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COVID-19 Update Jan 27, 2021: Updated Vaccine Eligibility & Cubigo Launch

January 27, 2021

COVID-19-Blog

Hello everyone,

I am happy to report that the outbreak at Seasons Amherstburg was rescinded.  I will now update you on the three outbreaks we are currently dealing with.  For our staff, residents and families at Seasons Camrose, Seasons St. Thomas and Seasons Welland, please refer to your site-specific updates and communication for current outbreak protocols and restrictions in place at your homes.

Seasons Camrose in Alberta.  I am sad to report that we had another resident pass away from COVID-19.  We have expressed our sincere condolences to this resident’s family and friends, as well as to the Seasons Camrose team members who cared for this person.  We had a number of resident and staff cases recover this past week, which is encouraging news.  At this time, we have a total of 8 Independent Living cases and 10 cases among our Designated Supportive Living residents.  We have 4 active staff cases.  Another round of prevalence testing took place yesterday and we will provide the Seasons Camrose community with an update as soon as those results are confirmed by laboratory testing.

Seasons St. Thomas in Ontario.  I am pleased to report that the situation at Seasons St. Thomas is stable.  The outbreak was limited to just one staff case, which is now considered resolved by Public Health.  If this continues, we anticipate that the outbreak will be rescinded this week.

Seasons Welland in Ontario.  Things are also progressing well at Seasons Welland.  As I noted last week, in a circumstance unrelated to our outbreak, Niagara Region Public Health confirmed that an LHIN Paramed homecare worker had tested positive for COVID-19. Testing revealed only one positive resident case, though one additional resident test result is still pending at this time.  We have zero staff cases at this time.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Due to a shortage of vaccines, many Seasons communities have been contacted by their Local Public Health Units (LPHU) and/or Alberta Health Services (AHS) to delay either first round or second round vaccination clinics.  This is a disappointing development in the vaccination roll-out plan and Seasons is at the mercy of the government in terms of the next steps.

Some regions will allow us to add a Designated Family/Support Person/Caregiver to our vaccination lists: Please understand that each region determines who and how many team members/essential caregivers can participate at any given time, not Seasons.  Rest assured, if you have expressed your desire to participate we will let you know as soon as possible.

As we have noted in our past Memos, AHS has been focusing on vaccinations for Designated Supportive Living residents first.  This has left many independent living residents and their families understandably upset about being overlooked.  Seasons has advocated for the prioritization of vaccines for all residents in congregate settings such as our retirement communities.  For more information on Alberta Health’s phased approach to vaccination, please visit their website.

Should you wish to express your concern, we encourage you to write to your local MPP or go directly to Premier Kenney’s office or to Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

Alberta Vaccination Eligibility & Clinic Dates:

Community Residents Eligible Date of 1st Dose Date of 2nd Dose Team Members Eligible Essential Visitor Eligible
Seasons Camrose DSL only at this time Jan 12th Feb 8th Yes No
Seasons Drayton Valley DSL only at this time Jan 14th Feb 11th Yes No
Seasons Encore DSL only at this time Jan 5th Jan 27th Yes No
Seasons High River All Jan 8th Feb 4th Yes No
Seasons Lethbridge Not yet Yes No
Seasons Lethbridge Gardens Not yet Yes No
Seasons Olds All Jan 17th Feb 9th Yes No
Seasons Ponoka All Jan 16th Feb 11th Yes No
Seasons Wetaskiwin DSL only at this time Jan 12th Yes No

Ontario Vaccination Eligibility & Clinic Dates:

Community Residents Eligible Date of 1st Dose Date of 2nd Dose Team Members Eligible Essential Visitor Eligible
Seasons Amherstburg Yes Jan 11th Yes No
Seasons Belle River Yes Jan 18th Yes No
Seasons Brantford Yes Jan 19th Yes No
Seasons Cambridge Yes Jan 21st Yes Yes
Seasons Clarington No Jan 21st Yes No
Seasons Dufferin Centre Not yet Not yet No
Seasons Milton Yes Jan 27th Yes Yes
Seasons Owen Sound Not yet Not yet No
Seasons Royal Oak Village Yes Jan 15th Feb 12th Yes No
Seasons Strathroy Not yet Yes No
Seasons St. Thomas Not yet Yes No
Seasons Stoney Creek Yes Jan 20th Yes Yes
Seasons Welland Yes Jan 29th Yes No

While the news of the vaccine rollout is exciting and gives us hope, we must remain vigilant. The immunity provided by the vaccine is not fully effective until after the second dose is administered.  In the meantime, in the interest of everyone’s safety, we continue to ask all residents to adhere to the following protocols:

  • Self-isolate for 14 days if you did not follow provincial requests to remain on-site, instead choosing to visit with friends and/or family at another household, especially where infection prevention and control protocols were not followed
  • Wear a mask continuously when you are not in your suite
  • Practice good hand hygiene and physical distancing
  • If you feel unwell, report it immediately to a Seasons Team Member

We continue to ask all Designated Visitors to:

  • Review our infection prevention and control training tools as required monthly
  • Not visit a Seasons Community for 14 days if you visited with family and/or friends from another household within the last week
  • Wear a mask continuously while visiting a Seasons resident (this means not eating or drinking while you are visiting)
  • Practice good hand hygiene and physical distancing
  • If, after your visit, you become symptomatic or are notified that you had close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual, please contact Seasons immediately

We continue to ask all team members to:

  • Practice all infection prevention and control (IPAC) protocols
  • Refrain from visiting with friends and/or family that are not in your household
  • Practice physical distancing from fellow team members during breaks

Cubigo. Our first week of utilizing Cubigo has seen good feedback from residents and families. We are glad to hear that you are enjoying an increased sense of engagement and connectedness, along with other helpful features such as the ability to view menus, calendars and pictures from your respective communities. We appreciate your patience as we continue to familiarize ourselves with this new platform. We look forward to the launch of the accompanying in-suite TV channel for residents soon. As a reminder, please reach out to the Business Manager if you do not have access yet and they will be happy to help get you set up on Cubigo.

Our greatest priority remains the health and safety of our staff and residents. Whether you work, live or support a loved one at Seasons, I want to thank you all for your continued vigilance and commitment to the collective health and safety of our retirement communities.

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

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