Dear Families,
There are many unknowns about COVID-19, but two things are clear. The first is that social distancing is one of the best protections against the spread of the virus. The second is that the virus has the potential to spread rapidly in communities. Both pose challenges for our vulnerable organization and best practices suggest that we need to act before the virus is identified within our community.
The Wales Home’s management has been meeting regularly to stay abreast of current, rapidly changing recommendations from our Government on COVID-19 and to discuss possible impacts on our organization. Given how fluid the situation is, we are making decisions in real time and will adjust our emergency plan as necessary. Our goal is to be proactive and provide a sterile environment to minimize risk, while continuing to fulfill our mission. The health and safety of our residents and employees continue to be our top priority. We have taken important steps to elevate our focus beyond our customary high standards of sanitation and cleaning of our facilities and equipment adding to the frequency and extent of those cleanings. As healthcare providers we have asked our employees to minimize social interactions to necessities such as food shopping.
We have set the following measures to minimize non-essential contact:
- No visitors
- Residents are forbidden to leave the grounds of the Wales Home
- Circulation throughout the building is minimized; activities are held in small groups directly on each unit, therapy in the pool is limited to two people from the same unit, the dining room has scheduled two servings for lunch and supper, deliveries for residents are managed by our Receptionist (pharmacy, mail, etc.)
- There is no manipulation of money (e.g., purchases made at the Tuck Shop must be charged to petty cash)
- Upon arrival, employees must wash their hands. Employees must change into their uniforms onsite and all personal belongings must remain in lockers
We take our role seriously and want to assure you that we are taking appropriate and necessary preventative measures to minimize risk. We will continue to provide regular updates on how we are responding to COVID-19 through such means as email and social media.
We encourage you to keep in contact with your family member via telephone, snail-mail, social media, etc. Should you require any assistance setting up Facetime or Skype, please contact us and we will be glad to provide this service.
Please do not hesitate to contact me directly should you have any questions or concerns.
Best regards,
Brendalee Piironen
Executive Director
819-826-3266 extension 247 (cell: 819-570-5587)