To the Family and Friends of Community Living Wallaceburg,
As we enter another holiday season we are again facing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases both Provincially and within our local community. This was not the outcome that we had all hoped for as we moved into winter. In response to the highly transmissible Omicron Variant and in line with recent changes in policy at long-term care homes and retirement homes, our Ministry has issued a directives that will increase the use of Rapid Antigen Testing in order to reduce the likelihood of outbreaks and mitigate risk to the people we support and our employees. One change is that the Agency is required to implement twice weekly testing for its Direct Support Professionals, regardless of vaccination status. Another change is that all visitors to congregate care homes must now be subject to Rapid Antigen Testing.
In order to comply with this directive, test kits are available at all Agency homes. When a visitor arrives they will be asked the usual screening questions. Once the visitor passes that step they will be invited into the home and will conduct a Rapid Antigen Test. Employees will offer the necessary materials and will offer guidance on completing the test but visitors will self-administer the test itself. The process is very simple and a video of how to complete this process has been posted to the COVID-19 Visitor Update section of the Agency website https://getintocommunityliving.com/visitor-information/. This requirement will also apply to circumstances where you may be leaving the property with your family member to conduct your visit off-site. Supervisors are currently reaching out to families to share this information and please do not hesitate to reach out to them should you have any questions.
Almost exactly one year ago we were sharing information about the province wide lockdown and having to impose a halt to all forms of visits. We recognize that the implementation of Rapid Antigen testing represents an inconvenience and in some cases even frustration. However, our hope is that measures like this reduce the likelihood of those steps being necessary so that we can continue to support visits of all forms.
We appreciate your ongoing understanding and support and we remain committed to providing the safest environment possible for the people we support and our employees. We would also like to wish you a very happy and safe holiday season.
Thank you,
Deborah Hook Roger Romses
Executive Director Director, Community Living Support Operations
Community Living Wallaceburg Community Living Wallaceburg