April 14, 2022
Hello everyone,
Here we are on the cusp of celebrating a holiday weekend with friends and loved ones, and once again, we need to consider the implications of COVD-19. Experts confirm that we are officially in the sixth wave of the pandemic. Health officials in Alberta and Ontario are warning that transmission is rising, based on positivity rates, hospitalizations and wastewater data trending upward.
We know that the most significant risk to the health of team members and residents is spread within the greater community. Currently, we are seeing increased incidences of staff and residents being affected due to close contact with an affected family member and/or friend. This increases the likelihood that Communicable Disease Control (Alberta) or Public Health (Ontario) will have to place our homes into outbreak status due to two or more staff or resident cases.
While there is much anticipation of gathering this weekend, we strongly recommend that residents, families and team members limit their social interactions, wear a mask, keep physically distanced and practice good hand hygiene. In addition, please find below some of our current protocols:
Visitation
We cannot stress enough that family and visitors should not visit if there is any doubt that you are experiencing even mild COVID-19 symptoms. Seasons’ Health Questionnaire on Cubigo is exhaustive for potential symptoms and is specific about your own risk of exposure: Please ensure you read the health screening questions carefully and answer truthfully. We ask that you do not visit even if you have a single, mild symptom of illness or have been identified as a close contact.
Testing
Seasons strongly encourages all family and friends who are planning to visit to secure a negative rapid test before coming to the residence. Rapid test kits are readily available in pharmacies or grocery stores in Alberta and Ontario and are easy to self-administer. If someone in a household is asymptomatic but COVID-19 positive, testing can help prevent community spread.
As a result of this new surge, Seasons will be re-instituting asymptomatic rapid-antigen testing for team members before each shift.
Asymptomatic Designated Essential Visitors and team members who have been identified as a close contact are requested to secure a negative PCR test before returning to the residence. Ontario has identified these roles as a priority at testing centres. In Alberta, we ask you to please work in partnership with the General Manager and/or Health and Wellness Manager.
Masking
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Teresa Tam, advises Canadians to “continue to wear a mask, regardless of varying jurisdictional guidelines, as the country sees a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.”
We strongly encourage residents to consider Dr. Tam’s comments and wear a mask whenever they are not in their suites, especially when they leave our premises. A reminder to families that masks covering the nose and mouth must be worn for the duration of a visit at Seasons.
Resident Health Screening
We continue to conduct daily health screening of residents and remind residents to alert team members if they feel unwell immediately.
Cleaning Protocols
Seasons remains committed to additional disinfecting of high touch areas.
Please rest assured that Seasons Retirement Communities continues to follow all government directives, meeting or exceeding their required COVID-19 infection prevention and control protocols for congregate care settings. We also uphold our mandatory vaccination policy for all team members.
We continue to advocate on staff and residents’ behalf to our sector regulators and government bodies that these high vaccination/low positivity rates are reasons to amend certain restrictions to benefit our residents’ overall well-being. The increase of Variants of Concern (VOCs) and the added risk they pose mean we have a ways to go before restrictions can be lifted and fully return to operation as usual.
In the meantime, Seasons remains committed to the health and safety of all who live and work with us. Thank you all for your ongoing patience and cooperation, as it takes a collective effort to minimize the spread of this relentless virus. I wish you a Happy Easter or a Happy Passover to those who observe. And to everyone, may you and those you love enjoy a safe, healthy holiday weekend.
Sincerely,
LeighAnne Voll
Chief Operating Officer,
Seasons Retirement Communities
For additional online resources for COVID-19 you can visit the following sites:
Canada Health
Alberta Health
Alberta Health Services
Public Health Ontario
Retirement Home Regulatory Authority