April 20, 2020
I want to begin by providing an update on our homes in outbreak status. The teams at Seasons Welland and Seasons Strathroy continue to work closely with their local Public Health units and we thank them for their commitment to our residents’ safety and well-being.
Additionally, late last week we were informed that five team members at Seasons High River tested positive for COVID-19. Four out of these five team members had close contact with someone in their household who works at the Cargill meat processing plant. The daily health screening tool we use for all team members worked as intended; through this protocol, we were able to identify at-risk team members and advise them to self-isolate at home. We are currently awaiting test results for other team members. Thankfully, we have no suspected resident cases at this time.
I want to thank our residents for their patience with our suite-isolation practice. We are working on plans to reintroduce “normalcy” to our operations, however; wide-spread testing of asymptomatic residents and staff is still not available to retirement homes, and we know that when people gather in groups there is an increased risk for transmission. This leads us to believe the risk to residents remains high. Without the ability to test everyone, we believe that insulating residents from contamination in the larger community is one of our best defenses against the spread of COVID-19 in our homes.
For everyone’s protection, we continue to follow Public Health guidelines regarding the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). As of last week, we updated our protocol to direct all staff members to wear masks at work. For a list of all our Heightened Precautionary Protocols, please click here.
We are keenly aware of how difficult isolation is for our residents. Our teams continue to look for ways to safely engage and connect with residents, paying particular attention to their mental health and emotional well-being.
Thank you to all Seasons team members who continue to creatively create “wow-moments” for our residents. I have received numerous letters and calls from residents and families who deeply appreciate these efforts.
It has been heartwarming to hear of the many acts of kindness the friends and families of Seasons have been sending to our staff and residents. Thank you all, it means a lot. You can see examples of this ‘Little Extra Love’ on our Seasons Facebook page and social media channels.
Please rest assured that we remain vigilant in our efforts to keep Seasons team members and residents safe and healthy. We will get through this together.
Sincerely,
LeighAnne Voll,
Chief Operating Officer
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