COVID-19 – CARE HOME PREVENTION STRATEGY

Quality Care Homes has been in contact with The Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) regarding COVID-19. We have been provided with protocols, tools and orders to keep our residents safe and healthy. Quality Care Homes has been performing the following measures to protect our residents and staff during these troubling times.

1. Social Distancing and Communal Dining Practices: Encourage residents to stay in their rooms as much as possible, to help prevent the virus from spreading throughout your facility. Whenever possible, deliver meals to residents’ rooms, to avoid the potential for any COVID-19 transmission between residents, or staff and residents.
– In cases where this is difficult, it is acceptable to stagger meals times with 10 or fewer residents, while still ensuring a two-meter distance between residents. As choking can be a risk, appropriate supervision is still important to ensure appropriate care.
– It may be challenging for some residents to remain in their rooms, especially residents with dementia. Staff is to consider appropriate individual communication and diversion strategies to encourage these residents to stay in their rooms.

2. Resident Health and Safety: Staff are to ensure that the residents are:
– Maintaining social distancing with other residents.
– Washing their hands regularly.
– Are receiving safe (in accordance with social distancing protocols) social interactions.
– Being regularly checked for COVID-19 symptoms (fever, tiredness, cough, difficulty breathing, headache, runny nose, or loss of smell and taste).

3. Visitor Restrictions and Screening: Visitors are not permitted in any personal care home, except for compassionate reasons. All visitors must be
screened. If screening is satisfactory, they will be permitted to visit.

4. Staff Screening: Staff is required to have their temperatures taken and recorded on a Log Sheet before and after their shift. Staff is also required to perform symptom checks (fever, tiredness, cough, difficulty breathing, headache, runny nose, or loss of smell and taste) before and after their shift.

5. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Staff are to wear masks and gloves.

6. Sanitation: Staff is required to sanitize all surfaces and touchpoints (doorknobs, staircase railings, etc.) every shift and before the next shift
begins. In total, the facility is sanitized 3 times a day.

7. PCH Preparedness and Staff Education: To ensure that all staff at Quality Care Homes are knowledgeable of the matter surrounding COVID-19, we
have distributed COVID-19 Information binders in all facilities that contain protocols,

8. procedures, guides and notices by the SHA and Quality Care Homes about COVID-19.

9. Recreational Activities: To maintain our residents mental health, we have reinstated some recreational activities. The Recreation Directors are to
perform recreational activities that remain in accordance with the two-meter rule. Group recreation activities, however, have been suspended as ordered by the SHA.

10. Communication with Supporters/Family Members: Quality Care Homes is currently trying to acquire gadgets (laptop/tablet, etc.) for each home. We hope to have it set up so that family members can direct their calls to an account and be able to video call and/or chat with the resident. In the
meantime, you are free to call the home to have the staff set up a call with residents.

We know this has been difficult for everyone, and we thank you for your understanding and for your ongoing support. We, at Quality Care Homes are trying our very best to keep everyone safe and healthy. Should any case of Covid-19 appear within our care home, please rest assured that we will immediately inform Sask Health for directions and inform our supporters.

Please stay well, stay safe and healthy!