The Ministry of Long Term Care continues to ease some of the restrictions that were put in place during the pandemic. This cautious and phased approach was developed in consultation with the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

Effective Friday, October 14^th:

• No cap on the amount of general and essential visitors at any one time. Screening, testing and vaccination requirements remain in effect.
  

• Recognizing that long-term care residents miss seeing the faces of their loved ones, the ministry is recommending, rather than requiring, that caregivers and visitors wear masks when they are alone with a resident in their room. When not in a one-on-one setting with a resident in their room or a designated space within the home, visitors and caregivers are still required to be masked.

• Visitors and essential caregiver can accompany a resident to their meal but must remain masked the entire time.

•  Please note that during outbreak or for those Residents in isolation only one (1) essential caregiver can visit at one time and all required PPE must be on during the entirety of the visit.

• Screening - Residents returning to the home following an absence must be actively screened by a staff member within the home using the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Screening Tool for Long-Term Care Homes and Retirement Homes (the same questions we currently have in place). The active screening of Residents returning from an absence must be done as soon as operationally feasible upon return to the home but is not required to be done prior to entry. Any resident who does not pass screening (for example, is symptomatic) must be permitted entry but isolated on Additional Precautions and tested for COVID-19. The resident will be given a mask to wear and return to their room.
  
  
• Physical distancing continues to be encouraged amongst the residents.
  
  
• Masking remains the same for anyone entering the Home. The IOOF Seniors Homes Inc. continues to also wear face shields or goggles as an added precaution as we have an ongoing outbreak in the Home.
  
  
• Staff will continue to conduct symptom assessment of all residents at least once daily, including temperature checks, to identify if any resident has symptoms of COVID-19, including any atypical symptoms.
  
  
• All staff, visitors/essential caregivers must complete a point of care risk assessment before every resident interaction to keep all safe.

As a reminder, Essential Caregivers must have 3 (three) doses of a vaccine to enter the home unless they are visiting a resident receiving end of life care. Until fully vaccinated, these caregivers will be limited to visiting their loved one in their room. General Visitors must have 2 (two) doses of a vaccine to visit.

Surveillance Testing:

• All staff, students, and volunteers must be surveillance tested at least 2 times per week.

• All caregivers, general visitors and support workers must be tested every 48 hours.

We must continue to be vigilant regarding COVID-19 following all public health measure and ministry directives. With fall and the start of influenza season, the highly transmissible Covid variants continue to be a threat with significantly high local community transmission. We are all in this together and keeping our Residents safe remains our top priority.

Sincerely,
Garry C. Hopkins, CEO

- SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO EVOLVING DIRECTIVES - 

Important Links:  

Government of Ontario Website

Please review the following before your next visit:

https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/ncov/ipac/ppe-recommended-steps
https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/videos/ipac-fullppe-on
https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/videos/ipac-fullppe-off
https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/videos/ipac-handwash

Vaccines for Designated Caregivers: 

COVID-19 Vaccine Screening and Consent Form

VISITORS AT THE HOME:

For OUTDOOR visits and VIRTUAL visits ONLY please contact recreation@ioof.com to arrange your visit.  

Your 3 Options for Visiting at the HOME are as follows:
Option 1 – Safe Virtual Visits – No Risk
Option 2 – Safe Partitioned Patio Visits (Max 10 visitors) – Weather permitting. No visits during Winter.
Option 3 – Outdoor Visiting (Max 4 visitors at one time) - Weather permitting. No visits during Winter.

Option 4 - Indoor Visiting - No longer need to be scheduled - (No maximum. Must be fully immunized with proof and subject to surveillance testing)

PLEASE READ:

What Residents Can Expect - April 11th 2022

Key Messages to Families - March 9th 2022

Snapshot of Visiting/Absences/Social Gatherings - March 14th 2022