On Monday, March 16, the Niverville Heritage Centre campus released a statement regarding their response to COVID-19. The campus is home to many seniors living within the life lease, assisted living, and personal care home suites. And according to health officials, seniors are among those who are at greatest risk of contracting the virus.
“The executive team and leadership here on the Niverville Heritage Centre campus have been working at developing an action plan that can be implemented across our campus,” Wes Hildebrand, Chief Executive Officer, said in the statement. “A plan that can be flexible yet effective in these changing times.”
The campus’s Public Health Emergency Operation Plan recognizes four levels of action in situations of concern: creating awareness, exercising caution, implementing immediate action, and finally a complete shutdown of the facility, focusing only on the residents.
Working closely with the regional health authority, Southern Health-Santé Sud, the leadership at the Heritage Centre has placed the facility in the cautionary phase.
But Hildebrand admits that could change quickly.
“We recognize there are things happening around us, but at this stage we have no residents or team members exhibiting symptoms,” Hildebrand says. “For this we are thankful.”
If that should change, residents who do begin to exhibit symptoms will be quickly tested and families of residents will be informed, as well as any staff person whose has been in contact with the individual resident.
Staffers demonstrating symptoms will be immediately sent home and instructed to call Health Links and get tested. They will be expected to assume self-isolation until test results come back. If they test positive, staffers will not return to work without a medical clearance to do so.
The Heritage Centre is also stepping up its game in terms of extra sanitizing throughout the facility. Cleaning staff is being asked to disinfect public and personal areas two or three times as often as they normally would.
As a proactive measure, the Heritage Centre will be limiting visitors coming into the Niverville Credit Union manor and the personal care home.
“If a person has been outside of Canada in the last two weeks, they will be asked to not come to the campus to visit their family member,” Hildebrand says. “The only exception will be if the family member is at the end-of-life stage.”
Resident access to other areas of the campus will also be restricted. Life lease residents will no longer gain access to public areas via the manor, and manor residents will no longer be able to attend recreational activities within the personal care home.
As well, off-site recreational programs are being cancelled, as are any seniors’ programs or events where outsiders would normally come in.
Staff persons, too, will be asked to stay away from areas where they are not required to be unless they are required to transfer to areas of greater need if the situation should arise.
“We will maintain our diligence and keep you informed with relevant information as we are aware of it,” Hildebrand says. “There are many facets to what is happening and things at times are changing quickly, so we also ask for patience.”
