Fairvern Family Portal

November 2, 2022

Dear Fairvern Stakeholders

RE: UPDATED OUTBREAK STATUS – OUTBREAK DECLARED COMPLETE

Please be advised that Public Health has declared that our COVID-19 outbreak is complete as of November 2, 2022.

At this time, visiting on First Floor will resume to include General Visitors.

The following changes are also in effect:

• Masks will continue to be required to be worn in the home, with the following exception, if a visitor or caregiver is alone in a room with a Resident, you are permitted to remove your mask. Should staff or other any other individual enter the room you must replace your mask.

There is no limit to the number of visitors at one time for a Resident.

We thank everyone for their patience, understanding, and cooperation over the course of this outbreak. Please reach out should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Carrie Acton

Administrator-Fairvern

Effective Friday, October 14, 2022, there will be changes to the Ministry of Long-Term Care and Ministry of Health Guidance documents. The following will explain what will remain the same and what will be changed.

Continuing

• Screening & Rapid Testing: We will continue actively screening and rapid testing everyone entering the home, every time.
• Resident Screening: Daily screening of residents for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 continues. When in outbreak screening increases to twice a day.
• Isolation Period: Remains 10 days at this time for any positive Residents.
• Physical Distancing: Residents, staff, and visitors are encouraged to continue to practice physical distancing and urged to avoid situations like crowded places in which COVID-19 may spread more easily.
• Close Contacts: Residents who are asymptomatic and have had close contact with a positive case do not need to be swabbed.

Changing

• Visitor Masking: Essential Caregivers and General Visitors will be allowed to remove their mask in the residents' room when they are alone with the resident. If staff or a co-resident enters the room, the visitor must put their mask back on. Masks are to be worn in all other areas of the building. The Family Room will be available for use upon request.
• Eating in Resident Rooms: Essential Caregivers and General Visitors will be allowed to remove their mask in the residents' room to eat or drink with the resident. They cannot join the resident to eat a meal in the dining room or outside of the dining room. This will only be permitted in the resident’s room when they are alone. Again, their mask would need to be reapplied if staff or anyone else enter the resident’s room.
• Absences: Residents are able to leave the home for all types of absences, including social day and overnight absences, and not have to be tested or isolated upon their return to the home. Unless they have symptoms of COVID-19 in which case they would be tested and isolated, if positive.
• Close Contact: If residents come into contact with someone with COVID-19: regardless of vaccination status, residents will be monitored, but no longer need to be isolated unless they develop symptoms.
• Admission/Transfers: Testing of asymptomatic residents being admitted or transferred from the community or a facility that is not in outbreak is no longer required.
• Outbreak Definition: The definition of a confirmed outbreak have been updated to two or more residents with COVID-19 with a common link with a 10-day period (no longer includes staff or visitors in the definition).
• Visitor Limit: The provincially set limit of 4 visitors per resident at a time for indoor visits has been lifted. The limit will subject to the space that is available when a resident has visitors to ensure physical distancing is in place.

Good afternoon,

As a member of the Fairvern community, we wanted to provide you with the opportunity to help design the new Fairvern Long-Term Care Home, a new 160-bed Long-Term Care facility in Huntsville, to ensure it feels like home for all the residents when they move in.

We value your input and have provided a link below to a survey. The survey is brief and should only take 5-10 minutes to complete.

Please share your thoughts with us, here: https://www.engagemuskoka.ca/embeds/projects/26812/survey-tools/32644

We would appreciate your comments and feedback by Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

Check out the Fairvern Redevelopment Engage Page for more information on this project.

Thank you for your time.

You are invited to Fairvern’s Family Council Meeting taking place on October 5^th at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom.

The Council’s mission is to improve the quality of life of Residents and to give families and friends a voice in decisions that affect loved ones in the home.

All family and friends are welcome and encouraged to attend.

To join the Zoom meeting, click the link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87110542872?pwd=REpiVGgwUUI0U0lDWEU1bUs0K3JqQT09

If you have questions, please reach out to Carrie Acton.

Thanks,

Carrie Acton (she/her)

Administrator

Phone 705-789-6011 Ext. 4308

Fax 705-789-1371

To RSVP and Submit Questions: https://bit.ly/3APk8xV

Please join us for our first monthly Family Update via Zoom from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. We will share updates on changes at Fairvern, including policy updates and information about upcoming Celebrations including Fairvern’s 40^th Celebration.

Hope to see you there.

If you would like to attend, please email Mary Woodruff at mary.woodruff@fairvern.ca for the Zoom link.

Effective June 30, 2022, vaccination requirements for Staff, Volunteers, Support Workers, Student Placements, Caregivers General Visitors, or other people entering our home will be changing. Proof of up-to-date vaccination will no longer be required for these individuals. The Minister’s Directive that provided direction regarding mandatory vaccination has been rescinded and this change is in alignment with Guidance Documents. Fairvern will continue to ensure the highest level of safety for the Residents, Team Members, and Visitors by not changing the requirements below.

What is not changing?

• Mandatory masking in the home will continue to be a requirement.
• Fairvern will strongly encourage everyone to get and keep their COVID-19 vaccinations up to date.
• Fairvern will continue to actively screen everyone who enters the home as well as complete a Antigen-tigen Test (RAT) on every visit.
• Everyone should self-monitor for signs and symptoms COVID-19 and should not visit if experiencing any symptoms.

In response to this change in policy, our Visiting Policy has been updated. Copies are available at the Screener Table and posted in the Home.

The following link will provide full details of our updated visiting policy. https://www.engagemuskoka.ca/27798/widgets/112477/documents/83855

Please join us on Thursday, June 30^th at 10 a.m. to celebrate and recognize the District of Muskoka and Fairvern Nursing Home coming together, with remarks and photo opportunities.

Norm Barrette, Commissioner of Health Services is excited to announce Carrie Acton will be joining us on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, as the Administrator at the Fairvern Nursing Home, within the Health Services department.

Carrie is no stranger to the Long-Term Care world as she comes to Fairvern with several years working in various homes, with the past 6 years in senior leadership roles. She is skilled and result-oriented professional with strong qualifications in long-term care service delivery. Her positive and dedicated attitude combined with her excellent communication and organizational skills make her a great fit with our organization. She has also called Huntsville home for many years.

Carrie will begin her new role on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Carrie will be seconded to Fairvern until the transition to the District on June 30, 2022.

Carrie will be reporting to the Fairvern Board of Directors and Norm Barrette up to the Fairvern’s transition. Following the District assuming ownership and operation of Fairvern, Carrie will report directly to Norm Barrette and will be a key member of the Health Services Leadership Team. Carrie can be reached at Carrie.Acton@muskoka.on.ca, including at 705-645-2100 extension 4848.