Category: Outing

Safe Outings Now Possible For Long-Term Care and Retirement Home Residents

Posted on by Reagan Morgan

The Ontario government has announced that long term care and retirement home residents can once again leave their residences for short stay and temporary absences.

Short stay absences are for outpatient medical visits, to see family or run errands and do not include an overnight stay, with the exception of single-night emergency room visits. Bay Haven will provide resident with a medical mask to be worn at all times when outside the home, if tolerated.  Residents will be reminded of the importance of physical distancing and hand hygiene.  When the resident returns, they will be actively screened but will not be required to be tested or to self isolate.

Temporary absences are for personal reasons of one or more nights. Temporary absences will be at the discretion of the home and decided upon a case-by-case basis based upon safety factors like the risk associated with the absence (e.g. for a family weekend vs. a large gathering) and ability of the home to help residents self-isolate upon return. Residents can return if the home is not in outbreak, the resident has tested negative for COVID-19 and is returning to a room shared with no more than one other resident. For the protection of their neighbours, resident who leave on a temporary absence will be required to self-isolate for 14 days when they return to the home.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate ask Lillian Kelly, Director of Nursing or Roseanne Beaupre, Retirement Home Manager.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to address the COVID-19 situation.

Reflecting on Bay Haven’s 2019

Posted on by Reagan Morgan
Looking Ahead To 2020

2019 was an incredible year for Bay Haven. Since this is the last blog of this year, I would like to take a moment to reflect on some of the activities and events that we had throughout the year. During the year, Bay Haven staff and recreation team did an absolutely great job providing so much for the residents that live at Bay Haven. Our mission is to make Bay Haven the best Retirement Home/Nursing Home in Collingwood, and in order to do that, we need to provide the best programs for them.

We had so many activities and events planned out for the residents for both Retirement Home and Nursing Home side. Throughout the year, we had programs like TGIF entertainment every Friday, we played Bingo, we celebrated birthday parties, we watched movies, we had outdoor picnics, we listened to a lot of live music form plenty of guest performers, we had outings to Walmart/Sunset Point/Journey’s Blend, we baked delicious pastries, we celebrated holidays together, and so much more.

Not only did we have programs like these on a weekly basis, we also had a huge cultural experience day. This year we had a Caribbean Cultural Experience Day. Throughout the entire day, staff and residents dressed up and ate Caribbean food. It was a very entertaining time! Not only that, but Bay Haven celebrated its 50th anniversary back in January 2019. Staff and residents had a huge celebration accommodating Bay Haven’s success throughout those 50 years. Additionally, to that, Bay Haven has been posting blogs about the company on a weekly basis. This is a new idea that began in 2019, and we are happy to continue writing more blogs for 2020. As you can see, 2019 was a jam-packed year, and we are looking forward to having an even more packed year for 2020.

On behalf of Bay Haven, we would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.

Thank you for reading,

Marco Sanfilippo
Marketing Specialist/Recreation Assistant

Let’s Go On An Excursion!

Posted on by Reagan Morgan
Bay Haven staff and volunteers taking residents on an excursion to Sunset Point.

Excursions are an important part of Bay Haven’s culture and programs. The Bay Haven Excursions Committee Members organizes excursions with residents in order to provide the best outing for them throughout the entire year.  The Bay Haven Excursions Committee is comprised with the Chairman – Scott Strandholt, the Treasurer/Secretary – Cynthia Landriault, the Recreation Manager – April Lawson, and a mix of three volunteer Bay Haven resident representatives from the Retirement Home and the Nursing Home side.

The Excursion Committee meet every six months. Sometimes the committee meets more often, depending on the Chairs request. At these meetings, the committee members gather in the Bay Haven conference room and discuss and review all the excursions that have occurred, the ones that are upcoming, those that have been suggested, and then proceed to discuss all of the excursion related questions as they arise during the meeting. In the latest meeting, some of the residents suggested different possible outing ideas, such as attending vineyards, local breweries, apple orchards, strawberry picking, and more. It is great to be able to discuss these topics and ideas with our residents at these meetings since they provide us with great ideas for future outings. The Treasurer also gives out an updated report of the budget and funding that is provided for these excursions. Everyone’s role in the committee is important, and their hard work and commitment in keeping the Bay Haven excursions strong is great for the future for Bay Haven.

The Excursion Committee are kindly encouraging people to make donations to ensure that residents continue to enjoy our monthly outings. The money that will be donated will go towards everything related to our excursions, including the funds needed to pay for the Red Cross Bus to transport our residents to their destination. To donate, visit our website and click the Donation tab to see how to donate.

With your help, we will be able to continue our excursion programs with our residents in the future.

Let’s go on an excursion!

Marco Sanfilippo – Marketing Specialist/Recreation Assistant.