March 16 Update
Thank you for your continued understanding and cooperation as we work to navigate this challenging time. Updates and guidance continue to roll in from Alberta Health Services, and we are working to stay ahead of any of the latest developments. Please rest assured that we are here and doing what we can to protect our loved ones!
Prevention of infection is perhaps the most important step we can take in protecting one of our most vulnerable residents. While fully appreciating the need to find the balance between visitor restriction and ensuring continued quality of life for residents, visitor restriction is one of the most important tools we have available to us.
At this point, and until further notice, the following guidance is in effect:
- Effective immediately, we are restricting visitors to Emmanuel Home to essential visitors only.
- Residents are at extreme risk if exposed to COVID–19.
- We are asking that essential visitors are restricted to one or two persons at a time and that those visitors be immediate family or designated support persons only.
- This will reduce the risk of loved ones being exposed to COVID-19.
- We ask you to also restrict visitation of children as children do not necessarily show symptoms of COVID-19.
- If you are ill with fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue or sore throat, please do not visit.
- No pets
We will also be making a number of adjustments to the programming schedule and implementation, with a focus on avoiding large groups and limiting the potential of sharing any illness. We will communicate all of these changes and restrictions to the residents this morning.
Please be mindful of the fact that we are an Independent & Assisted Living facility. While we want to do our best in terms of monitoring the traffic in the building at all hours, it is near impossible to control every moving piece that comes in and out of Emmanuel Home. We always practice stringent Infection Prevention & Control measures and I’m proud of how hard our staff work to always keep Emmanuel Home clean & safe, regardless of whether there is an outbreak or not. Our best defense against COVID-19 is you, the family and friends of our residents, in making the conscious effort to adhere to the guidelines listed above.
Please do not hesitate to contact myself (dsinke@emmanuelhome.ca), Donna Callahan (Director of Programs) at dcallahan@emmanuelhome.ca, or Laura Pothoven (Director of Operations) at lpothoven@emmanuelhome.ca.
We w ill be in touch with further updates as the week progresses.
