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

Your role in protection and prevention of outbreaks, including Coronavirus (COVID-19)

1. 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
2. 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.
3. Avoid close contact with people who are sick
4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
5. Stay in your own home when you are sick
6. Cover yoru cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash
7. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe