Ensuring the health and well-being of our residents and employees is always our highest priority. In response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), VRS is committed to protecting our senior’s population, employees and service providers. As outlined below, we have implemented Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) strategies in all of our Independent and Assisted Living Residences across British Columbia and Alberta.
To date, we are fortunate to not have any known or confirmed cases of COVID-19 within our resident populations including staff and family members.
Our leadership team is mobilized to provide each location with medical advice, clinical direction, emergency preparedness plans and business continuity plans. We are ensuring that we have staffing plans in place as well as adequate supplies of medical and pharmaceutical products, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and food.
VRS is following all recommended guidelines from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and we continually monitor these guidelines for updates and developments related to COVID-19 (coronavirus). According to the BCCDC, the immediate health risk from COVID-19 is currently low but because our resident population is more vulnerable than the general public, we are intensifying our preventative measures in order to mitigate the spread of the virus.
In response to the continued spread of COVID-19, and in addition to our routine practices and precautions, the following additional protections have been updated and are effective immediately:
We have implemented an Essential Visitors only policy. Upon arrival to the building, visitors will require consent and active screening by the management of the residence in order to proceed into the building. Once approved, they will then be directed to wash their hands and/or utilize available hand sanitizer moving forward and again when exiting the residence. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Visitors include family members, health care workers, caregivers, contractors, and suppliers.
Those diagnosed with COVID-19 or those who have reason to believe that they, someone in their household or someone they have close contact with has been exposed to COVID-19 are prohibited from entering our residences.
Anyone who has traveled outside of Canada in the last 14 days, or anyone sharing a household with a person who has traveled outside Canada in the last 14 days are prohibited from entering our residences.
Enhanced screening protocol for new residents is in place to ensure they have not been exposed to COVID-19 or visited affected areas.
In addition to the Essential Visitors policy;
- Immediate cancellation of all activities.
- Closing all resident self-service dining venues.
- We will ensure that all employees do not come to work if they are feeling unwell.
- We request that staff self-isolate when not at work, and do not put themselves in a position where they may be exposed to COVID-19
- Staff must advise Management if they are currently employed at other businesses.
- We strongly encourage all staff, visitors, caregivers, suppliers, and residents to practice good respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene. This includes prior to entering, during the visit and leaving the building.
- Posting of information (posters) has been done within the residence to increase awareness and education of the COVID-19 virus.
- Restrictions in place for family members from taking residents out of the residence to visit public gathering spaces, including grocery stores, religious services, shopping malls, theaters, casinos, etc.
- Restrictions for residents to refrain from all upcoming travel, including cruises and/or all flights.
- Limiting corporate, regional and field-based personnel location visits to only those that are essential.
Additional cleaning protocols include:
- Increased frequency in disinfecting high-touch areas like doorknobs, elevator buttons, faucets and handrails.
- Increased cleaning of high-traffic common areas such as dining rooms and activity spaces.
- Reinforcing hand-washing and infection control training for all VRS employees and residents.
- Providing additional personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.
We are regularly updating both VRS residents and family members via email and our website, but if you have an urgent question, as always, please reach out to the General Manager of your residence.
For media inquiries or more information please email martin@vrs.org
Martin Gardner
Vancouver Resource Society (VRS)
Sr. Director of Operations & Business Development
Senior Living Program