Day Services Closure and Changes to Visiting in Residential Services

Day Services Closure

Out of an abundance of caution for the individuals we serve, and to help reduce the risk of infection, we have made the difficult decision to suspend our current Day Program operations. WSA’s Day Services program will be closed from March 17th, 2020 until April 15, 2020; however, this date is subject to change pending how this pandemic evolves.

Residential Services Visiting

Visits from family and friends are an important part of the lives of our residents. At the same time, prevention of infection is perhaps the most important step we can take in protecting our residents, some of whom are extremely vulnerable to COVID-19. While fully appreciating the need to find balance between visitor restriction and ensuring continued quality of life for our residents, visitor restriction is one of the most important tools we have available. At this stage, the following guidance is in effect:

  •  Effective today, we are restricting visitors to all residences to essential visitors only

  • We are asking that essential visitors are restricted to one or two persons at a time and that those visitors be immediate family or  designated support persons only

  • This will reduce the risk of our residents being exposed to COVID-19

  • We ask you to also restrict visitation of children as children do not necessarily show symptoms of COVID-19

  • If you are ill with fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue or sore throat, please do not visit

  • If you have travelled outside Canada in the last 14 days, please do not visit

 We are asking staff in our residences to:

  1. Screen visitors at arrival. This is to identify anyone who:

a.       Appears to be ill or reports fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue or sore throat;

b.       Has travelled outside Canada in the last 14 days;

c.       Is a close contact of someone with confirmed COVID-19; or

d.       Is a close contact of someone who has recently developed fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue or sore throat

2. Identify to visitors that if any of the screening questions have a “yes” answer, they will not be allowed to visit

3. Ensure all visitors sign in. Sign-in sheets will be sent out to homes with instructions as soon as possible.

This is a rapidly evolving situation and we greatly appreciate your patience as we continue to update our best practices. Please don’t hesitate to contact your Supervisor or member of the Management Team should you have any questions.

Daily Conference Call

Beginning on Tuesday, March 17, we invite all family members, guardians and caregivers to join our CEO, Sue Gilchrist at 6 pm for a daily conference call to answer any questions you may have about the current pandemic and the impact on WSA.

Conference calls will be held Monday-Friday at 6 pm via the conference line below:

Dial in: 1 (888) 433-2192

To access the web portal go to http://conferencing.shawbusiness.ca

Participant code: 1096305

Thank you for your understanding in this matter and please let us know if there is any way we can support you and your family during this difficult time by contacting any member of our management team by visiting this page.

Daily Family/ Guardian Conference Calls

Beginning on Tuesday, March 17th, we invite all family members and guardians to join our CEO, Sue Gilchrist at 6pm for a daily conference call to answer any questions you may have about the current pandemic and the impact on WSA.

Confernce calls will be held Monday-Friday at 6pm via the conference line below:

Dial in: 1 (888) 433-2192

To access the web portal go to http://conferencing.shawbusiness.ca

Participant code: 1096305

Please contact Candace Smallwood for assistance or questions regarding access to the conference call at CandaceS@wsaf.ca or 780-974-3190

WSA's Response to COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to progress, Winnifred Stewart Association and Foundation's first priority is the health and well-being of the individuals we support, our staff and the community.

Our team has begun to implement our continuity plan, following recommendations and direction from PDD and Alberta Health Services.

To date, the following actions have been taken:

  • Guidance continues to be provided to all staff and individuals regarding proper procedures for hand washing, coughing/ sneezing, handshakes, and social distancing.

  • Our team has ensured hand sanitizer is readily available throughout our programs and has provided emergency preparedness kits on all sites

  • All non-essential meetings, training and event attendance is being completed virtually or postponed

  • Anyone returning from overseas travel has been asked to self-isolate for 14 days following their return

  • Any of our Residential individuals attending our Day program will remain at home until March 30, or until further notice

  • Residential programming will be restricted to low risk/exposure activities

  • Some Day service staff may be sent to our residences to provide additional support during the day

  • We are taking measures to decrease the number of people in the main building and to ensure that essential services are protected. Where possible some positions may be relocated

  • For now, Day program will remain open with previously announced restrictions in place (social distancing, avoid large gatherings, universal precautions)

  • Additionally, we are building a roster of staff who would be willing to work extra shifts, should we end up with a staff shortage due to illness

    We appreciate your support during this time, and thank you for your assistance in helping to ensure the safety of our organization and the community as a whole. We are happy to answer any questions you may have, by contacting any member of our Management team. Please visit Our Team page for contact information.

Winnifred Stewart Community Kitchen Grand Opening

On Thursday, March 5th, we were honoured to have so many special guests in attendance as we celebrated the grand opening of our new Winnifred Stewart Community Kitchen.

We are forever grateful to everyone who was involved in making this project such a success and look forward to sharing this beautiful space with our community.

If you weren’t able to make the event but want to check out the new kitchen in person, we’d love to show you around! Just give us a call at 780-453-6707 for tours!

Thank you to all of our partners!

 
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2nd Annual Joey Moss & Friends Golf Classic is Just 2 Weeks Away!

Register Now!

We are just two weeks away from our 2nd Annual Joey Moss & Friends Golf Classic, Presented by The Co-Operators, taking place on Thursday, August 22nd at RedTail Landing.

All proceeds from the event will go towards our Joey’s Home Trust $500K Campaign, to fund some much needed renovations in our houses.

Although our sponsorships are fully sold out, you can still get involved by purchasing a Tee Hole sign to promote your company, or join us on the links for a day of fun!

We are also still looking for a few more great silent auction items. All items donated are fully tax-receiptable if accompanied by a purchase receipt.

We will also have one of our Empties to WINN tucks on site so bring along your empty beverage containers to help us “Stuff the Truck!” - We’ll send you a charitable tax receipt for the full value of your contribution, and for every full bag of empties you bring, you’ll be entered in to a draw for some great prizes!

Contact Kayla Forcade at KaylaF@wsaf.ca for more information or to support this great event!

 
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We're Getting a New Kitchen!

In March of 2019, WSF received grant funding from the Community Facilities Enhancement Program (CFEP), through Alberta Culture & Tourism.

The estimated total cost of the project is $395,000. Funding of $155,000 was received from the CFEP grant, with the remainder of the cost being covered through donated work (gift-in-kind) from contractors, as well as fundraising through the Winnifred Stewart Foundation.

Click here to find out more about this very exciting project!

Proposed New Kitchen Floor Plan