In long-term care and assisted living homes families are a pillar of residents’ care teams. When visitations were restricted in March 2020 due to the novel coronavirus, many seniors experienced impacts to their overall quality of life, despite the best efforts of staff. While such restrictions were necessary to keep residents and workers safe, long-term care and assisted living providers across B.C. are pleased to be welcoming visitors back into their homes and acknowledge how difficult this period has been for seniors and their families.
A new resource for long-term care and assisted living operators
As the sector moves forward with visitations, things are far from back to “normal.” As such, BCCPA and EngAge BC are working with an advisory group of experts to develop The Best Visit Possible: A guide for supporting family visits during COVID-19. The objective of the guide is to discuss how visits, both in person and virtual, can be approached in this new context, to support the best quality of life possible for residents. The guide will build on The Best Day Possible: A Quality of Life Framework for Seniors’ Care in B.C. to discuss leading practices in family visits, amid COVID-19.
A call for feedback: #BestVisitPossible
BCCPA and EngAge BC are asking residents and their family members to visit the page found here to let us know what makes a visit the best visit possible. Please help us in our call for feedback by sharing this page with your resident and family councils, circulating it on your social media or including it in your newsletters.
The Association is also inviting operators, families, and staff to recognize the resiliency of residents and the extraordinary contributions of employees working in long-term care and assisted living homes. Share quotes, pictures and other examples of the work you are doing on social media by using the hashtag #BestVisitPossible and tagging BCCPA and EngAge BC. You can also share your learnings directly by contacting Rebecca Frederick, Senior Manager, EngAge BC at rebecca@engageseniors.ca.
We look forward to releasing this resource in the coming weeks.
