Dear Families and Friends,
With Dr. Bonnie Henry announcing last week new guidelines to visitation at Long Term and Assisted Living in BC. Nikkei home is working extremely hard in putting in place these changes to ensure the Health and Safety of our residents and staff. Furthermore, our community cases are climbing rapidly, and we must continue to be vigilant in our efforts to work together to keep everyone safe. Dr. Henry acknowledges that the changes to Long Term Care and Assisted Living facilities will increase the risk of outbreaks. However, the consensus working with BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA), Provincial Health of BC and Fraser Health Authority is that the benefit of more family interaction outweighs the risks.
Vaccinations have added an extra layer of protection for our residents/staff. However, we can still get and transmit the virus asymptomatically and show minimal symptoms. To ensure infection, prevention and control, we at Nikkei Home encourage outdoor visits “Fewer faces and bigger spaces”.
Should we identify a covid positive case at Nikkei Home, we will be required to be on “Outbreak” procedures, which would result in the suspension of all visits until the Health Authority clears us.
Please do not visit if you are feeling unwell.
Key Changes to Social Visits at Nikkei Home effective April 1st, 2021
- Residents are permitted to have up to two visitors and one child (under 18) for visits in their suites. Visitors are asked not to visit anyone else on their way to and from the suite.
- Visits are not yet permitted in common areas.
- Holding Hands is permitted. Both the resident and visitor must perform hand hygiene before and after holding hands.
- Outdoor visits/walks, to follow Provincial Health Order, no more than ten in a group. We encourage Medical Masks where physical distancing can not be maintained.
- Residents are now permitted to leave Nikkei Home with family members for outings and visits. We must continue to follow the Medical Health Order in place for all BC residents.
Moreover, it includes visiting outside instead of inside, maintaining physical distancing, and wearing a mask. If you choose to share a meal, this should be outside and distanced, with no shared food (i.e. dips or shared bowls) - Outings to grocery stores, hairdressers, and restaurants (when open) are permitted.
What measures are continuing at Nikkei Home
- All visits must be booked ahead of time (24-48 hrs) to Matsuo Story 604-777-5000 ext. 2007 or [email protected].
- Prescreening form must be completed 24 hours in advance. Click here to fill out.
- Medical masks must be worn at all times inside Nikkei Home, practice social distancing and hand hygiene. Visitors are asked to perform Hand Hygiene regularly while onsite.
- All Visitors must be screened prior to entering and sign out when leaving Nikkei Home.
- Please refrain from eating or drinking while onsite. To do so requires the removal of masks, which increases the risk of spread.
- Residents are required to sign in and out of the facility for contact tracing. Also, we encourage residents to change their clothes upon returning.
Dining room – We are still working towards a plan for communal dining. Stay tuned!
For more information, please click here: Province-wide restrictions – Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca)
This is a lot of changes at one time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Tara, Nancy or Jay about the changes. We are looking forward to working together with everyone in a safe and healthy manner.
Thank you for your attention,
Nancy Mcintyre, Manager of Resident Services and Jay Haraga, Executive Director
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