Update #109
6 May22
Dear Families and Friends
I am very sad to report the loss of one of our residents last night who had been impacted by Covid. We feel deeply for his family at this time and I’m sure you will join me in expressing our condolences to his wife and extended family as he touched many lives during his stay with us.
There have been no more residents in Waratah who have tested positive to Covid today. We continue to contact families with a daily wellbeing update and of course if there is any change in a resident’s condition throughout the day families will be contacted and updated as we understand it remains is a very difficult time for all concerned.
In case you missed yesterday’s update – all residents outside of Waratah wing have returned a negative Covid test on Wednesday and Hunter New England Population Health advised us that we can de-escalate our COVID 19 outbreak precautions for all suburbs EXCEPT Waratah.
This means that residents are now able to move about outside of their suburb at this time. As a precaution we would like residents to only mix in their floors e.g., Hill/Nobbys, Bluegum/Jacaranda, Honeysuckle can come up to the Junction but not mix with residents from other suburbs.
We continue to manage the challenge of staff reporting either being a close contact or returning a positive RAT test, which is why our ongoing precautionary measures are vitally important. We are certainly not out of the woods yet.
Maroba’s Incident Management Team have mapped out plans for ongoing visiting arrangements, outings and Mother’s day.
These are the new arrangements starting from today Friday 6th May.
General Visitation (Excluding Waratah as residents are not able to have visitors currently except under special arrangement):
- In room visiting for 2 fully vaccinated visitors (aged 12 years and over) in a 24-hour period. Visitation will only be on weekdays between 10am and 4pm. No need to make an appointment.
- Outside visiting for up to 2 fully vaccinated adults and 2 children under 12 between 10am and 4pm. Bookings are essential for outside visits so please call reception between 9am to 4pm to arrange.
- Palliative Care and Partners in care visits continue as already in place.
- Presentation of a negative Rat test on the same day as the visit is essential as is proof of vaccination if it hasn’t already been provided
- Wearing of a N95/P2 mask always covering your mouth and nose (Note – due to mask requirement consumption of food and drinks is prohibited.)
- Co-operation with all staff directions is essential as is honestly completing the Covid screening questions for the protection of everyone.
Mother’s Day arrangements
On Sunday 8th May, there will be only 1 time available for in room visits only for up to 2 fully vaccinated visitors (aged 12 years and over). Visiting time is 10am and visitation is for a maximum of 30 minutes.
Bookings are essential so please phone reception during office hours to register your intention to visit. Unfortunately, Waratah wing is excluded from this arrangement due to the ongoing outbreak confined to that area.
Volunteers will be on concierge duties for Mother’s Day morning so please do not turn up late or later in the day expecting to visit or you will be disappointed. As there will be a lot of visitors please be patient as our volunteers attend to all entry screening procedures.
Outings and external Appointments
Outings are back on for all residents other than those residing in Waratah wing, so please use the excursion form available on our website giving plenty of notice especially if you would like to take Mum out for Mother’s Day.
To ensure that outing requests can be redirected to the correct suburb to enable staff enough time to make arrangements to have your loved one ready to go out we ask that all requests are received at least 2 business days before the outing.
As a reminder to all, wherever you are, please ensure you keep a safe distance from others, wash or sanitise your hands frequently and wear a mask indoors when in a group situation. Whilst Covid is still circulating in our local community it is highly recommended that outings are kept to family homes or outdoor space, rather than public venues as masks are generally no longer seen when out and about…Yet they remain a very good line of defence.
All Staff will continue to wear N95/P2 masks and eye protection on all shifts. Waratah remains in full lockdown and staff are in full PPE. We continue to support staff with fresh food, drinks and treats. Thank you to those families that have sent encouraging messages to the Waratah Team. Staff are doing amazing things to keep resident and team morale up! We are grateful for the sacrifices they are making to stay on that team and to keep showing up.
I am grateful too for all the other staff who are picking up extra shifts working doublers, giving up leave and working out of their usual role to support our residents through this Covid outbreak. We are pleased that many Nursing Agencies and HNE staff are also working with us to make a difference during these staffing challenges.
I would like to wish all the Mums, Grans, Aunts and sisters a very happy Mother’s Day because I know that even if you don’t have your own children you have been like a Mum to someone at some time in your life… So keep being amazing and enjoy the love shared on this special day we call Mother’s Day!
Yours sincerely,
Viv Allanson, CEO