Lodges tighten access to visitors, taking self-isolation protocols when needed

Image: Cold Lake Lodge.

Lakeland Lodge and Housing, which oversees seniors’ housing in Cold Lake and Bonnyville, is restricting access for visitors for just necessary visits and are taking additional precautions in light of the COVID-19 escalation in Alberta.

Chair Chris Vining said that since Sunday lodge visitors go through a brief screening at the door about recent travel history and whether the visitor is sick, and additional measures have taken place since the province’s announcement of a public health emergency on Tuesday.

“What we’re trying to do is we’re trying to limit outside contact as much as we can, but at the same time, recognizing that we can’t completely – that complete isolation for our seniors can have a really detrimental effect to their health as well,” said Vining.

“The staff are really encouraging people to make the phone calls. Call grandma. Make sure she’s doing okay.

“That contact you have with our elderly and our vulnerable people is really important to them. They need it for their own mental well-being and so it’s just important that even when you can’t physically be there that we’re still communicating.”

Inside the lodges, new protocols are in place to focus where deliveries can happen to limit contact and maintenance staff are looking after the critical areas of close contact in seniors apartments and seniors housing.

“And so really working through with them and all of their processes of AHS and ensuring everybody’s got the proper PPE to do your jobs,” said Vining.

“And just continuing to take every precaution and really following the direction of Alberta Health Services and the Chief Medical Officer. I think we’re very confident in the direction we’ve been getting there.”

Since the escalation of COVID-19 in the province, a couple of staff members and residents at the lodges have had to isolate due to travel or illness, but are gearing up to return to work.

Vining said there is not a fear at this time of a COVID-19 case at the lodges.

“We’ve got some residents just because of travel as much as anything else that have had to go into isolation and are being monitored by staff and by homecare,” said Vining.

“We’ve had a couple where they just weren’t feeling well. Of course, as soon as we’ve got residents that aren’t feeling well, we’ve been putting them into isolation until they’re asymptomatic, that kind of thing just to make sure. We don’t have any fear of a case. But things are changing so much right now.”

Vining applauded the efforts by staff during this time.

“The staff at the lodges and at our foundation from the maintenance people through to the caregivers to housekeeping and everyone else just needs to be given such a huge pat on the back. Their work is so challenging right now,” he said.

“They’re coming to work because they know that those folks that live there are so important.”