COVID-19 Update – March 13th

At Golden Life, the health and wellbeing of our residents (and our employees) is paramount

Golden Life is committed to resident and employee safety and security and as such has a proactive plan in place to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 (novel Coronavirus). Currently we are working with Provincial Health Authorities to monitor when cases are confirmed and at this time our BC Villages are all in towns and cities that have not as yet been affected. We are aware that the Calgary region has some confirmed cases of COVID-19.

We have already increased precautions and ask that you help with the effort by following our enhanced viral prevention procedures. We will provide further updates as new information becomes available. We encourage you to monitor the news section of our website; this information is current as of March 13, 2020.

What can you do to reduce the risks?
The top prevention measures with any respiratory virus include the following:

1. Washing your hands often with soap and water (always after using the washroom, coughing or sneezing, eating and/or providing care to a resident);
2. Avoid touching your face and eyes with unwashed hands;
3. Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing;
4. Avoid unnecessary exposure to others who are unwell;
5. Stay home when you are sick (following standard reporting procedures).

Exposure risk mitigation
If you have travelled outside of Canada to a country with a Level 3 Travel Advisory (China, Iran, Europe, etc) in the past 14 days, and/or if you leave the country on or after March 13, 2020 OR had contact with somebody with a confirmed case of novel Coronavirus – please self-isolate at home for at least 14 days since returning to Canada/or since your last contact with the infected person. See the link below for more details on self-isolation. In any case, we would ask that not visit one of our Villages until after you’ve completed the full self-isolation period of time.

Additional precautions in place at all Golden Life Villages

Access to our Villages

• Signs are posted at the entrance instructing visitors not to visit if they have symptoms of respiratory infection, a fever and/or if they are generally not feeling well.
• Employees and Visitors are required to complete a risk mitigation screening questionnaire when arriving at our Villages.
• Visitors and Staff must use hand sanitizer before entering the Village.
• Visitors and staff will have their temperature checked when arriving at the Village.
• Only the main entrance at each Village will be open – all other access points will be locked (for entry purposes).
• Visiting hours at all of our Villages across BC and AB, will be limited to mirror when reception is present (See each Village reception schedule for specific hours).

Health Monitoring

• Ensuring that employees stay home to rest and recover, if they have symptoms of respiratory infection and/or a fever at or above 38 degrees Celsius.
• Employees need to be symptom-free for 48 hours, or 5 days must have passed since onset of illness, whichever is the longer period of time.
• Continually monitoring and assessing resident’s symptoms of respiratory infection and implementing appropriate infection prevention practices for symptomatic residents.
• Reporting resident and staff symptoms to appropriate health authority immediately upon identification.
• Enhanced Sanitation Measures and PPE
• Ensuring that public/staff washrooms at our Villages are well stocked with soap and paper towels for hand washing.
• Increased environmental cleaning will include disinfecting all surfaces regularly in common areas and removing any unnecessary items or soft surfaces (such as throw pillows, blankets).
• Having a sufficient supply of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), including facemasks, eye protection, gowns, and gloves, available immediately, as needed, in case of an outbreak (for our employees).

Additional Information – Questions

• National evidence-based information about COVID-19 and self-isolation is available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html
• If you have further questions the Public Health Agency of Canada has a toll-free phone number (1-833-784-4397) for Canadians inquiring about COVID- 19.
• You may also speak with the Director of Care and/or Community Manager for more information.
• The manager and/or DOC (where applicable) will provide updates on a regular basis through meetings and posting of information at the Village.
• Monitor www.GoldenLife.ca for updates.