June 22, 2020
Dear Health & Transition Services Families,
As you may have seen today, we have received some more good news from the Province of Manitoba. As COVID-19 numbers remain low and Manitoba moves into phase three of reopening, Long Term Care (LTC) Facilities can begin to allow some indoor visits. Outdoor visits remain the safest and most preferred option, but we are pleased to have other opportunities to keep you connected with your loved ones in the face of inclement weather or other considerations. We know that family contact is integral to everyone’s health and wellbeing and will do everything we can to support visits in the best possible environment for everyone.
Manitoba Public Health also made it clear today that the indoor visitation may be interrupted if COVID-19 activity increases in our community or our facility.
We will be working collaboratively with the people we support and their families and close friends to discuss the logistics of any scheduled indoor visits; representatives from the care area where your loved ones are supported will be contacting you to provide more information over the next couple of days. We are committed to keeping you in touch with your family members and also to the safety of all people supported within Health & Transition Services and staff.
You may also have seen an announcement from the government about all-weather visitation pods at personal care homes. We are working with the government recommendations and our operations team to assess options for the fall and winter. There are some benefits with the set-up of our building and we are hoping we can use some of our existing, separate space to support ongoing visitation. As we have more information about these plans, we will share them with you.
Community Programs
Another benefit of the Province opening is that many community services and programs are planning to reopen as well. As you know, 440 River Road is also home to many supports and programs for people who don’t receive residential services at this location. Health & Transition Services is working closely with other programs as well as the Province’s Long Term Care department to plan for resumption of services for St.Amant School, Day programs, Clinical Services and Autism early learning classroom.
The benefit of the layout to the building at 440 River Road is that we can separate Health & Transition Services from the rest of the building. We are actively planning this separation so all participants and staff for those programs would enter by doors located at the back of the building and would remain in that area only. This plan will also be reviewed and approved by Manitoba Shared Health.
Thank you for your ongoing support, patience and flexibility as we move through the reopening of services and increased visits. We are all looking forward to finding our way to more connectivity and normalcy as we move forward.
Sincerely,
Sarah Mankelow
Director, Health & Transitions Services