Family Update From Venta Care Centre

To our Residents and Family Members,

We had one new resident test positive for COVID-19 yesterday evening. There have been no new staff cases to report.

We have 32 RECOVERED Residents and 17 RECOVERED staff. We currently have 6 residents and 2 staff who are COVID positive.

Our total numbers are trending down, and things are looking very good. Starting today we will be sending communication out every other day unless there is a significant change. There will be updated phone messages as per the new update written communication. There will be no weekend updates unless there are changes.

A total of 4 residents have passed away since the outbreak in November. Although any loss is devastating, we need to share this added explanation for your understanding and context.

Many residents enter Long Term Care with pre-existing health conditions. These conditions put them at a heightened risk of acquiring new infections, including COVID-19, and facing increased challenges in their recovery from such illnesses. Not only does an illness like COVID-19 directly impact their health, but it can also negatively impact their pre-existing health conditions. This can result in a sudden deterioration in the health of the resident. Although death may be related to COVID-19 it does not mean that the loss is because of COVID-19 exclusively. We do not want to diminish the loss; these are important facts to remember when deaths are reported. Please keep in mind most of our Residents are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms.

Helen continues to make calls to those families whose loved ones have tested positive to provide a medical update daily. Once the resident has recovered, she will no longer make calls to the primary contact.

We have had some questions asking if your loved ones were vaccinated. If you provided consent, they were vaccinated. Residents who were not vaccinated were contacted directly. All residents were monitored for 72 hours post-vaccine. The next vaccine dose will be administered as per the manufacture’s instructions.

Our staff continues to be vaccinated.

We do our best to communicate and be fully transparent with what is happening in the facility. We continue to be fully staffed; this is a remarkable accomplishment as other facilities have not been so fortunate. Our cleaning process and all Infection Prevention Control practices are in place. All our staff is screened each time they enter the building and are provided all PPE required. All resident care is being provided according to the Continuing Care Health Service Standards. Venta Care Centre has shared with you before that we have had 4 AHS and Alberta Health audits to ensure our compliance and. we have received 100%. You can be confident your loved ones are being cared for and loved. We are in full compliance with all the MOH Orders (you can view them on the AHS website, as these documents are very lengthy). If you have questions that you are wondering about or would like answered please email Kim Becker at kbecker@ventacarecentre.com is most happy to respond.

Venta Care Centre continues to send out communications to the primary contacts only. We acknowledge that many of you have family who would like to receive the information as well. It is imperative that you forward and shares this information with them. The updated phone line number is 780-377-4403.

For any Essential Visitor being allowed to visit during this time. IT IS MANDATORY THAT EVERY VISITOR
FOLLOWS THE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND PROCESS. NON-COMPLIANCE WILL NOT BE
TOLERATED AND MAY RESULT IN YOUR VISITING PRIVILEGES BEING SUSPENDED. IT IS THE PRIMARY
CONTACT THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT ALL VISITORS ARE AWARE AND FOLLOW THE
RULES IN PLACE. These processes are in place for the protection of the residents, family members, and
staff. Please work with us as we work to keep everyone safe.

Laundry for units 100/1200, 2200/2500/2600, and 300 continue to be suspended during this time. Please no drop-offs or pick-ups. If your loved is on unit 1000 you may continue to drop off and pick up laundry on Tuesdays Only. Items dropped off other than Tuesdays will not be retrieved or delivered as our team members are providing services for the residents.

Dr. Gandham or a Nurse Practitioner is in the building daily to provide medical support to our team.

Please use discretion when calling the nursing units as our team is continuing to provide quality care to all our residents. If you are calling the nursing station and there does not seem to be an answer right away, our team is busy providing care, they can not always drop what they are doing and answer the phone as they must always maintain correct Infection Prevention and Control practices. Thank you for your understanding.

We are committed to full transparency and open communication.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Kimberley Becker at 780-952-9596.

Respectfully
Dr. Peter Birzgalis
CEO Venta Care Centre