COVID-19 Archives - Page 8 of 8 - Château Westmount

Wearing The Mask… As Long As There Is No Vaccine

We hear the government talking about deconfinement, or at least thinking about it, and while the “C.H.S.L.D.” will definitely be among the last to release the preventive measures in place, we still need to start thinking about it too.

Certainly, some of the measures implemented at the beginning of the crisis are there to stay forever, such as enforcing residents to wash their hands before their meals. Or all the changes we made to our infection prevention algorithms concerning preventive isolation and screening tests.

Other measures may be eased over time when the time is deemed safe. This includes restarting group activities or reopening our doors to visitors. These decisions will be decided at the appropriate time when the safety of our residents allows it.

One of the decisions we have already made is the use of the procedural mask by employees. Since employees can carry the virus without being aware of it and thereby contaminate our residents, we have informed our employees that mandatory use of the mask during their shift will continue until a vaccine is available. Even if it means continuing this practice for at least another 12 to 18 months.

Unfortunately, our residents will have to get used to not seeing the smile that our employees show when they care for them.

You must also understand that we will also apply this measure to visitors when our doors reopen.

For now, everything is fine. So, let’s keep smiling even if it is hidden behind a mask.

April 21, 2020/by Château Westmount

COVID-19, General Announcements

Allowing Personal Caregivers In C.H.S.L.D.

On April 14, Prime Minister Legault hinted at the return of caregivers in long-term care facilities. This measure was considered by the government to assist institutions that are experiencing staffing problems. These people could help, without replacing the beneficiaries’ attendants (P.A.B.), with tasks such as feeding the resident.

While we face the same challenges as the entire healthcare system when it comes to staff needs, C.H.S.L.D. Château Westmount is proud to say that at no time have we had a service breakdown.

From the beginning of the pandemic, we have increased the number of shifts to improve the P.A.B./resident ratio. Although we have a few shifts left unfilled from time to time, we have always been able to offer the excellent services that our residents are used to.

Therefore, given the risk of contamination posed by the arrival of people from outside our organization, we will not lift the entry ban on private caregivers or “sitters”. Similarly, volunteers are still not allowed.

In terms of staffing, we did not take any chances and quarantined and tested some employees as soon as they developed symptoms.

We had two (2) employees who received positive tests. In both cases, these employees were not symptomatic during their last shift. Both employees experienced symptoms more than 48 hours after working with us.

We did conduct an epidemiological investigation for each case by tracing the residents and other employees with whom they worked. We are pleased to report that no contamination has occurred.

In addition, by looking at the shifts worked and the onset of symptoms, we can establish that these individuals were not infected while working at C.H.S.L.D. Château Westmount.

We want to assure you that we keep a close eye on preventing our residents from being at risk. To prevent the risk of contamination by an asymptomatic employee, we ask all staff to wear a mask at all times, and we also require staff to wear their uniforms only after they arrive at us.

Our establishment performs well in the prevention of COVID-19, thanks in particular to the precautions taken by our staff and by the means of the distanciation from the external environment that we have put in place.

We know we can count on your cooperation to maintain these good results.

April 15, 2020/by Château Westmount

COVID-19, General Announcements, Videoconference

Videoconference

In these difficult times, we believe it is essential that our residents keep in touch with their loved ones.

To do this, we organized a video conferencing system using the Zoom application.

We have ensured that various security options are in place to prevent hacking during communications. This means that you won’t be able to record your conversations. We are sorry for these inconveniences.

We have two reservation calendars for the bookings. To give as many residents as possible the chance to talk to their families, we must limit it to 2 conferences per resident per week.

In addition, for logistical reasons, conferences are limited to twenty (20) minutes. This allows the person at Westmount Castle to disinfect the tablet and go to the next resident’s room.

You can book a time slot via the Picktime website available at:

https://www.picktime.com/ChateauWestmountVideoConference

We thank you for your cooperation and hope that this service will be able to address, somewhat, the separation that you and our residents are currently experiencing

April 15, 2020/by Château Westmount

Clinical Information, COVID-19

Security Measure in Place for COVID-19 as of April 6th 2020

Several people have asked us which measures have been put in place at C.H.S.L.D. Château Westmount to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We would like to assure you that as of today, no residents have tested positive for COVID-19. Unlike other C.H.S.L.D. or residence, we are blessed by the configuration of our facility. Indeed, all of our rooms are private and they all have private bathrooms. This greatly reduces the risk of contamination.

We have put restrictive measures in place since the beginning of the pandemic. In coordination with the recommendations of the «Direction de la Santé Publique» (DSP) and CIUSSS Centre-West of Montreal, we have increased the severity of the measures according to the risk of community spread.

Specifically, we have:

Closed access to all visitors;
Stop all private services;
Establishes a transition area at the front door and implements a disinfection procedure for delivered packages;
Increase cleaning and disinfection of “High Touch” common areas;
Introduced a procedure for wearing protective equipment for contractors who must go to C.H.S.L.D. Château Westmount;
Require all employees to change uniforms at the beginning and end of their shifts;
Prohibits the movement of employees between units if their duties do not require it;
Apply a 14-day quarantine for all residents who need to go outside for essential appointments;
Apply a 14-day quarantine for all new residents;
Increase hand-washing training for all staff.

In addition, the DSP has reported a high number of people who have contracted the virus in the community lately; this does increase the risk that an employee being contagious while being asymptomatic.

To address this risk, we have asked all of our employees to start wearing a procedural mask. This will reduce the possibility of spreading to our residents in case one of our employees would be asymptomatic.

All our actions are carried out in consultation with the health authorities and are aimed solely at protecting our residents. We invite you to continue your contact with them via phone calls or videoconferencing.

Thank you all for your understanding,

April 15, 2020/by Château Westmount

COVID-19, General Announcements

Situation Report Regarding The Measures In Place At Château Westmount On March 11th 2020

Westmount, March 16th, 2020.

To all residents and family members.

Object: Situation report regarding the measures in place at Château Westmount to prevent the coronavirus (COVID-19)

Dear residents and family members,

Lately, we have received several questions regarding measures taken to address the risk of the spread of COVID-19 inside our establishment. We would like to reassure you that preventive actions have been put in place to ensure the safety of our residents, visitors, and employees.

Regarding the risk of a resident having a respiratory virus, we can confirm that employees are trained to identify rapidly any resident who has flu-like symptoms and to implement isolation and treatment as soon as these symptoms appear. In addition, we can confirm that we have sufficient protective equipment to meet the needs. Our supply chain has the ability to continue to provide us with the necessary equipment in terms of nursing equipment, food, or household maintenance items.

Currently, our housekeeping team ensures adequate cleaning and disinfection of high-touch areas to prevent the possible transmission of germs. We make sure, as we do every year during the flu season that these surfaces are disinfected a minimum of four times a day. In the event of an outbreak of influenza or gastro, the number of disinfections is then increased according to the needs.

We ask, however, for your cooperation to prevent the risk of infection. We ask anyone who has recently travelled to areas identified by the Public Health Direction (DSP) to refrain from visiting Château Westmount for a period of fourteen (14) days after their return to Canada. Notice for this purpose has been posted at the entrance of our establishment as well as on the living units.

You can visit Health Canada’s website to find out what areas are affected.

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/health-professionals/covid-19-affected-areas-list.html

In addition, if you have flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sneezing, runny nose, or generalized muscle pain) we request that you postpone your visit until these symptoms disappear. Rest assured that these rules are also applied to our employees and contractors. We ask families employing private sitters to apply these same rules.

The best prevention method is still good hand hygiene. The latest COVID-19 data show that the virus can survive up to three (3) hours on dry surfaces. There is no data regarding wet surfaces at this time.

Hand washing, therefore, becomes very important. We invite you to visit our hand hygiene kiosk on March 18th and 23rd. We will offer hand-washing training and answer your questions such as wearing a mask or glove.

We hope that this information answers your questions. Please contact us if you have any further questions. As usual, it is not possible for us to discuss the records of specific residents. If you have any medical questions for your family member, please contact the coordinator in charge of the living unit concerned.

Thank you for your cooperation.

April 14, 2020/by Château Westmount

Wearing The Mask… As Long As There Is No Vaccine

Allowing Personal Caregivers In C.H.S.L.D.

Videoconference

Security Measure in Place for COVID-19 as of April 6th 2020

Situation Report Regarding The Measures In Place At Château Westmount On March 11th 2020

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