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

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.

What Is Family Council?

Family Councils of Ontario Logo

Many Long-Term Care Homes across Ontario have established a dedicated family council within their homes. In these Family Councils, members have successfully set aside goals and aspirations to help improve the quality of life for their loved ones within the Long-Term Care Home. A Family Council is an organized, self-led, and self-determining group of people composed of family and friends of the residents living in the Long-Term Care Homes. The main purpose of a Family Council is to improve the quality of life for Long-Term Care residents and to give families and friends a forum for sharing their experiences, leanings, and other valuable information within the home. A Family Council works together with residents’ family members, friends, and the Long-Term Care Home to identify and resolve any issues that affect the resident’s quality of life.

Here are some examples of what Family Council have accomplished with other Ontario Long-Term Care Homes in the past:

  • Members of one Family Council advocated for new doors in the Alzheimer unit to improve resident safety.
  • Air-conditioning was installed in one Home at a Family Council’s recommendation.
  • Family Council worked with a local municipality to include curb ramps around the building of their Long-Term Care Home so residents using wheelchairs could leave the property.

Some of the benefits of having a Family Council in your Long-Term Care Home is that it allows families to give each other ongoing mutual support and encouragement by sharing thoughts and feelings with others who also have relatives in a Long-Term Care Home. Not only that, a Family Council provides an opportunity to become knowledgeable about the Long-Term Care Home’s operations, policies, and rules. This can be especially helpful for families of new residents in the home.

Starting in June 2019, Bay Haven Care Community began a Family Council. So far, our Family Council is small, but we would like to increase the number of participants as much as possible! Each Family Council at a Long-Term Care Home is unique to that individual Home; however, they all share the same goals and aspirations, and that is to provide additional care for your loved ones.

To promote and raise awareness for Bay Haven’s Family Council, we will be hosting a tea social on Wednesday, October 16th, 2019 at 6:00 PM at the Recreation Room in the Long-Term Care side of Bay Haven. At this social, there will be a PowerPoint presentation explaining more about Family Council and what it means to us. We will also be giving a tutorial on how to navigate the Bay Haven Facebook Page. This social will be a great way to introduce potential new members our Family Council at Bay Haven. At this social, you will be learning more about our goal to create a well-established Family Council at Bay Haven, our mission, and the date and time for the next upcoming meeting. We highly recommend and encourage all current resident family members to attend our event.

If you have any relatives in Bay Haven’s Long-Term Care Home and would like to volunteer your time to be part of our Family Council, please contact Bay Haven Care Community at (705)-445-6501 and ask for either April Lawson (Recreation Manager) or Marco Sanfilippo (Marketing Specialist) for more information. Do not forget to attend our tea social to meet us and learn more about Family Council at Bay Haven.

 

NOTE: Since Bay Haven is under an outbreak, we may have to postpone our social to another date. We will update everyone once the outbreak is gone.

 

Thank you,

 

Marco Sanfilippo – Marketing Specialist/Recreation Assistant.

World Alzheimer’s Day

Wear blue this World Alzheimer’s Day!

Saturday, September 21st is World Alzheimer’s Day. World Alzheimer’s Day is an annual event where people around the world come together to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, affects more than 400,000 Canadians aged 65 years and older. Since Canada’s population is now living longer than ever before, this number is expected to grow even more. At Bay Haven Care Community, residents and staff will be wearing blue on Friday, September 20th, 2019 in support of people living with dementia, their caregivers, and families. We will be taking photos and sharing all our blue on social media using the hashtag #GoBlueforAlz!

Not only will Bay Haven Care Community be celebrating World Alzheimer’s Day, but several landmarks across Ontario will be lit up in blue as well, including the CN Tower in Toronto. Every 65 seconds, someone develops dementia somewhere around the world, and due to our aging population, the number of people living with dementia in Canada will only continue to rise. So here are the top 4 ways you can make a difference for dementia this year.

  1. Learn more about Alzheimer’s Disease.

It is always important to learn more about Alzheimer’s Disease. Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia is the best way to help those that are impacted. Do you know all the risks, prevention’s, and how to bet support those with the disease? If not, this is the day to learn about those diseases.

  1. Spread the world.

Talk to family and friends about dementia and build awareness in your community. There are so many different ways for you to make a positive change and impact to the lives of Ontarians who have been impacted by dementia. The more people know, the more we can take action! Spread the word.

  1. Host or Attend a Coffee Break.

Coffee Break is a major nationwide annual fundraiser where friends, co-workers and customers gather in communities across Canada to raise funds for their local Alzheimer Society. This is a great way to become part of the Alzheimer Society and a way to connect to people who have the same interest and goals as you.

  1. Make a donation.

Your donation will support so many vital programs for men and women with dementia. Any donation or contribution that you make will help those with Alzheimer’s Disease, caregivers, and their families. This is the best way to help on World Alzheimer’s Day.

 

In support of World Alzheimer’s Day, let’s all do our part to raise awareness of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Together we can make a real difference in the lives of Canadian’s living with dementia. Do not forget to wear blue and donate!

 

Marco Sanfilippo – Marketing Specialist/Recreation Assistant.

Let Us Welcome The New President of the Ontario Medical Association

Dr. Sohail Gandhi – 2019

What is the Ontario Medical Association?

The Ontario Medical Association was founded in 1880 by physicians in Ontario who wanted to form a provincial medical association. At the beginning, the council only had 270 physicians from across Ontario who came from eleven different districts and six different medical school. These early physicians largely contributed to the phenomenal Health Care system that Canada has today. In 2019, the number of memberships for the OMA is more than 39,000. This number comprises of all physicians and medical students across Ontario because now, all practicing physicians in Ontario are authorized by law to be part of the Ontario Medical Association. What exactly does the Ontario Medical Association do? The OMA is a membership organization that contains practicing physicians and medical students that run programs to encourage healthy living and illness prevention around Ontario.

Introducing Dr. Sohail Gandhi

As of May 5th, 2019, Dr. Sohail Gandhi from Stayner, Ontario will become the new President of the Ontario Medical Association. Dr. Gandhi is a family physician who practices at the Stayner Medical Clinic and become the very first Ontario Medical Association president from the Georgian Triangle. During his one year of presidency, Dr. Gandhi will be traveling across the province to visit other doctors and medical facilities, and then document all the success and challenges that come out of those facilities. This is a tremendous opportunity for Dr. Gandhi to be able to observe the entire Ontario medical association and gain knowledge about all Ontario physicians. “I am truly inspired by the group that we have, and I am truly inspired by our membership. It is their hard work, their dedication, and their commitment to their patients that have got us to where we are today” Gandhi said during his acceptance speech, “I also believe that if we stay united, we are starting to gain the influence, not just with the Government, but with the general public.” Dr. Sohail Gandhi is a very dedicated physician who loves his job, and he will do anything to keep every Ontario physician fully prepared for their patients. Here at Bay Haven Care Community, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dr. Sohail Gandhi for becoming the first President of the Ontario Medical Association from our area. Congratulations Dr. Gandhi, you will do a phenomenal job!