Dear families of Shelburne Long-Term Care,

As you may remember from our last letter, over the past several weeks, we have brought a number of our staff members back to work and hired new staff to support our residents and their families. As a result of these efforts, Headwaters Health Care Centre (HHCC) and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDG Public Health) expressed their confidence in our staffing levels and successfully completed the phased transition over the weekend.

While the majority of hospital staff have returned to their work at HHCC, we will continue to be supported by three hospital agency staff until May 26th.

We will also continue to be in regular contact with Ontario Health Central Region, Headwaters Heath Care Centre and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health and will continue to receive their advice and guidance on our outbreak measures and response protocols.

We also know that over the weekend, the provincial government began to re-open the economy, and as a result, many people may be hopeful that access to Ontario’s long-term care homes will also begin to re-open.

And while we would like nothing more than to see families physically connected once more, for everyone’s safety we are continuing to keep our outbreak response measures in place. These measures include limiting access to the facility to essential personnel only, continuing to screen staff and residents and monitor for symptoms, requiring proper PPE use to be observed at all times, and continuing with sanitization and disinfection protocols. These measures will remain in place until health authorities deem it safe to lift them.

We know that being away from your loved ones hasn’t been easy, and we want to say ‘thank you’ to all the families who have supported us in this fight. Your participation in our outbreak response plan has helped us minimize risks and save the lives of some of our most vulnerable citizens.

We would also to extend our condolences to the family of a resident who passed away on Friday. This person is deeply missed by everyone in our community.

We will continue to keep you updated through our website, letters and phone calls, and if you ever have any questions about the measures we have in place or the health of your loved one, please call us at 519-925-3476.

Sincerely,

Stacey Rooyakkers
Executive Director