Hello Everyone,
I feel the need to provide some clarity to the direction that was provided in the April 7 newsletter. The specific areas that I would like to review with you are around masking, and eating of food.
Masking Inside:
Masks are required at all times in the Home. There are 2 exceptions to this rule:
1) If you are in a residents private room with only one resident, you can remove your mask.
NOTE: If your loved one lives in a room that is shared with a roommate, then you must keep your mask on the entire time you are in the room. You can go and enjoy your visit in the Gibbard Dining Room without your mask on if it is not already booked by another family.
2) The Gibbard Family Dining Rooms (located on each Home Area), are considered designated eating areas for families with residents. Essential Caregivers/General Visitors may remove their mask and eat in these spaces as well.
Please ensure that if a staff member or another resident enters the private room you are in or into the Gibbard Family Dining Room, you will need to put your mask back on before they can enter.
All common spaces, hallways etc in JMPC require masks to be worn at all times.
Masking Outside
The Ministry now no longer requires essential caregivers or general visitors to mask while visiting with a resident outside.
Food and Drinks
Feel free to grab a cup of coffee/tea from the coffee bar on either floor and take it to the residents room or outside to enjoy. The coffee room areas, lounges and all other public areas are not areas where Non-residents can consume their beverages/food.
There is no eating or drinking except in the residents private room, or in the Gibbard Dining Rooms. Those residents in a shared room are only to eat in the Gibbard Dining Rooms.
There is a Gibbard Dining Room on each Home area that can be booked through reception. If you would like to book a Gibbard Dining Room, this room needs to be booked in advance Mon-Fri during business hours with Colleen at reception.
Please note: At this time, there are no meal tickets available for purchase.
Swabbing
We continue to have our swabbing area fully stocked and strongly encourage you to continue to swab. You can choose to either wait the 15 minutes to confirm that you are negative, or alternatively, you can take the test strip with you and monitor it yourself. If, after 15 minutes, there are 2 lines (even if the second one is faint), then your test is positive. If you test positive, please notify the Charge Nurse immediately and exit the building. If your test has only one line, then your test is negative and you can discard the test strip.
Visiting Hours
Visiting hours are from 9:00am - 9:00pm for both Designated essential caregivers and general visitors. You will be required to key in the following code 1234B to unlock the doors to enter and 1234B to unlock the door to exit. Please be very mindful to not let other residents out the door as you enter/exit.
If a resident is returning after 9:00pm to the Home, they will need to push the door bell (located beside the key pad). This door bell rings to the Team Leader wireless phone and they will come and open the door for the resident.
We did have some programming errors with the door pad code and intercom system last weekend but this has since been resolved.
Animals
If you are bringing a pet into the Home, please ensure that you have provided their up to date vaccinations. If you have not yet done this, please provide to reception so that we can take a copy of this for our records.
Hopefully this provides a better understanding of our path forward.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding,
Angela Malcolm
Director
