March 14, 2020

The Provincial Director of Health has strongly recommended that travel outside of Canada be avoided if possible while the COVID-19 outbreak continues.   For all those who are returning from outside of Canada, a self-isolation period of 14 days is to be observed BEFORE interacting with the general public.  In our ongoing effort to ensure everyone’s health and well-being, Berwick will be implementing this recommendation immediately for all staff, residents and visitors.

We strongly recommend that our residents and staff do not travel at this time, avoid large groups and request your family and friends to refrain from visiting.  Should your travel be essential then please be aware that you will be required to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days.  We are also taking the added precaution of implementing personal health and travel screening for  visitors to our community to mitigate transfer of this virus. Please note, if you do not contact us prior to arrival, you will be met at the door by a staff member who will be asking the following pre-screening questions:

• Have you or any person(s) you reside with returned from China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea or been on a cruise ship in the last 14 days?
• Have you had close contact with or cared for someone diagnosed with COVID-19 within the last 14 days?
• Have you or someone you reside with experienced any cold or flu-like symptoms in the last 14 days (to include fever, cough, sore throat, respiratory illness, difficulty breathing)? 

If you answer yes to any of the questions below, please refrain from visiting any Berwick Retirement Community for a period of 14 days.

Berwick is sincerely asking for your support in adhering to this direction by avoiding any visitation to our communities while in this self-isolation period or if you are exhibiting any outbreak symptoms.  Please ask yourself if your visit is truly essential or if there is a different way we can assist you such as delivering dropped off supplies to a resident.

We all share the same collective sensitivities to help ensure our Residents and Front-line staff remain healthy during this unprecedented time of outbreak.

What other things are we doing to help prevent COVID-19 in our residences?

• Berwick has cancelled all community events and outings
• Berwick is cancelling all private dining events, guest meals and guest suite stays
• Staff who are unwell have been notified and requested to refrain from coming to work. Any staff who work at other sites in the community that have outbreaks are prohibited from working at our sites during the outbreak as per company policy.
• Berwick is continuing to add additional staff and work hours where needed to help assist in cleaning and disinfecting all high touch point areas
• Berwick has increased the number of hand sanitization & education stations within our communities
• Our Clinical Resource Team is conducting educational in-services and providing around the clock support to our staff to help them provide the best care and services to our residents. This team is also available to answer questions our residents and families may have.
• Promoting good hand hygiene and cough etiquette
• We will be maintaining all visitor logs
• Regular surveillance for signs and symptoms in residents
• Use of gloves and masks as appropriate

While there have been a lot of changes that have been happening, one of the things that has not changed is that proper hand washing is paramount to reducing the spread of germs and viruses so we continue to urge everyone to maintain good hand hygiene practices.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Lesley Sikorski, Director of Sales & Marketing
email: lsikorski@berwickrc.com