November 19, 2021
Dear St.Amant Families,
We were very happy to see that Health Canada announced approval of the Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 today. We are in the process of planning vaccination for children receiving services at 440 River Road through Health & Transition Services, St.Amant School, Autism Programs and River Road Child Care. Consent forms and FAQ sheets will be sent home as soon as we receive them. We are also planning to hold a clinic that will be open to all other children supported, staff children and anyone who could benefit from an accessible clinic – we will share the date and details once it’s confirmed.
This week we had one new staff case of Covid-19 within a CRP home that required contact tracing and one staff case within HTS where the staff did not work during the period of communicability.
We are seeing that Covid-19 can be spread to fully vaccinated people, and we are grateful that the risk of severe illness of hospitalization to fully vaccinated people is much lower, however we are very cognizant that the people we are supporting are more vulnerable than staff which means our Personal Protective Equipment continues to be essential in helping to protect the people we support. We appreciate your continued support in following our visitation guidelines and all public health recommendations.
Mental health continues to be a focus at St.Amant, as the pandemic drags on, we are seeing the decline in mental wellbeing in staff and people we support and are working hard to support people to nurture their wellbeing and to seek support if they’re mental health is declining into mental illness. We hope that you are also nurturing your wellbeing. Jessica Kreviazuk, a Winnipeg psychiatrist suggests that suggests that adequate sleep is in the top spot within the hierarchy of needs, followed by structure and routine, nurturing the important relationships in your life, connecting to community, spending time doing hobbies and the things that interest you and being physically active – bonus points if you’re active outside. She said that the trifecta of nurturing your wellbeing during the pandemic is going for a walk, with a friend, outside.
You can find many mental health resources on the Canadian Mental Health Association website, and the Manitoba Government website.
Thank you for your ongoing support and positivity. We are finding that taking one day at a time, finding the joy in each moment, keeps us from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
Wishing you all a good weekend,
John Leggat
President & CEO