COVID-19 Information for Clients, Families, Caregivers and Individuals Residing in Supportive Housing or Assisted Living Facilities
In an effort to reduce community transmission of COVID-19, we continue to review our services across the system to support our system's efforts to respond to the ongoing pressures of the virus.
In the area of Home Care, this means that we are working to make the most of our resources, including staff, to support COVID response. Some home care staff have been, and continue to be, reassigned to support COVID testing sites. Testing, and isolation efforts are two of the most important tools our community can apply to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect our community.
We know that this extraordinary need to share resources within the community can impact your scheduled services and may result in changes to the way that you are currently receiving care. While these shifts may impact clients in Assisted Living and Supportive Housing settings (as it will in the community) please note that home care services will continue to be provided in Assisted Living and Supportive Housing settings.
We appreciate your understanding and your patience at this time as we come together as a health system, and as a community, to respond to COVID-19 in Winnipeg.
At this time there are no plan in place to resume any home care services that are currently suspended, paused or modified. We continue to work hard to meet the needs of you, our clients and families, while supporting the increasing pressure that COVID-19 is putting on our community health colleagues. In the event we may not be able to provide service that you, your families and caregivers and the Supportive Housing and Assisted Living facilities will work collaboratively with us towards resolution and safety for all.
Going forward, we anticipate there may be additional changes or service adjustments that may be required for home care clients in order to allow us to respond quickly, and flexibly, to Winnipeg's COVID-19 response. Additionally, we are aware that as the cooler weather settles in, it brings with it an increased risk of seasonal influenza for you, for your neighbours and for our staff.
One of the best strategies to protect yourself from flu is to get the seasonal flu vaccine. We urge you to connect with your facility contact to find out when flu vaccine access will be available in your building. If you cannot make an appointment to get the vaccine within your site you can find out more about flu shot resources near you at gov.mb.ca/health/flu/where.html.
We acknowledge that these disruptions and this new normal continue to be difficult for everyone. We want to assure you that we are doing our part to adjust, plan and provide care as new information becomes available.
As we move forward we anticipate that our solutions, and our strategies to support you will be as unique as each of the clients we serve. We want to continue to have these discussions with each of you and your care providers, so we can provide the best possible, individualized care solutions.
Please continue to reach out to your community care coordinator, contact information is available here under Access Centres, and if you have any additional questions or concerns, contact WRHA Client Relations by email at [email protected] or by phone at 204-926-7825.