Covid-19

New Measures: Outaouais enters Code Orange

Dear residents,

As you may have already heard, the Government has announced that the Outaouais region is in ORANGE LEVEL alert. We have received the new security measures from the Ministry of Health that you will need to follow, which we will carefully outline below. As previously, you must understand that these measures are imposed by the Ministry and it is important to follow them to ensure the health and safety of us all.

Here are the new security measures by category :

VISITS

• VISITORS: You are allowed to a maximum of 6 people per unit and they must all sign up at reception. All visitors must respect a 2-meter distance at all times, even when in your unit. Unfortunately, visitors cannot go into any of the common areas and they must go from reception directly to your unit. All your visitors must wear protective gear upon entering, as well as take their temperature and sign the registry.
• CAREGIVERS: For residents needing assistance, they will be allowed 2 caregivers officially registered in the program in their apartment OR 1 caregiver officially registered to the program in the common areas. The caregivers can approach the residents they are providing care to.
• SOCIAL WORKER AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS: They are authorized to enter while encouraging social distancing. They must sign up at reception as all other visitors.
• HIRED COMPANION: Unfortunately, these will not be allowed within the premises or unit. They will need to register for the caregiver’s program to offer essential services.

MEALS

• DINING ROOM: The dining room will only be open for residents not able to eat within their unit or needing assistance. For all other residents, the meals will be delivered to their unit. All autonomous residents in apartments not requiring any assistance will not be allowed in the dining room. We do understand that for many being able to go out to the dining room can help your mental state, so for anyone needing this for health reasons please contact management to discuss. Management will communicate later with the specific arrangements for the meals. As a measure to help all autonomous residents order their groceries and to prepare, these changes will only start as of the 25th of September.
• DELIVERY OF MEALS: For anyone that has meals included in their lease and not able to eat in the dining room, meals will be delivered to your door without any fees.
• GENERAL DELIVERIES: All packages (i.e. boxes, food, groceries, etc.) will need to be delivered at reception so that they can be disinfected before being delivered to your door.

ACTIVITIES

• SERVICES: Hairdresser, convenience store, pharmacy and other commercial tenants within the residence will only be accessible to our residents.
• OUTSIDE WALKS: No supervision is needed, you can go for walks as you please while respecting the social distancing of 2 meters from all other residents and visitors. Also, all groups must be limited to 6 people on the grounds of the residence.
• VISITS OUTSIDE RESIDENCE: All visits must be limited to essential services and you must prioritize deliveries for your groceries and purchases.
• ACTIVITIES: Please keep an eye out for the activities calendar regularly. The Ministry has recommended that we reduce the number of activities within the residence. This being said, we will continually be updating the calendar as to respect the latest security measures. For each activity, all participants will need to sign up, so that we can keep a registry of everyone attending each activity.

We understand that these measures have an impact on your mental health and that it is not an ideal situation. However, it is important to understand that the goal of these measures is to avoid a COVID-19 spread in our residence and community and also to assure the health and safety of our residents and devoted staff.

We are counting on your collaboration and understanding in regard to these measures that we must implement. We have to remind ourselves that we are all fighting this pandemic together and that our team is working hard daily to give quality service and care. Additionally, for residents that have decided to enter into full confinement to their apartment immediately, please advise management. We would like to put wellness calls in place in order to keep in contact and ensure that everything is going well during your period of confinement. If you do wish to communicate with us directly, we ask that you write to the following email (famille@katasa.ca) and we will do our best to answer as soon as possible. Please remember that you can always reach out to your manager onsite.

We understand that this pandemic has impacted your daily lives and required many changes and adjustments. We would like to congratulate our residents, our devoted staff, and managers in their continued efforts since the beginning of this pandemic. We especially would like to thank you for your collaboration in respecting the safety measures. We must keep our heads high and fight this pandemic together!

We appreciate your trust,

Samantha, Tanya and Katherine Chowieri

Managers and Owners

Katasa Groupe + Développement 

by Samuel Parent

Deconfinement measures

Dear residents and family members,

We would like to inform you that we must wait for the written directives from the Ministry in order to proceed with the deconfinement measures that were announced during the premiere of Quebec’s press briefing. We will inform you in writing as soon as we receive them.

With Mother’s Day approaching, we wish to remind you of the guidelines regarding the delivery of goods in CHSLDs, RPAs, and RI-RTFs. Delivery services are permitted, but the goods must be delivered to the main entrance and be disinfected before being passed on to the residents. No contact with the residents is allowed. And to comply with hygiene and cleanliness guidelines, meals prepared at home are not permitted. Only meals that come from shops are allowed.

Here are some useful definitions in the current context:

Caregiver: Family member or person considered to be a family member who provides care or support to the seriously ill or injured person or the person who requires end-of-life care.

Family member: Includes the immediate family and any other family member or individual considered to be a family member, whether or not this person is related by marriage or a common-law relationship or any other legal parent-child relationship.

Care or support: Defined as the care provided to a seriously ill or injured person or a person who requires end-of-life care. Support is defined as the psychological or emotional support provided to a seriously ill or injured person or a person who requires end-of-life care.

Seriously ill or injured person: Someone whose basic health status has deteriorated significantly due to an illness or injury.

We understand your frustration, impatience, and sadness related to being away from your loved ones. Despite that, it is important to follow the safety directives from the government. We are as eager as you are to be able to slowly resume social life in the residence. We will keep you informed as soon as we receive written updates from the government regarding deconfinement.

We thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Katasa Group Residences
Sam, Katherine, Tanya and Samantha Chowieri
Managers and Owners

by Samuel Parent

Send a greeting card to your loved ones

Why not send them a virtual greeting card?

Can’t visit a loved one at the Residence?

It’s a wonderful opportunity to express your feelings and state of mind. Your message will be sent directly and privately. Kindly fill the form on our website to send a card. The virtual card will be given to the resident as soon as it is received. Your email will be handled in strict confidence and will not be distributed, sold, or used for any purpose other than to communicate with you.

by Samuel Parent

The Safety of our Residents is our Priority

This is the list of measures we have taken to ensure the health of our residents and prevent the spread of the virus:

• We have improved an already-strict daily cleaning procedure with rigorous protocols for key points of contact, including door handles and keyboards. All surfaces are regularly cleaned with antibacterial cleaners.
• Our team has the obligation to wash their hands frequently and use hand sanitizer throughout the day.
  
• We are limiting the entry of staff to the units. The basic housekeeping of the apartments is canceled for residents who are able to clean themselves.
  
• Deep cleaning of common areas is done throughout the day.
  
• All activities have been canceled indefinitely.
  
• We are setting up virtual activities to entertain residents (virtual sports lessons, virtual yoga, and virtual recreational activities) and we are providing tablets to residents.
  
• Visits are forbidden.
  
• A daily information board has been installed in a strategic location.
  
• All deliveries are left at the entrance by delivery people and then brought to our staff. All products, except for frozen/perishable products and all newspapers/mail are quarantined for three hours.
  
• Publi-sacs and other flyers are refused.
  
• Hand soap dispensers are placed in strategic locations.
  
• All new clients are quarantined for 48 hours.
  
• We are using disposable utensils, cups, plates, and bowls.
  
• Natural caregivers are allowed under strict conditions, like our staff.
  
• Katasa will continue to share Health Canada updates regularly and advise all team members to stay at home if they feel sick.
  
• Walks outside are forbidden.

by Samuel Parent