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