Supportive Living Family Update March 13

Here to keep you updated! St. Michael’s family updates/news as things change and evolve. Links to information and resources can be found on smhg.ca/covid19

We would like to let you know that SMHG is following the COVID-19 developments very closely and are doing everything possible to follow Health Canada and AHS protocols to keep our residents safe.

Along with heightened cleaning throughout the facility, and encouragement to all residents and staff to increase hand washing, we have cancelled all resident outings. During this uncertain time, we want to maintain as good a quality of life as we can for our residents and will continue with some in-house recreational activities, taking extra precautions to clean and sanitize all equipment after each use. We are evaluating this daily and, are prepared to cancel recreational activities should the situation change. We will adjust our operations relating to COVID-19 based on the best medical advice we receive.

In addition to the above, more aggressive measures are being adopted to prevent the introduction or spread of this virus in this facility.

Effective immediately, we are asking that you, or any other family/friends do not visit the facility.

Anyone, other than staff or emergency personnel arriving at the facility will be stopped and asked to leave.

Contact with your loved one is encouraged via telephone during this time.

We know that seniors who live in our communal environments often have chronic diseases that will limit their ability to fight this virus compared to younger, healthier populations. Similar to other respiratory diseases, the support and cooperation of our families and visitors is fundamental to protecting our vulnerable residents from exposure and preventing an outbreak. We therefore ask for your help and cooperation to keep our residents safe.

While we cannot prevent our residents from leaving the facility, we highly recommend that they remain on site. Should they choose to leave the facility, you can help us by reminding them to follow these guidelines:

  • Avoid handshaking person-to-person contact.
  • Wash your hands often and well.
  • Avoid touching your face, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • If sick, cover your cough and sneezes and then immediately wash your hands.
  • Avoid close contact (when possible) with people who are ill with respiratory symptoms.
  • Clean and disinfect surfaces that are frequently touched.
  • Wipe personal (cell phones) and shared objects (computers, etc.) often and before you use them. Contact time with a wipe must be 1 minute.
  • Avoid large gatherings. If you need to enter public spaces (shopping center) use hand sanitizer/wipes if available on entry and exit.

Please share this message with all members of your family or friends considering
visiting.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the facility Manager.

Also, if SMHG does not already have your email address on file, please provide it to the facility Manager so that we may keep you updated with any developments.

Thank you.