One year ago today, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, naming the coronavirus, or COVID-19, as the culprit. We didn’t know much about this virus at the time, and we didn’t know how forcefully it would impact our lives.
Much has changed since that declaration. A year ago, most of the country would not have known what ‘PPE’ was, but now everyone does. A year ago, we spent time freely with family and friends, and now we miss the sense of community we enjoy when we can be together.
But do you know what hasn’t changed?
Your unwavering support for Broadmead Care. We are grateful for the ways you responded with kindness and words of encouragement for our staff, and for your support for the significant – and sometimes swift – changes we needed to make in our Care Homes. When we asked, you responded with generous donations to help keep families connected in new and creative ways. It is thanks to each of you, who pulled together with us to create an unshakeable community of care, that we have kept all our residents and each other safe.
While this past year was different in many ways, this amazing community of care is the same as it’s always been: committed, dedicated, resilient, strong, compassionate, loving, kind, creative, courageous – and all the other words staff chose for our ‘Word Shirt’ (see photo, left). We have so many of you to thank for all the ways you’ve supported us, and I know how grateful our staff are for the kind words of encouragement you shared with them. Together, we did it, and we can state with pride that not one resident has been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic was declared.
And now we move into the future with optimism and hope. It is my hope that the vaccination program rolling out across BC will give us new opportunities in the near future to bring families and loved ones together.
Thank you so very much for your support as together we learned from the experiences of the past year. Thank you for joining us in transforming challenges into opportunities for creativity. And thank you for supporting us as we continue to build communities where every person can experience wellbeing and happiness.
Please take a moment to watch this video from the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, which provides insight into what the pandemic has been like for long term care homes. It is facilitated by Bruce Williams, CEO Victoria Chamber, and features Amir Hemani, CEO Berwick House, and David Cheperdak, CEO Broadmead Care.
Photo above: Staff at Beckley Farm Lodge wearing their ‘Word Shirts’ – shirts that have words they chose to represent what they are most proud of during the pandemic.