Simply Ducky Manager

Dear Friends and Family Members of RK MacDonald Nursing Home:

As you know, residents are now able to go offsite and spend time in family homes.
While cases are minimal in Nova Scotia and for some, it feels restrictions remain strict, it is imperative that we all continue to adhere to the Public Health measures. As a community, we are depending on each of you and your families to keep R.K. MacDonald residents and staff safe. We all have to trust one another to follow the same rules and be diligent in adhering to Public Health measures: washing hands frequently, wearing a non- medical mask when social distancing is not possible, staying 6 feet apart from others whenever possible (social distancing), good cough etiquette, cleaning high touch surfaces, not touching your face with unwashed hands. We all have the ability to keep our loved ones and ourselves safe.

The new outings/visits will take effect Thursday, October 1, 2020 at RK MacDonald. There are a few things family must do prior to taking their loved one out.

Click here to read the full post!

Full Guidelines can be found here.

Please see the following information about the visitation that begins next week.

Prior to all visits, visitors must be screened using the provincial screening tool. This screening is a mandatory requirement from the Department of Health and Wellness & Public Health.

It is imperative that all visitors stay away from the RK MacDonald with the slightest cold or flu-like symptoms in order to support the safety of all.

Please click here to view the whole document.

Dear Family and Friends of RK MacDonald Nursing Home:

As you are aware, another announcement was made Tuesday regarding visitation in Long Term Care facilities in Nova Scotia.

We received the confirmation of these changes and accompanying regulations mid-afternoon on Friday, September 4, 2020.

We are in the process of organizing our resources to ensure that we follow the regulations as mandated to each facility. This will include reaching out to Residents and Substitute Decision Makers to identify designated care providers by the end of the week.

We are also in the process of developing a required education/training program for visitors as well as working through the directive details to ensure we have resources to pre-screen all visitors by phone prior to their visit. We are in the process of developing and ordering the necessary signage, developing the required education/training program and ensuring we have adequate hand washing/ hand sanitizing supplies and procedural masks for everyone.

Given the volume of people and the requirements to pre-screen and the cleaning that is mandated after the visit, we will begin with designated visitation times in care areas and for larger care areas, visitation for designated bed and room numbers as we need to take into account the double occupancy of many rooms as well as the requirement for physical distancing. This means that our capacity to support these visits will most likely translate to a weekly visit for one designated care provider in addition to the indoor/outdoor/virtual visits that are already occurring.

At this time, we are asking designated care providers to support their loved one’s well being by participating with preferred activities during visiting hours.

We will not be able to start visitation on Friday, September 11 as announced but are working diligently to get the necessary requirements and resources in place to support visitation as soon as possible. We know you are anxious to be with your loved ones and we are looking forward to having you back as well. We cannot permit visitation however, until all criteria in the directive are met and we determine how best to use our existing resources to support these enhanced visits.

We will continue with the visits-indoor, outdoor and virtual- booking through the Recreation Department.

We will have more information soon about how we can support the designated care provider and the role within the Home.

In the coming days, either the Resident or the Substitute Decision Maker will be contacted to identify two potential designated care providers. Emails and phone numbers will be collected for these individuals.

While the announcement is exciting, there are many logistics and considerations that must be met by the facility. We have included the document on the website for you to read if you would like.

Thank you for your continued patience.
Michelle Thompson

Dear Family and Friends of R.K. MacDonald:

Yesterday Dr. Strang and Premier MacNeil announced some changes to visitation in LTC facilities. We will be implementing the changes over the course of the next week. Many people have their visits booked next week and we will carry on with those visits as planned. If after reading the new guidelines you wish to consider an indoor visit, please reach out to Recreation. We will be hosting these visits in a designated area within the Home which we are setting up over the next couple of business day.

You will now be able to greet your loved one and say goodbye to your loved one with a brief hug or handshake providing you perform hand hygiene before and ensure you are wearing a mask. If hand hygiene is not performed or the mask is removed during the contact, the facility must reach out to Public Health for advice and direction related to potential isolation requirements, COVID testing requirements etc.

The new rules are as follows:

On-site visits are intended to support the emotional well-being of residents and are limited to the following restrictions:

• One (1) identified family/social visitor, per resident, per visit for indoor visitation.
• Up to five (5) visitors, per resident, per visit for outdoor visitation.

The following is an excerpt from the document “Guidelines for Visits, Hair Salons and Social Activities” we received yesterday after the announcement from Public Health and the Department of Health and Wellness. A copy of the full document is available on the website.

The approach for visitation (indoor and outdoor) are as followed :

• Visits will be scheduled in advance between the visitor and facility. The number of visitors allowed within the facility will be guided by the level of risk for COVID-19 in the facility and Province, and will be limited to effectively support physical distancing practice while supporting meaningful social connection with the resident.
• Staff must receive visitors in the designated waiting area upon arrival and accompany them to the designated visit area either on the grounds of or within the facility. Visitors should be received at the door or entrance to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 into the facility, if possible.
• Staff must screen all visitors for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 using the pre-screening tool (Appendix D). Visitors with signs or symptoms of COVID-19, as well as those in self-isolation or quarantine as required by Nova Scotia Health Protection Act Order, will not be permitted to visit.
• Staff must instruct visitors to perform hand hygiene, practice respiratory etiquette, abide by physical distancing, and wear a mask during their visit. For outdoor visits only, once a visitor and resident are at the outdoor visiting area, if physical distancing can be maintained, the visitor’s and/or the resident’s mask may be safely removed, if the mask is negatively impacting communication. However, due to a number of factors dependent on individual facilities, staff, visitors and residents, the safety of this must be determined at the facility level. This can be done on a visit by visit basis, or through a facility-specific protocol on mask removal.
• Staff must sign in and sign out all visitors using the facility’s established visitation log.
•  Staff must direct visitors to the designated visitation space, check in periodically to ensure that restrictions are followed, and will accompany visitors in their exit from the facility immediately after their visit.
• Staff must assist the resident with proper hand hygiene before and after each visitation.
• Any furniture and surfaces used in visitation areas will be cleaned and disinfected as per NSHA Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Infection Prevention & Control for Long-Term Care Settings at the end of each visit. Time should be scheduled between visits to allow for cleaning and disinfecting and supporting in the movement of residents to and from the visiting areas.

It is important that facilities are able to provide safe oversight for visitation, which includes the provision of adequate staffing to provide visitor pre-screening at time of booking and screening upon arrival to facility, education on necessary Infection Prevention and Control procedures, monitoring of visitation, and sanitization of visiting spaces.

If families choose an Indoor visit- both the resident and the family member must wear medical grade masks and remain 6 feet apart for the duration of the visit. One will be provided for you.

If the visit is conducted outside, the resident and visitor may remove their masks providing physical distancing is maintained.

The full guidelines are posted on the website for people to read and review. I would encourage families to review these guidelines.

You will continue to book visits through the Recreation Department, as you are already doing and you can indicate if you would like to have an Indoor or outdoor visit based on the guidelines noted above. Indoor, outdoor, fence and virtual visits remain available.

Thank you for your continued cooperation as we work to uphold and implemented the guidelines outlined by Department of health and Wellness and Public Health.

Michelle Thompson
CEO R.K. MacDonald Nursing Home
64 Pleasant St, Antigonish, NS
B2G 2K9
Phone: 902-863-2578 ext 232
Email: mthompson@rkmacdonald.ca
Fax: 902-863-4437