approaching, we have many families inquiring as to what can be done for their loved one, especially for those who cannot accept deliveries. For this reason, we have updated our online store (goldenlifegifts.ca) to allow families the opportunity to send small, affordable, and personalized gifts to their loved ones. We have received a lot of feedback and want to assure you that your gifts will be delivered discretely, ensuring that no one feels left out, and that we check each order to confirm that they meet clinical and dietary needs. If you order something that cannot be delivered for a care reason, we will call you with a refund or offer you an alternative solution. As with Mother’s Day, these gifts have been thoroughly screened by our clinical team to ensure that they are safe. To guarantee a Father’s Day delivery, all purchases through that website will need to be submitted by 3:00pm MST on Tuesday, June 16th.
If you would like to arrange a site visit please contact your Village to hear what options are available under the current, applicable provincial orders. In addition, for those wishing to reach out to their loved ones, but who are unable to be on site, you may book one of our Village tablets for a virtual visit. Please contact your Village to arrange one of these visits in advance to guarantee your spot.
Once again, we thank-you for your support. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we operate, the delivery of our services, and the way we interact with each other both within and outside of our Villages. What hasn’t changed is our deep commitment to provide our seniors with the best quality of life and we are doing everything we can within provincial orders and best practice guidelines to meet this goal. This is new territory for all of us and together we will find the best way forward for the health, safety, security and well-being of our residents. As we say, it truly takes a Village to care.
Sincerely,
Celeste Mullin, Vice President