Dear Families:

Preventing COVID-19 from affecting our residents is of utmost priority by management and staff of Park Manor Care. In collaboration with Sharedhealth together with the provincial strategy to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in PCH’s, we have taken many measures to protect our Residents including visitor restrictions, staff screening, use of PPE, enhanced disinfecting practices, not allowing off property resident leave and implementing the single-site staffing model. We recognized that the visitor restrictions have been very difficult both for residents and their families and to lessen the impact we implemented virtual visits, video chats and provided “window visits”.

The provincial government through Dr. Roussin, Chief Public Health Officer for Manitoba, announced on Wednesday, May 20, 2020 that as of May 29th, PCH’s could allow outdoor visits for families and residents with appropriate precautions. We know that family and friends are integral to the overall health, well-being and quality of life of residents within PCHs. Balancing necessary preventative measures with maintaining the vital connections that residents have with family members and support systems has been at the heart of every stage of our response. However, while preventing the spread of this virus within our facility remains a central priority, the likelihood that COVID-19 will be a part of our ‘new normal’ for a longer duration requires us to find a longer-term balance between preventative measures and the many benefits of ongoing interaction between residents and their loved ones.

Management of Park Manor Care have made plans and anticipate starting outdoor visits on the 1st day of June 2020. We plan to allow two resident families to visit simultaneously which will be located at the front entrance patio and canopy. Until we can measure the demand for visiting, we will start by allowing only one visit per resident per week. Visiting hours will be scheduled for 20 minutes each visit as follows:

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:15 to 11:15 & 1:15 to 3:45 pm
• Tuesday & Thursday 9:15 to 11:15 & 1:15 to 7:00 pm

To safeguard our residents and staff in managing the program, precautionary conditions shall be implemented as follows:

• Screening of all visitors must occur, including assessment for symptoms or known exposure to COVID-19 prior to entry. Restrictions will apply to visitors who have travelled outside of Manitoba within the past 14 days. Visitors who have travelled outside of Manitoba must wait 14 days following your return before visiting your resident.
• No visitor shall be permitted visit with resident if they have any cold/flu or other COVID-19 symptoms. Visitors with COVID 19 or flu like symptoms (e.g. dry cough, high temperature, difficulty breathing, severe and new onset headache, etc.) will not be allowed on our property and should not attempt to visit.
• All visitors must comply with Infection Prevention and Control measures. This includes strict hand hygiene and maintaining physical distancing (6 feet/2 meters apart) at all times.
• Giving of gifts of any kind like flowers, food items and drinks is still not allowed.
• Wearing a non-medical mask is not required but encouraged for visitors.
• There is no access to washroom facilities for visitors.
• We may not be able to facilitate outdoor visits for residents based on their medical status and our clinical judgement. Furthermore, there may be situations where a resident is ill or unable to participate in a planned visit on a certain day. We will notify families of cancellations ahead of time whenever possible.
• Park Manor Care reserve the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel outdoor visits due to inclement weather, insufficient staff resources or non-compliance of visitors

Indoor visits remain suspended. Exceptions will continue to be made on a case-by-case basis as per existing guidance, e.g. visits for compassionate and/or end of life reasons. Off-property visits are not permitted given the risk to residents and to the facility associated with unknown nature of contacts, exposure and other required safety measures.

Again, protecting the health and well-being of your loved ones and our staff remains one of our top priorities. We ask that you comply with the conditions above to ensure we are taking every precaution to protect residents, families and our staff. We hope you will also have patience with us as we implement this unique and complex visitation program within very limited staff resources. If you have any questions on the above and to book an outdoor visit, please contract Michelle Willman, Therapeutic Recreation Manager at mwillman@parkmanor.ca or call 204-222-3251 Ext.228.

Once again, thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we take every measure to protect you, your loved ones and our staff. We encourage you to continue checking the Park Manor Care website at www.parkmanor.ca for further updates.

Very Sincerely,

Abednigo M. Mandalupa Jr., MMBM/DHRM/CPA
Chief Executive Officer