March 13 Update
As the concern about COVID-19 and its potential implications grows, I wanted to reach out and update you on how things are here at Emmanuel Home.
Thankfully, we have not seen any signs of COVID-19, so we are in ‘prevention’ mode in order to keep it that way. However, we are all aware of how quickly things could change, so we have enacted our long-standing and thorough Infection Prevention & Control protocols. In addition to our regular cleaning and hand hygiene practices, some of the other measures we’ve taken include:
- Cancel large groups that were scheduled to come visit Emmanuel Home
- Cancel recreation events & field trips that would have happened out in the community
- Preventative measures in our dining room to avoid cross-contamination and sharing of common utensils & dishes
- Request that all staff who have traveled internationally, or have direct family members who have traveled internationally, in the last 14 days to self-quarantine for a 2 week period
We are not in a full ‘lockdown’ mode, and so there are still activities going on within the Home itself. We have not enacted a ‘Visitor Restriction’, either. As a contracted Service Provider with AHS, we are involved with the many updates and recommendations that come out in terms of recommendations and measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
We are asking for your cooperation in following the necessary considerations, to help keep our residents and community safe:
- Please refrain from visiting if:
o You, or someone you are in direct contact with, have travelled internationally within the past 14 days.
o You have any cold-like symptoms such as cough, fever and/or sore throat.
We will send out an updates if things change or progress. If you have any questions you can contact myself, Donna Callahan (Director of Programs) at dcallahan@emmanuelhome.ca, or Laura Pothoven (Director of Operations) at lpothoven@emmanuelhome.ca. Also, if you would like to update or add an email address to this distribution list, please let us know.
