COVID-19 Email from Bethanie
Important Customer and Family Update
10 November 2020
CEO Update
The health and safety of our customers and staff continues to be our number one priority and at the heart of every decision we make.
Here in WA, we have been fortunate to be able to live a pretty normal life with no COVID-19 in our midst. We can comfortably go to restaurants and events with limited restrictions but have become too relaxed around the habits that we know will help to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19 such as practising good hand hygiene, physical distancing and staying at home if you are feeling unwell.
All current safety precautions Bethanie have put in place such as the pre-screening questionnaire and temperature checking, are all best practice and consistent with advice from the WA government, Communicable Disease Network Australia (CDNA) and will ensure we shield and protect the Bethanie community including aged care home, retirement village, living well centre, social housing and home care staff, volunteers, residents and customers.
As many of you will be aware, on Saturday, 14 November, WA will be easing its hard border and will move to a “controlled border arrangement”. What this means is that visitors from very low risk states, which includes Tasmania, Queensland, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory - because they have had no community cases for more than 28 days, will be exempt from travel requirements in WA and will not be required to quarantine.
The situation in Victoria highlights the need to stay vigilant and make sure we do whatever we can to protect the Bethanie community, who are at a heightened risk of severe impacts from COVID-19.
We would like to assure you that we are prepared should an outbreak of COVID-19 occur in the Bethanie community. To date, this preparedness includes:
- Establishing a specifically trained COVID-19 Outbreak Response team, to be mobilised to any facility in the event of an outbreak and have the ability to provide additional, targeted care and support to residential staff
- Specialist training on the use of personal effective equipment (PPE), to protect residents and staff from the risk of infection
- Refresher course for all staff on infection prevention and control to ensure everyone is up to date with the latest industry best practice
- Comprehensive communications framework, to provide up to date information to residents, customers, families, staff and all stakeholders affected by COVID-19
It is now a requirement for you to wear a mask when visiting a Bethanie Aged Care Home if you have been interstate in the past 14 days
These are just some of the measures Bethanie has taken in
response to this pandemic.
By working together and practicing flexibility, understanding, respect and compassion, we can ensure that we can continue to facilitate visits safely. That means cooperation from everyone involved. Should circumstances change in WA, for example, if we start to see community transmission, we would immediately make changes to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding while we work hard at ensuring we protect older and vulnerable Western Australians.
Regards,
Chris How
Good hygiene starts here
To help stop the spread of viruses of any nature, good hygiene is essential. The Department of Health has published a video which details good hygiene practices that everyone can adopt, whether you are visiting a loved one at Bethanie or going about your daily life.
This starts with washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water whenever you cough, sneeze or blow your nose, prepare food or eat, care for someone sick, touch your face, or use the toilet. Remember to cough or sneeze into your arm or a tissue. Bin the tissue and wash your hands. If you are sick, stay away from others – that is the most important thing you can do.
To watch the ‘Good Hygiene Starts Here’ video, visit the Australian Government Department of Health website.
Residential Aged Care Homes update
We understand that visiting your loved ones and spending time with them is important to you and your family. Bethanie need to ensure that visitations can be facilitated in a way that also protects all the residents and staff in an aged care home. In line with the best practice and the CDNA guidelines, we have developed the following guidelines:
Visiting Hours
9.30am – 11.30am
1.30pm – 4.30pm
Number of Visitors
Our maximum number of visitors per resident is 6 at any one time.
Interstate and Overseas Visitors
From Saturday, 24 November, if you have been granted an interstate G2G pass by the WA Police to visit your loved one living in a Bethanie aged care home, you will be required to complete an Interstate Visitor Risk Assessment Part A.
It is also now a requirement for any visitors to wear a mask when visiting one of our aged care homes.
It’s up to all of us to stay COVID safe.
Any time you go out, please remember to:
- Wash your hands regularly
- Keep physical distance where you can
- Have the COVIDSafe app on your phone
For further queries regarding visitations, please contact the relevant Aged Care Home.
Community Update (Retirement Villages, Living Well Centres, Social Housing, and Home Care)
We have been extremely fortunate here in WA around how our borders have been managed and our strategy to keep COVID-19 out of our state. Whilst we do not have Community Transmission in WA, we want to ensure that everyone remains vigilant to ensure we protect those most vulnerable.
While we do not have COVID-19 in WA and have many safety measures in place, many people have unfortunately become too comfortable and have not been practicing the behaviours that have helped keep us safe and will continue to do so as our border restrictions ease.
As your trusted provider of care and support, we will continue to do everything within our control to protect you. An extra step you can take to protect yourself is to practise good hand hygiene, physically distance and download the COVID-19 mobile app.
In addition to the above, other precautions you can put in place to keep everyone safe include wiping down items you bring into your home and encouraging all visitors that come into your home to practise good hand hygiene and physical distance.
The risk of serious illness from COVID-19 increases in people aged 70 years and over, people aged 65 years and over with chronic medical conditions, people with compromised immune systems, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 50.
What we are suggesting you do is consistent with Australian Government Department of Health advice and well worth considering, especially as WA border restrictions are eased and the risk of transmission increases.
We acknowledge how important maintaining connection is to everyone's wellbeing and we believe that if everyone keeps up with all the safety precautions, we can continue to spend time with our loved ones safely.
Thank you for your continued vigilance and support for the welfare of the Bethanie and wider community. Please continue to reach out to your Case Manager, Village or Tenancy Manager if you need any further support, information or for a friendly chat. We’re here to help.
Contact Us
The situation with COVID-19 coronavirus is changing regularly. People should stick to advice given by reliable sources such as wa.gov.au for the latest information about COVID-19.
Call our friendly team on 131 151 or email your query to covidquestions@bethanie.com.au
Our team will endeavour to respond in a timely manner.
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