Aug 4 Update from our COO: Seasons Response to COVID-19
I hope you were able to enjoy a safe, healthy long-weekend.
I want to thank our team members and residents for continuing to follow our safety protocols and recommendations. Your efforts have gone a long way to ensuring our retirement communities remain free of COVID-19.
Thank you to our families and visitors who have followed our guidelines for safe access visits. The visiting hours we laid out two weeks ago are the best times to visit, as they do not interfere with dining times. However, please recognize that these hours may vary from day to day and home to home depending on various situations such as safety, equitable access, ability to physical distance, staffing priorities, etc.
We appreciate your patience when you arrive for your scheduled visit, as you may need to wait for a team member to perform the screening, or we may be slightly delayed in cleaning after the visit prior to yours. While we certainly understand how important your visit is, our teams must prioritize the needs of our collective residents first.
Caring for our communities is an important theme for Seasons in August. We received a great deal of support from our local communities at the height of the pandemic and we want to pay it forward. From August 7-14, we will be hosting our annual One Can Make a Difference food bank challenge at each Seasons location. The residence that collects the most canned goods will win a fabulous prize! The next time you visit, please consider dropping off a non-perishable item for the food bank. While only cans count towards a home’s goal, local food banks are often neglected during the summer months and will be grateful for donations of all kinds.
I also want to take a moment to acknowledge two important, recent achievements. First, Seasons was notified that we are a finalist for the 2020 Canadian HR Awards for Best Reward & Recognition Strategy. Winners will be announced in September. Second, we were officially Certified™ as a Great Workplace by Great Places to Work Canada. We are humbled to receive these recognitions, especially at a time when our sector is facing many challenges due to the global pandemic. These are significant markers of our goal to be a company our employees love to work for. We believe that when our employees are happy, our residents are happy, too.
Thank you for your patience and for the kindness you show our team members who are doing their utmost to keep your loved ones safe. Caring words of encouragement go a long way to ensuring our team members enjoy coming to work each day, adding to overall workplace satisfaction.
As our retirement communities have adjusted to this new way of life, today’s Memo will conclude my weekly COVID-19 updates. Should an exceptional situation present itself, such as rapid transmission in the larger community, we will resume regular communication as needed. We are also investigating new technology that would improve communications to residents and families. We hope to have more details on this in September. In the meantime, please check the Company tab of our website for information, or reach out to the leadership team at your specific Seasons location.
Sincerely,
LeighAnne Voll,
Chief Operating Officer
For additional online resources for COVID-19 you can visit the following sites:
Canada Health
Alberta Health
Alberta Health Services
Public Health Ontario
Retirement Home Regulatory Authority