Queens Manor Ready For Visitors
Residents of Queens Manor can now get closer to their loved ones.
Protections that had been in place across the province to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 have been eased, allowing residents to interact with others without the use of a barrier.
Executive Director Andrew MacVicar says this is the news residents and staff have been waiting for, but reuniting families is not as easy as throwing open the doors to the facility.
“While I would love to say outdoor visitation starts Monday, and it’s the same visiting hours as it was pre-COVID and you just come on up and we get your loved one, and we bring them out to see you, it can’t work that way.”
Without a vaccine, the coronavirus is still a threat and precautions developed with the provincial health authority must be followed to ensure everyone’s safety.
People are already accustomed to the rules around wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and proper hand sanitizing, but a long-term care home needs extra precautions in place to allow visitors.
All visits for the 61 residents need to be scheduled ahead of time and Queens Manor will offer eight time slots Monday to Friday between 1:00pm and 5:00pm.
MacVicar is aware many people want to come on weekends to see their loved ones, but while everyone learns and adjusts to the new way of doing things, Queens Manor has to limit visitations to the weekdays.
“I want to stress that this is our entry point. This is an opportunity for us to go through this work in progress and work out the kinks without compromising safety. That’s the most important thing.”
Each resident can welcome up to two visitors at time to join them under a canopy in the back courtyard.
Queens Manor Courtyard ready to welcome visitors
MacVicar says the staff is working to ensure the reception area is an enjoyable place to spend time with loved ones while still adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines.
“We’re lucky our courtyard is gorgeous and there’s plants everywhere and the sounds of birds and spring and summer, it’s great. In the actual visitation area, we’re going to add more plants and things to make it more pleasant.”
MacVicar says there will be a staff member present during the visits to help people follow the protocols.
“As you can imagine, you’ve got residents and their loved ones who haven’t seen each other in three months. So there’s going to be that innate reflex to want to give hugs and kisses and touch one another and unfortunately, we have to be the bad guys in the middle and ensuring that that doesn’t happen, which is a very challenging thing for us to do because we want it to happen, but it’s just not safe right now.”
While long-term care homes were off-limits, Queens Manor had set up window where residents could communicate by phone with friends and family on the other side of the glass.
MacVicar says that will still be an option for those who don’t yet feel comfortable meeting in person.
He is glad to see restrictions easing to allow family members a face-to-face experience with their loved ones.
And from a mental-health perspective, MacVicar says nothing is more important to the residents.`
“Nothing is going to match the day when we can say, come on in and give your loved ones a hug.
Reported by Ed Halverson
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson