Dear Tabor Village Family and Friends:
The New Reality
Most of us woke up Monday morning this week to a very different reality from what we were expecting last month – or even last week. Children home from school or university, entire companies working from home, families self-quarantining – and yet somehow, the world is still turning and we’re expected to work and live our lives in the new reality. Our world now plagued with Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19). Family members restricted from visiting loved ones living in Long Term Care (LTC) and Assisted Living (AL) communities. Due to the serious threat of this dangerous virus, around the globe, care homes only accessible to essential staff members.
COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention Plan
At Tabor Village, the COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention Plan has been implemented to protect the health and safety of residents/tenants and the employees who care for them. The goal of the Plan is to prevent and reduce the risk of an outbreak occurring at Tabor Village. This week, the Outbreak Prevention Committee conducted a table top exercise on Zoom videoconferencing to test the assumptions of the COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention Plan and we are pleased to report that Tabor Village is well prepared for the worst case scenarios. As you would expect we are praying for the best possible scenario - to remain a virus free zone!
Employee Health and Safety
Before and after each shift, staff complete a health self-assessment and are screened at a single entranceway to the building. Staff working in resident/tenant areas are now wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and regularly wash their hands as per infection control guidelines. Staff members have chosen to work at only one health care site to reduce the risk of the virus being spread between care homes. Physical distancing is practiced at all times while staff are onsite. There is an expectation that health care staff are exceptionally prudent on following the rules of physical distancing when not at work and stay home as much as possible only socializing with their immediate family members whom they live with in their home. This is the group of people that pose the most risk to seniors in LTC and AL to unknowingly introduce the virus to Tabor Village. Employees are taking the responsibility of not transmitting the virus extremely seriously and holding each other accountable. We are blessed with dedicated employees!
Maintaining Social Connections
The Therapeutic Recreation team has introduced a variety of ways of maintaining contact with your loved one. This includes video conferencing utilizing donated iPads making virtual connections with family members. This type of gerotechnology increases vitality, health, well-being, and quality of life - continuing human development throughout the aging journey. Adaptive programming like Bingo played in the corridors where older adults sit in their doorways with Bingo cards placed on top of their bedside table while a staff members calls out the lucky letters/numbers. A picture of this innovative program which turned the hallway into a games room posted on the professional social media site LinkedIn, has received more than 10,000 views from around the world. There is no C-19 in Bingo! Family members have visited their loved ones standing outside 6 feet away peering into the resident’s room speaking through an open window screen. Another family arranged to sing happy birthday to their mom from an outdoor courtyard. Many stories have been shared of messages, artwork and photos being sent via the Tabor Village website to their loved one. Next week, seniors living at a nursing home in northern Italy will be teleconferencing with older adults at Tabor Village. It is all about maintaining those essential connections that are so important to combat loneliness and boredom.
Do Your Part
Each of us must also continue to follow good hand hygiene, stay home as much as possible and stay apart with physical distancing. We must commit to only socializing in person with those who live within our household. The orders and precautions in place, and everything being done at Tabor Village, the sacrifices you and your family are making along with those working on the front lines of this health care crisis need your 100% commitment to protect the most vulnerable in our community, the seniors living in LTC and AL, from contracting this dangerous virus.
Easter
In the coming weeks we will be observing Easter, which has always been a major religious celebration on the Tabor Village calendar. Just as we have seen around the world with other events large and small, we encourage you to postpone all in-person gatherings and use the many teleconferencing tools like Zoom to connect with your family, friends and church congregation.
Call to Prayer – A Challenging Word of Encouragement
Unprecedented times call for unprecedented prayer. Indeed, it’s one of the unique opportunities presented by this season of crisis. On Wednesday April 8, the first day of Passover, you are invited to join in prayer across the country “for the Angel of Death to PASS OVER Canada (and specifically the Tabor Village community), just as it did for Israel during the first Passover.” We boldly pray together for God’s intervention to end this pandemic.
Thank You for Doing the Right Thing!
Thank you for everything you are doing during the global pandemic to ensure the health and safety of everyone you know. It is the right thing to do and something we all must do.
With the sincerest of appreciation,
Dan Levitt, MSc., CHE
Executive Director
604-859-8715 ext. 102
