Herb Bassett Home in Prince Albert (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

opening up

‘All quality of life increases’: long-term care residents set for Sunday boost

Jul 9, 2021 | 5:43 PM

There’s excitement ahead of the Sunday milestone when the province ends most COVID restrictions.

Long-term care homes are no different in counting down the hours to a far more open environment for residents.

While all other Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) health facilities (like hospitals and clinics) will see no changes to the ongoing masking, screening, and family presence directives, that’s not the case for long-term care as this is considered peoples’ homes. Residents, family and visitors to these places will not be required to wear masks and there will be no limit on the number of visitors.

“I think one of the things that’s more special is the amount of visitors they can have in a room,” Cathy Suchorab, one of the clinical managers at Herb Bassett Home told paNOW. “It’s special to have more visitors and for residents to see [many of] their loved ones in a family setting environment as opposed to a limited capacity environment.”

Long-term care facilities have had different rules based on their size of space and Suchorab said Herb Bassett had previously been allowing only two visitors at a time in the rooms. Outdoor visits in the garden area have been happening with up to nine visitors.

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Psychological boost

“If they want to go to a family wedding [after July 11]…or a family reunion, if they want to go to the casino with a family member or to a restaurant, they can do that,” she explained.

While masks are not mandatory visitors are encouraged to keep wearing them, especially if a resident or family visitor is not fully vaccinated and social distancing can’t be maintained.

Suchorab said the changes from July 11 would bring another boost for residents’ mental health as it did when the government relaxed some of the previous measures on allowing at least some visitors to come inside care homes.

“There was a huge impact on residents’ mental health and their engagement and how they responded to families. And that increases with their engagement with the staff. All quality of life just increases,” she explained.

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glenn.hicks@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertNOW