COVID-19 Update

Regular Family Visits 
The new directives from the Ministry also permit visits from family members outside the Grace Village Care Pavilion while maintaining requirements for social distancing, wearing of masks and other infection control measures.

• There are designated areas set up for visits outside the Grace Village Care Pavilion and guidelines for visitors will be provided.
• Visitors will be required to register, as the Ministry mandates that we maintain a log of visits. While ensuring privacy of conversations, social distancing between visitors and residents will be monitored.

• Guidelines for these family visits include but are not limited to:
  • Appointments must be made in advance;
  • There must be no direct exchange of any material between residents and visitors eg: gifts, letters, cards, money, food or other perishables;
  • If visitors wish to bring items for their loved one, it must be handed off to Grace Village Resident Care staff and disinfection guidelines apply;
  • To request a visit, please email [email protected].

Communications - Fighting Isolation 
Isolation is a major issue for seniors at the best of times, and contact with their families and friends is more important now than ever before. We encourage you to take advantage of these communication resources:

Email Messages
If you would like to send an email to a resident to stay connected during this time, messages can be emailed to [email protected] and we will print and share with your loved ones.

Window Visits
We have had many organized window visits over the past few weeks – If you are interested in planning a visit, please email [email protected]. It is important to understand that unplanned window visits can cause stress for our residents. Please contact us to arrange your visit. PLEASE – make sure windows remain closed!

Virtual Visits
We are booking "virtual visits" using Google Duo on our new tablet PCs, compatible with both Android and Apple devices. To book an appointment, please email [email protected]. Please do not contact the Resident Care team directly (nurses, caregivers) for virtual visits.

Telephone
Telephone calls are also appreciated – please call your loved ones to tell them they are not alone.  If your loved one needs assistance to use the telephone, email [email protected] to make arrangements.

Building Access Restrictions 
On May 8 the Ministry updated their building access guidelines which we have implemented as of May 12.  Grace Village's top priority remains ensuring the safety of our seniors - it is critical to respect all guidelines intended to prevent the possibility of bringing contamination into Grace Village and endangering the health and safety of other residents. 

• Residents who are now able to go for walks outside the building will remain on Grace Village property and must follow the Ministry's safety guidelines such as social distancing, face mask and handwashing procedures.
• Our restricted access guidelines to the different resident wings in the Care Pavilion are still in effect, including Ministry restrictions on the movement of natural caregivers.  For the moment, residents are permitted to circulate in their own wing and in the central block: the Bistro area, Faith Hall and Admin area, provided they respect a social distance of 2 metres.
• Residents are still able to freely go out in the courtyard garden accessible from their wing, and many residents have been taking advantage of the nicer weather to walk and get fresh air.

Resident Activities
As mandated by the Health Ministry, all group activities have been cancelled. However there is a variety of one-on-one resident activities going on within the guidelines for safety and social distancing (music, artwork, puzzles, etc.) ... and the library is still open – lots of books to read!

Social distancing 
We are asking residents to maintain the reuqired social distance of 2 metres distance from other residents at all times. We have also asked them not to visit each other in their rooms unless they can maintain the social distance, and they must wash their hands with soap and water after the visit.

Mail/Deliveries
Our procedure to hold the mail prior to delivery to reisdents has been reduced from 72 to 24 hours from the day it is delivered to Grace Village (e.g. mail received May 4th will be delivered May 5th). This includes deliveries by courier unless an essential or urgent item is required for resident care.

• Newspapers are also being held for 24 hours before being delivered.
• Mail to all wings is delivered by a member of the Resident Care or Recreation & Leisure teams; Admin staff are limiting their circulation in the wings. 
• For mandataries who customarily pick up mail at Grace Village, mail can be mailed to you periodically or you may arrange to pick it up at the Business Office by emailing [email protected]. Please make an appointment before coming to Grace Village.

Items brought to the Front Entrance
Dropping off resident packages is discouraged unless pre-approved by the Resident Care team.

• Paper items (greeting cards, gift cards, gift bags, etc.) will be held with the mail received that day and delivered separately.
• Only food items in sealed containers that can be sanitized can be delivered; no delivery food items like pizza etc.
• Items are separated according to what can be sanitized (Virox wipes) and what cannot.
• We can accept deliveries of cut flowers and/or plants if they are wrapped in plastic and can be wiped down.​