Family Update From Venta Care Centre

To our Residents and Family Members,

As many of you may be aware, COVID-19 is on the rise in our community and the government has announced that Alberta is in the third wave of the pandemic. As of Monday, the number of active cases in the province was 10,582- more than double a low of 4,000 in February. The province also had a positivity rate of 9.9%, and variants accounted for 39% of the active cases. The R-Value stood at 1.09, meaning that for each person who tests positive, they will infect more than one person. Venta CareCentre has tried to stay ahead of the curve and implement measures to decrease the risk of COVID-19 to our residents and staff when the risk in the community is high.

It is for this reason that Venta Care Centre’s Management Team has decided to temporarily suspending or family visits effective immediately. For those of you who have arranged an indoor visit, you will be contacted by phone in advance to notify you of the cancellation.

Currently, we believe it is necessary to protect the health of our residents and staff. We acknowledge your frustration and hope that you understand how difficult this decision was.

Presently there are 13 Facilities in Edmonton on COVID-19 outbreak, 6 of which have tested positive for variants (it is unclear which variant is present). In our area, case counts have risen specifically in Edmonton NE (171 active cases), Northgate (139 active cases), and Castledowns (126 active cases). Venta Care Centre is located in a hot zone for COVID-19 and we do not want to give COVID-19 an opportunity to walk through our doors. Only 116,000 Albertans have been fully vaccinated with two doses to date. At this point, there is no conclusive information about the current COVID-19 vaccines in regard to the variants. Not all staff and residents have received their vaccine and we feel that we simply must wait for infection rates to decrease. Simply put, we do not want to take any risks when it comes to the well-being of our loved ones.

Please continue to monitor the news from AHS and the Government of Alberta, and any changes from Dr. Dina Hinshaw will be implemented. We would like to remind you to follow proper hand hygiene, wear appropriate PPE (masks), and maintain physical distancing to ensure your safety.

We would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience with our cautious approach. This is a difficult and unprecedented time for us all. We hope that everyone can stay safe and healthy and that we are able to safely welcome you back inside Venta Care Centre soon.

We are committed to full transparency in keeping you informed.

Respectfully
Dr. Peter Birzgalis
CEO Venta Care Centre