Ministry of Health – Overview of Visitors
Download the PDF from the British Columbia Ministry of Health, Effective July 19, 2021
Ministry of Health – Overview of Visitors in Long-Term Care and Seniors’ Assisted Living
The Best Christmas Present for 2020 – Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for our Residents!
The Best Christmas Present for 2020 – Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for our Residents!
We are beyond excited to let you know that Fraser Health called us this afternoon to let us know that all residents of Menno Home and Menno Hospital (long-term care) will be provided with the MODERNA COVID-19 vaccination.
We are working with our pharmacy, Rexall, to organize the details of storage and the team to provide the vaccinations. The great news is that this vaccine can be brought to our residents and they do not need to be moved off campus in order to get this vaccine (unlike the Pfizer vaccine that had to be stored at -70C).
All primary contacts will be contacted for consent for their loved one to receive the vaccine when it becomes available. All residents will be screened for allergies and sensitivities to ensure that there is not a contraindication for anyone. This vaccine has not, yet, been approved by Health Canada. It will arrive 24 – 48 hours after regulatory approval.
Menno Place will, with Fraser Health and other long-term care homes make our plans with the assumption that the Moderna vaccine will be made available.
As we move forward, we will advocate for all the seniors who live at Menno Place (Assisted Living and Independent Living) to qualify for this vaccine.
We continue to send our staff for vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine. We are sending 65 staff per day to the vaccination clinic. Pearl Nucich, our Executive Assistant has done an exceptional job in pulling together this administrative task! Our staff are eager to have and bring this safety to their lives and to Menno Place residents.
We are grateful. We are hopeful. We are so very thankful for your support throughout this extraordinarily difficult pandemic. An end is in sight for our loved ones living in care!
We are so happy for all of you who have loved ones living in long-term care here at Menno Place!
MEMO: PG, TW & TE Isolation Period Lifted Sunday, Aug 30
Menno Place Memo
To: All Residents, Staff & Families of Menno Place
Re: Primrose Gardens, Terrace West & Terrace East Self-Isolation Period Lifted Sunday, August 30th, 2020
Date: Saturday, August 29, 2020
As of Saturday, August 29th, NO residents of Primrose Gardens and Terrace West Independent Living Apartments and Terrace East Assisted Living Apartments have tested positive or are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.
The self isolation period for these residents will be lifted on Sunday, August 30th, 2020 at 9:00am.
- Residents are permitted to leave their suites and go outdoors if they are feeling well.
- Masks must be worn in indoor public spaces, and outdoors if a physical distance of 6 feet cannot be maintained. Residents, family and friends are no longer required to wear a mask outdoors on the Menno Place campus as long as they remain 6 feet apart.
- Registered Visitors of Primrose Gardens and Terrace West may resume their visits and deliveries as before. Indoor masks and hand hygiene required.
- Residents of Primrose Gardens, Terrace West & Terrace East may resume walks to Mill Lake, shopping, appointments, and short visits to family members’ homes as before. Masks must be worn and a physical distance of 6 feet must be maintained. Any gatherings off campus may not be larger than 50 people. We encourage residents not to attend large gatherings if possible.
- Meals in the dining room will resume next week. Invitations will be issued as before.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
- Your safe, physically distanced outdoor visit on the Menno Place campus is a no-touch visit. No holding hands, shaking hands, back rubbing, hugging, kissing, or touching.
- Every visitor is expected to practice hand hygiene. You should bring your own hand sanitizer with you so that you can clean your hands before and after your visit with your loved one.
- Only Registered Visitors may enter the apartment buildings. You must wear your ID badge to enter. There are NO visitors inside Terrace East. If a visitor needs to use the restroom, there is a porta-potty available near Terrace East at the Living Waters Garden. You must hand-sanitize after use.
- Residents: If you are going off of the Menno Place campus, keep yourself safe. Avoid crowds and practice hand hygiene. Always bring a mask and a personal sized hand sanitizer with you. Minimize the number of indoor events you go to each week (once per week is a reasonable number). Keep a physical distance of 6 feet between you and others. Sharing car rides should only be done with masks on.
- Continue to Self-Screen and report any symptoms to staff immediately:
Self-Screening Questions
Do you have new onset of any of these symptoms:
| Fever | Sore throat or painful swallowing | Muscle aches | |||
| Cough | Loss of sense of smell | Fatigue | |||
| Shortness of breath | Loss of sense of taste | Nausea and/or vomiting | |||
| Headache | Loss of appetite | Diarrhea | |||
| Chills | Runny nose | ||||
Do you have any of these risk factors?
| Been in close contact with anyone diagnosed with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 or anyone who has been to the US in the past two weeks? | |
| Been advised to self-isolate or quarantine at home by public health or a medical doctor/nurse? | |
| Been in hospital for more than 12 hours? |
Thank you for your patience and compliance during this self isolation period. If you have any questions, please contact Manager of Community Enrichment for Menno Place Apartments, Cheryl Dawes, at cheryl.dawes@mennoplace.ca or 604-851-4020.
All other protocols for Pavilion Independent Living and Long Term Care in Menno Home & Hospital remain unchanged.
Karen Biggs
CEO, Menno Place
P.S. Have you found our Family & Friends website? For information and updates, go to: www.MennoPlaceLife.com
For information and discussion with others whose loved one lives at Menno Place, please ask to join the Menno Place Family & Friends Facebook Group.
UPDATE: Isolation Period for Primrose Gardens, Terrace West & Terrace East
Menno Place Memo
To: All Residents, Staff & Families of Menno Place
Re: UPDATE: COVID-19 Exposure in Primrose Gardens & Terrace West Independent Living Apartments
Date: Monday, August 24th, 2020 1:30pm
On Friday, August 21st, Menno Place notified residents, family, and friends of a COVID-19 exposure in Primrose Gardens and Terrace West Independent Living Apartments. Read the Aug. 21 Memo here.
The exposed residents and their families have all been contacted and advised. Residents were swabbed on Saturday and all results have come back negative for COVID-19. We are cautiously optimistic as false negatives are possible among the elderly. We are monitoring symptoms and the situation closely.
Thank you for your prayerful support and for honouring our request to halt visits and deliveries on the Menno Place campus over the weekend.
At this time, we are asking ALL residents of Primrose Gardens, Terrace West AND Terrace East to abide by an isolation period until the morning of August 30th.
This means:
- Staying in your apartment.
- Meals will be delivered to your apartment.
- All hair appointments have been cancelled.
As Terrace East Assisted Living Apartments are connected to Terrace West Independent Living Apartments, we are asking those residents to also abide by this isolation period out of an abundance of caution.
Residents of Primrose Gardens, Terrace West, and Terrace East may continue to go to important medical appointments off-campus.
Registered Visitors of Primrose Gardens, Terrace West, and Terrace East must refrain from visiting or making deliveries to the campus until the morning of August 30th unless absolutely necessary.
Families and friends of residents in these facilities must wait until the morning of August 30th to resume outdoor visits.
To make arrangements for essential medical appointments, please contact Manager of Community Enrichment for Menno Place Apartments, Cheryl Dawes, at cheryl.dawes@mennoplace.ca or 604-851-4020. Essential grocery deliveries can be made with the receptionists.
Pavilion Independent Living residents may continue to have registered visitors and outdoor visits. Menno Home and Hospital Safe Social Visits will also continue as before.
We are grateful for the many messages of encouragement (like this one) that we received over the weekend:
“Thank you so much for all your careful work during these challenging times. I am praying for you. I have complete confidence that you are doing everything possible to keep the residents safe.”
Thank you for your cooperation and love for the residents and staff of Menno Place. We will continue to send necessary updates to the situation.
Karen Biggs
CEO, Menno Place
Have you found our Family & Friends website? For information and updates, go to: www.MennoPlaceLife.com
For information and discussion with others whose loved one lives at Menno Place, please ask to join the Menno Place Family & Friends Facebook Group.
FAQ’s:
How do I make essential grocery deliveries to my loved one until August 30th?
Essential grocery deliveries can be made 9am to 11:30am 7 days a week (on weekends, a phone number for dietary staff is posted on the outside door. Call and the dietary team will come to receive the groceries from you). Please remember to keep groceries “essential” until August 30th as to not overrun the receptionists. Primrose Garden grocery deliveries can be made at the main door with Brenda. Terrace East and Terrace West deliveries can be made at the Terrace East main door with Claire. If you use Save On or another grocery delivery service, deliveries also need to be during the hours mentioned above. Deliveries for Terrace East & West have to be made at the Terrace East main entrance.
My loved one lives in the Terrace East Assisted Living Apartments. If there was no COVID-19 exposure in Terrace East, why are they being asked to abide by the isolation period until the morning of August 30th?
Out of an abundance of caution. The Terrace East building is connected to Terrace West.
When will the rotating dining room schedule resume in Primrose Gardens, Terrace West and Terrace East?
Meals in the dining rooms in these buildings will resume after August 30th if there is no change to the situation. Residents will receive their invitations as before.
I have a Safe Social Visit booked with my loved one in Menno Home or Hospital. Should I reschedule my visit until after August 30th?
There has been no exposure to residents in Menno Home or Hospital. The Safe Social Visit sites are also in separate buildings from the exposure. You may keep your appointment if you are comfortable doing so.
If it is more than 24 hours before your appointment, you can reschedule quickly and easily by clicking on the ‘Change/Cancel’ button at the bottom of your appointment confirmation email. Please keep in mind that Safe Social Visits are on a rotating schedule through our units, and it may be several weeks until a time slot for your loved one’s unit becomes available again.
If you would like to cancel or reschedule and it is less than 24 hours before your appointment, please contact Life Enrichment Coordinator, Garry Janzen at garry.janzen@mennoplace.ca or 604-851-1332.
My loved one does not live in the exposed buildings. Why are you notifying me?
Out of an abundance of caution. It is important to us that you are aware of all COVID-19 related news.
MEMO: Fraser Health Home Support Worker Tests Positive for COVID-19
Menno Place Memo
To: All Residents, Staff & Families of Menno Place
Re: Use an Abundance of Caution on Campus — Fraser Health Home Support Worker Tests Positive for COVID-19
Date: Friday, August 21, 2020 6:30pm
On Friday, August 21st, 2020 Menno Place was notified that a Fraser Health Home Support Worker tested positive for COVID-19.
The individual has worked in both Primrose Gardens and Terrace West Independent Living Apartments within the last two weeks. Public Health has NOT declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Menno Place.
There is no cause for alarm at this time. We are informing you out of an abundance of caution. NO Menno Place staff or residents have tested positive for COVID-19 at this time.
Over the weekend, we encourage residents of Primrose Gardens and Terrace West to stay in their suites as much as possible, to wear masks whenever they are in indoor or outdoor public spaces, and to continue to wash or sanitize their hands regularly.
Meals will go back to being served in the apartment suites, and all hair appointments will be cancelled.
We ask that Registered Visitors of Primrose Gardens and Terrace West refrain from visiting or making deliveries to the campus this weekend unless absolutely necessary. Security will be on the premises to remind visitors.
We hope to have an update for you on Monday, August 24 or if Public Health advises us differently. Let’s continue to do as Dr. Henry asks and be kind, be calm, and be safe.
Karen Biggs
CEO, Menno Place
Have you found our Family & Friends website? For information and updates, go to: www.MennoPlaceLife.com
For information and discussion with others whose loved one lives at Menno Place, please ask to join the Menno Place Family & Friends Facebook Group.
*UPDATE* The residents who may have been exposed (and their families) have already been notified.
Donate a Mask
Menno Place is receiving donations of masks – medical for staff and non-medical for 350 Apartments residents. Accepting donations at 32945 Marshall Rd. Menno Hospital Main Entrance – patterns for sewing: https://tinyurl.com/yxyt383h | https://tinyurl.com/ttt45hd
Two patterns – Below
Center for Disease Control Pattern: Sew and No-Sew Mask
Pattern: CLICK HERE
SUAY Mask – 2x to 3x better at filtering particles than Cotton
Pattern: Click Here
COVID-19 PODCAST – Dr. Cherniwchan – Medical Director of Abbotsford’s COVID-19 Assessment and Treatment Unit + Pastor Gary Simpson
Dr. Cherniwchan is the Medical Director of the newly establishd COVID-19 Assessment and Treatment Unit in Abbotsford. Here he is doing a podcast with Gary Simpson, pastor of Broadway Church in Chilliwack. Lots to learn as we face the coronavirus and the fears around this virus.
Prevention and Control Plan for COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
March 16, 2020
Menno Place is dedicated to ensuring the health and safety of our elders and employees. We have developed a plan to minimize the risk of COVID-19 entering our home and deal with any outbreaks in the event that they do occur. We would also ask for your assistance in implementing the plan and ensuring that you understand and abide by any restrictions for the safety of our elders.
Prevention
We have posted signs indicating visitors should refrain from visiting Menno Place if they:
- develop a cough
- have a fever
- have difficulty breathing
- are feeling achy or unwell
- have travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days
- Visitors who are visibly ill and sneezing or coughing will be asked to leave and return when they are well
- We are monitoring staff and volunteers for signs of illness and asking them to self-report symptoms and stay home when unwell.
- We are monitoring staff travel. If staff travel outside of Canada, they will be unable to work or visit Menno Place for 14 days (as per BCCDC regulations)
- If COVID-19 outbreaks occur in other homes, any staff who work in the affected homes will be asked not to come to Menno Place until the outbreak at their other workplace has ended
- Larger activities have been cancelled
- We have educated nurses on recognizing respiratory outbreak symptoms, testing procedures and outbreak control measures to keep our elders and staff safe
- We have increased cleaning of high touch areas to try to prevent transmission of viruses within our buildings
- We have maintained adequate supplies of everything we will need to meet the needs of elders and ensure staff safety in an outbreak situation. The Medical Health Officer and Fraser Health have assured us that we will have access to additional supplies from them if needed
- We have emergency food and water supplies
What You Can Do to Help Our Elders
Do not visit Menno Place if you:
- develop a cough
- have a fever
- have cold or respiratory virus symptoms
- are feeling achy or unwell
- have travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days
- have been on a cruise ship in the last 14 days
If you are visiting Menno Place:
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitizer
- Avoid touching your face
- If you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue and wash your hands with soap and water. Face away from others when you sneeze or cough.
- Do not buy masks for home use. Buying of masks by the public at large has resulted in some supply shortages for those most at risk, specifically the care staff who work with our immune compromised elders.
What Would Happen in an Outbreak
- Public Health, Fraser Health and the Medical Health Officer would provide direction for outbreak interventions
- The outbreak protocol for COVID-19 is very similar to the current protocol for influenza and would be followed by Menno Place
- Visits would be discouraged until the outbreak was over
- Elders with COVID-19 would be cared for and fed in their rooms
- Group activities or gatherings would be cancelled
- Enhanced cleaning protocols would be put in place as per the outbreak protocol
- As always, significant health status changes would be communicated to elders’ primary contacts as soon as possible
Additional Information
We recommend the following links for current, accurate updates on the extent of the COVID-19 situation in the province:
www.bccdc.ca – BC Center for Disease Control
www.news.gov.bc.ca – BC Ministry of Health Updates
https://www.fraserhealth.ca/coronavirus#.XmgX8qipGUn – Fraser Health Authority Coronavirus Information
Visitor FAQs for Prevention and Control of COVID-19
If you answer YES to any of these questions, you may NOT visit:
- Do you have a fever?
- Do you have a new or worsening cought?
- Do you have a new or worsening shortness of breath?
- Have you visited a COVID-19 affected area in the past 14 days?
Presenting symptoms and still want to visit?
If you are presenting symptoms AND wish to visit for compassionate reasons (eg. due to the rapdily declining health status of a loved one), you must arrange your visit with the Director of Care (Menno Home and Hospital) or Manager, Community Enrichment (Apartments). You MUST wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which can be provided in advance. You MUST practice fastidious hand hygiene and wear a mask at all times.
Younger visitors
No visitors 10 years or younger (unless by special permission for compassionate reasons) to Menno Home, Hospital or Terrace East.
Number of visitors
Maximum 2 visitors per resident at any one time.
Location of visits
All social visiting to occur in resident room or apartment suite.
Groups
No large group activities including birthday parties, family reunions, church services or entertainment.
Are regular volunteers permitted?
Yes, as long as they are actively screening themselves based on questions (above).
Your role in prevention and protection of the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Your role in protection and prevention of outbreaks, including Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
- Stay in your own home when you are sick
- Cover yoru cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe
