Shalom Village Visitors & Vaccination Guidelines

POLICY

The goal of the provincial COVID-19 immunization and Visitor programs is to protect residents, staff, and families from COVID-19. Vaccines help reduce the number of new cases, and, most importantly, severe outcomes including hospitalizations and death due to COVID-19. Shalom Village will follow and implement guidance that maximizes vaccination uptake of staff, volunteers, students, and third-party contractors including agency.

Administration of this Policy

This revised COVID-19 Immunization Policy (the “Policy”) is effective January 5th, 2022. Shalom Village will maintain and revise this Policy as required in response to public health guidance and the evolving conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shalom Village expressly reserves the right to change, modify, or delete portions of this Policy without notice.

Application of this Policy

Regardless of how often they are at the home and how much time they spend there, this Policy applies to all entering Shalom Village including:

• Workers, including employees on payroll or on contract, and anyone employed by a third-party contractor such as agency etc.
• Students on an educational placement at the home
• Volunteers
• LHIN or other provincial health authority services (care/speech/palliative teams)
• Privately hired caregivers (hired by resident and/or family)
• Event entertainers (e.g., magician, band, petting zoo etc.)
• Family/essential caregivers
• General visitors

VISITOR GUIDELINES

All individuals, whether or not they have received a COVID-19 vaccine, must continue to practice the recommended public health measures for the prevention and control of COVID-19 infection and transmission.

Where applicable, a person is fully immunized against COVID-19 if:

•  They have received the total required number of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada (e.g., both doses of a two-dose vaccine series, or one dose of a single-dose vaccine series); and
• They received their final dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days ago.

 Note that the definition of fully vaccinated will be amended to include the requirement for additional doses or booster shots as approved by Health Canada and the World Health Organization. Proof of full COVID-19 immunization status includes vaccine passports as available.

A summary of these changes includes:

• Access to long-term care homes by general visitors will be paused, including for outdoor visits. General visitors will continue to be permitted to enter the home to visit residents receiving end of life care.
• Day absences for all residents for social purposes will be paused. All essential, medical or compassionate absences will continue to be permitted.
• Designated caregivers continue to be able to come into homes with a maximum of two designated caregivers per resident in the building at any given time.  However, in the case where a resident resides in an area of the home in outbreak, is symptomatic or isolating under additional precautions, only one caregiver may enter the home at a time.
• It is anticipated that these additional enhanced temporary measures will be required for at least the next 6 to 8 weeks.

Shalom Village is also putting forward some measures effective immediately. Below is a summary which includes:

• The Goldie’s Day Program will be closed with a re-opening date to be determined.
• The Gym is currently only open for resident use.
• Face Shields will be provided at the screening desk to those working front line with our residents.
• KN95/N95 masks will be available for those working with residents with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID 19.
• All non-staff including Essential Caregivers are required to wait for their rapid test results before proceeding into Shalom Village.

Please select the links below for more helpful information:

What Residents Can Expect

LTC Visitors, Absences and Social Gatherings

Key Messages to Support Residents and Families

Essential Visitors

Essential visitors are persons visiting a home to meet an essential need related to the operations of the home or residents that could not be adequately met if the person does not visit the home.

Essential visitors are the only type of visitors allowed when there is an outbreak in a home or area of a home or when a resident has failed screening, is symptomatic or in isolation.  Limited to one visitor at a time.

There are four types of essential visitors:

• people visiting very ill or palliative residents who are receiving end-of-life care for compassionate reasons, hospice services, etc.
• government inspectors with a statutory right of entry. Government inspectors who have a statutory right to enter long-term care homes to carry out their duties must be granted access to a home. Examples of government inspectors include inspectors under the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007, the Health Protection and Promotion Act, the Electricity Act, 1998, the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
• support workers: support workers are persons who visit a home to provide support to the critical operations of the home or to provide essential services to residents. Essential services provided by support workers include but are not limited to:
• assessment, diagnostic, intervention or rehabilitation and counselling services for residents by regulated health professionals such as physicians and nurse practitioners
• Assistive Devices Program vendors – for example, home oxygen therapy vendors
• moving a resident in or out of a home
• social work services
• legal services
• post-mortem services
• emergency services (for example, such as those provided by first responders)
• maintenance services such as those required to ensure the structural integrity of the home and the functionality of the home’s HVAC mechanical, electrical, plumbing systems and services related to exterior grounds and winter property maintenance
• food or nutrition and water or drink delivery
• Canada Post mail services and other courier services
• election officials or workers
• Caregivers: A caregiver is a type of essential visitor who is visiting the home to provide direct care to meet the essential needs of a particular resident. Caregivers must be at least 16 years of age and must be designated by the resident or his or her substitute decision-maker. Direct care includes providing support or assistance to a resident that includes providing direct physical support (for example, eating, bathing and dressing) or providing social and emotional support.
• examples of direct care provided by caregivers include but are not limited to the following:
• supporting activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing and eating assistance
• providing cognitive stimulation
• fostering successful communication
• providing meaningful connection and emotional support
• offering relational continuity assistance in decision-making
• examples of caregivers include:
• friends and family members who provide meaningful connection
• a privately hired caregiver
• paid companions
• translator

An important role of the caregiver is that of providing meaningful connection and emotional support. A person should not be excluded from being designated as a caregiver if they are unable to provide direct physical support.

 If you have any questions related to these new directives and enhanced measures, please do not hesitate to reach out to the leadership team.