Exciting weeks ahead!!! We learned at the same time as all of you last week that outdoor visiting with the residents will be commencing on Thursday June 18th!! Everyone is excited and I know you must be so incredibly happy to finally be able to see your loved one without having to look through a window or computer screen!!
The ministry directive allows for ONE VISITOR PER RESIDENT PER WEEK. This will allow us to ensure all residents have an opportunity to have a visit. We will be giving priority with the booking first for those who have not been able to connect with their loved one via zoom/window. A few important preparatory items for you to arrange this week. I would highly recommend that you call a COVID-19 assessment center today to get your COVID-19 swab test completed. It will take approximately 24-48 hours to obtain your results. The number for the Napanee Assessment Centre held at the Lenadco Complex (across the road from JMPC) is 613-354-8254. Other COVID assessment centers are available near you and the link to access your results for this testing is here. The Home will need to see a screenshot or document that you will show to the screener on the day of your visit (we don’t need to have this in advance) confirming you have been tested and have had a negative result in the past 2 weeks. You are not able to visit without having your negative results in hand.
You will be asked a series of questions regarding your health as it is imperative that you not visit if you are unwell or were recently unwell (questions such as do you have a new or worsening cough; shortness of breath; sore throat; runny nose; nausea, vomiting or diarrhea). You will also be required to use hand sanitizer which will be at the screening table.
Outdoor visiting will occur in the front community garden with yourselves on the outside of the fenced area and the residents on the inside of the fenced area. Physical distancing must be adhered to on both sides of the fence. Please bring your own mask to wear during the entire visit and also bring your own lawn chair. You must not bring treats/drinks etc for your loved one. All parcels/treats must continue to be dropped off at the screening table as has been occurring all along. We are setting up a visiting schedule on-line using the same link as we use for zoom and window visits and really appreciate you using this tool to book your visit. If you are unable to access this online tool, please reach out to cmcmullen@lennox-addington.on.ca. We will have this set up and ready for you to book into commencing Tuesday, June 16th. You can expect to receive a few emails from us this week as everything gets organized.
Please remember that everyone is missing their loved one so the visiting schedule will be essential to ensure we have the residents in the community garden at the right time for your visit, as well as to ensure we can prepare for the next persons visit that will be following yours. We will staff the Community Garden area while visiting is occurring. We will have drinks available for the residents, sun hats and sun screen should they wish or need this. Let’s hope for lots of sunshine! We will have multiple visits happening simultaneously so it will be imperative that everyone is mindful of physical distancing.
This will be an incredibly busy week of planning and preparation and there will no doubt be bumps along the road as we work through the outdoor visiting to ensure it is as enjoyable as possible for everyone. Please be patient with us as we are all in this together, learning new things, and doing things differently!
If this is your first time reading our newsletter, I would encourage you to go to this link where you will find the six previous newsletters should you wish to view them.
Hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter,
Angela Malcolm
Director
What's New at JMPC
Menu -- Here is the menu for this week. We changed the beef rigatoni to beef tips and mashed potatoes. We are having a BBQ on Friday for the whole building, featuring crunchy perch for dinner on Saturday to go with the activation fishing ‘tournament’ being held on Saturday. On Sunday for Father’s Day dinner we will be having prime rib, cherry whiskey cheese cake and raisin pie.
Program Schedule -- Here is this week's program schedule.
End of Life Visitation -- As required by the Directives from the Ministry currently in place, we can only allow one essential visitor with a resident at a time. In an effort to support larger families we will allow 1 visitor at a time every 6 hours. We have blocked this 6 hour time at the front screening table to ensure we maintain this Directive. This will hopefully give families the flexibility that they may need to ensure people are able to say goodbye. Those coming in the Home must wear PPE as provided and must not visit other areas of the Home or other residents.
Zoom Meetings & Window Visits
Book yourzoom and window visit online!
We ask that visits be scheduled a day ahead and that weekend requests are completed by Friday at 2pm. For zoom visits, you will receive a confirmation email first. Then, one day prior to your zoom visit you will receive the zoom link emailed to you from the Home.
Please book your visit using this link: https://www.picktime.com/JMPC.If you have any questions please call 613-354-3306 or email Candice here.
Some of you may not be familiar with Carolyn McConnell. She has been speaking with you on the phone prior to your loved one’s admission. She is also who you would be speaking to during care conferences. It’s always nice to put a name to a face…Here’s Carolyn!
Validation Therapy
Fun fact. Naomi Feil grew up in the Montefiore Home for the Aged in Cleveland Ohio, where her father was the administrator and her mother, the head of the Social Service Department. Her unique childhood offered her incredible insight into the world of the elderly. Naomi later went on to become a social worker herself, and developed something called validation therapy.
Validation just generally feels good. We all want to have people around us who make us feel understood and supported. That doesn’t change for those living with dementia. It can be really hard for caregivers to provide validation to someone who’s reality is so altered from what may be normal or real.
Validation therapy is the process of communicating with someone who is living with dementia by validating and respecting their feelings in whatever time or place is real to them, even though this may not correspond with our “here and now” reality. (Feil,1982)
Quite often, when we engage in conversation with someone with advanced dementia, we find they are not oriented to current time or place. They may ask where their mother is or believe their purse has been stolen. These confused feelings can create anxiety and frustration in the person living with dementia. Validation therapy focuses on entering their reality with empathy and understanding with a goal to reassure them and provide comfort.
STEPS FOR SUCCESSFUL VALIDATION: (GPA version 4)
Edna has advanced dementia and believes her purse has been stolen. She continually asks where her purse is and is becoming distressed.
1. VALIDATE Edna’s reality and emotional state. “Your purse has been stolen? I understand why you are so upset.”
2. JOIN Edna’s reality and listen to her perspective. “You need to keep looking for your purse? Well, I need to find someone too. Let’s look together.”
3. DISTRACT Edna while joining her reality. “Let’s look for your purse over there where people are having coffee.”
4. REDIRECT or shift Edna’s focus to a new goal of enjoying coffee. “That coffee smells good, let’s have a cup.”
UNSUCCESSFUL REDIRECTION:
1. DISMISSING Edna’s reality. “Your purse hasn’t been stolen; you must have forgotten where put it.”
2. NEGATING Edna’s perspective. “You don’t need it anyway.”
3. IGNORING Edna’s emotional state. “Don’t worry about it, I will look for it later.”
It's natural to respond to someone living with dementia with uneasiness or discomfort in moments when they are confused. Validating their unusual thoughts or behaviours may seem awkward at first and if so, try smiling, give a nod and listen with open ears. You may just find entering their reality a little less complicated, making life a bit easier for both of you.
Message from the Chair of Family Council
Please feel free to reach out to Gwen if you have any questions that you would like to have answered in this newsletter:
We would love to hear from families as to the type of supports or assistance that we could provide. Here is a link to a few questions that would help us to focus our efforts to resources you would find valuable.