Dear families of Shelburne Long-Term Care,

We know that the past couple of months have not been an easy time for families. Policies set out by the provincial government and medical authorities, including physical distancing and restricted access to long-term care homes, have presented new and unique obstacles to interactions with loved ones.

And while COVID-19 has repeatedly tested us, our families and our communities have met every obstacle, every battle and every challenge with innovate and unique solutions to the quarantine measures we have in place.

Whether it’s window visits, FaceTime chats, signs on the lawn, drive-by parades or messages of love, your support for your loved ones has given them strength, and they continue to greet each day with renewed hope and joy.

One of the most important things this virus has shown us is the power of a family’s love, and we’d like to share with you a beautiful example of its strength that we’ve seen here at Shelburne LTC.

In April, our resident Jack Campbell tested positive for the virus. While he was tired much of the time, a staff member assisted him to have some FaceTime with his daughter, and that first day he sat up, smoothed his hair, and energetically talked with her. FaceTime chats progressed to window visits with his son and daughter-in-law. These interactions gave him purpose and the strength to carry on. With the love and support of his family, and the care of our staff, we are happy to say that Jack has made a full recovery, and his case of COVID-19 has since been declared resolved.

Jack is well-loved by everyone in our community and he continues to bring a smile to our face each day. His strength and determination to beat the virus have been remarkable, and we celebrate him as a “COVID Warrior”.

We are working on a number of initiatives for your loved one to make life more normal again. With the nicer weather, outdoor activities and time in our courtyard are being scheduled. We are considering initiatives around dining and other activities to restore some of the social aspects our residents have come to appreciate at Shelburne. More of this will be discussed in our next letter.

As we continue to meet the challenges of COVID-19, we want families to know that we are here to help support you in maintaining connections with your loved ones. We are always happy to receive families for window visits, and we are able to schedule phone calls, emails, texts or video calls with loved ones. For assistance in arranging one of these options, please contact Sarah Ricci at [email protected] or phone us at 519-925-3746.

We would also like to encourage everyone to check our Facebook page regularly for updates, stories and photos of your loved ones. With your permission, we will also continue to shine a light on our residents through our weekly communications with you, and we hope that you find joy and happiness in their stories like we do.

From all of us at Shelburne LTC—thank you for being our partner in this fight.

Sincerely,

Stacey Rooyakkers
Executive Director