Dear Family & Friends,

Family & Friends

April 22, 2020

Dear Family & Friends,

We are writing with our weekly update to families and friends of residents in Broadmead Care homes to update you about COVID-19 and the ways we are working together to protect the people who live and work in our Care Homes.

One of our top priorities is to help you stay in contact with your loved ones. Connections with friends and families are running full tilt, and we are delighted to deliver your messages, photos and short videos – nearly 1,000 of them since the Keep Connected program launched! You’ve also written in with kind words for our staff, who are working diligently to keep your loved ones engaged and connected. Here are just two of your stories and comments:

Our family would like to thank each and every one of you for doing a great and courageous job. Thank you for your compassion, humour, and understanding while you are caring for our Dad, while we cannot be there. Please keep your families safe, and continue to love ours in our absence.

Our Skype connections have been a smashing success, and she clearly loves it. Not surprisingly, our kids all love the chance to see their Mom. On Saturday we in fact had everyone on the call – including the new grandson, the son & daughter-in-law, and Rango, the energetic dog. All the kids were talking back and forth with us saying very little. It was a lot like how it used to be in our kitchen. Her expression said it all – she was revelling in it. Thanks again for making these connections happen.

Thank you for sending your messages of love, appreciation, and hope. They make such a difference for your loved ones, who are able to be connected during challenging times; and our hard-working staff, who are uplifted by your words.

We would like to acknowledge our gratitude to the Victoria Foundation, Times Colonist, and the Jawl Foundation for their donation through the Rapid Relief Fund, which enabled us to purchase more iPads, and have greater capacity to connect families. We continue to look for additional opportunities to support meaningful connections between residents, their families, and friends.

As gentle reminders:

• If you wish to have a ‘window visit’ with a loved one, please make sure you contact the Activity Worker ahead of time (see below for contact information). We completely understand the desire to drop by, but sometimes this has resulted in less-than-perfect interactions, so we ask that you arrange your visit ahead of time, for the best possible and most meaningful visit for everyone.
• Please do not bring gifts or other goods for your loved one to any Care Home.
• Other ways to visit or stay connected with a resident can be found in our Keep Connected program, through which you can send an email, upload a photo or video, or arrange a video chat.

It is National Volunteer Week in Canada, and we wish to take this opportunity to cheer and heartily applaud all our volunteers whose time and talents make Broadmead Care such a joyous place. Their absence during this time makes us even more aware of the extraordinary impact they have on residents, clients, families, and staff. This week, as in all weeks, we thank them for their dedication and contributions, and celebrate them for everything they do.

Every day we continue to be focused on keeping your loved ones safe. We are working hard to maintain the important operational changes we have implemented, while at the same time working just as hard to advance The Broadmead Way, helping residents to experience connection, engagement, wellbeing and happiness. As Dr. Henry said yesterday, we can start to look to the future, knowing we are getting through this together, and we all need to do our part. Every day counts, every action counts, and together we are taking the important actions that protect your loved ones. Please be assured that we will continue to do our utmost to keep our Care Homes, communities, and families safe.

To arrange window visits, please call:

Beckley Farm Lodge – 250.381.4421, extension 229
Rest Haven Lodge – 250.656.0717, extension 454
Veterans Memorial Lodge – 250.658.0311 between 9am and 8pm, and ask to be transferred to the appropriate Activity Worker