WHO WE ARE With support from the BC Ministry of Health and BC Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, the Provincial COVID-19 Mobile Response Team (MRT) offers psychosocial support, education, and consultation to organizations and agencies working within British Columbia’s COVID-19 public health emergency. MRT serves frontline health care workers specifically long-term care professionals and other community care providers, who have been impacted by the pandemic. Support is provided provincially by team members with diverse backgrounds and skillsRead More

The BC Seniors Living Association (BCSLA) is calling on the province to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines will be distributed in an equitable way, not only to seniors in assisted living and long-term care facilities but also to those in independent living. BCSLA CEO Lee Coonfer told Global News that earlier in the pandemic, independent living facilities were seemingly forgotten for government funding as the virus rampaged through long-term care centres. Read MoreRead More

When the story of COVID-19 in B.C. in 2020 is told, the impact it’s had on seniors in long-term care facilities will be a defining part of the narrative. On March 10, Canada’s first recorded COVID-19 death was at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver. Since then, there have been more than 400 deaths from COVID-19 in care facilities in B.C., representing 71 per cent of the nearly 700 COVID deaths in B.C. Almost 90 per cent of people who have died of COVID in B.C. have been over the age of 70. Read MoreRead More

Long before the pandemic, her family and others had complained about the quality of care residents were getting at George Pearson Centre, a long-term care home owned and operated by Vancouver Coastal Health for people with complex care needs. Read MoreRead More

It was a gut punch to people living in assisted living and long-term care and their families who are already all-too-aware of the body of evidence confirming that the pandemic lockdowns have made their fragile health even more precarious. Read MoreRead More

Two health-care workers who served on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in a private long-term care home say they’ve been unfairly excluded from a temporary wage top-up given to their counterparts in publicly funded facilities. A care aide a nurse who both work at a privately owned and operated care home in Port Coquitlam said they worked 12- to 16-hour shifts to care for the home’s 49 residents in the early weeks of the pandemic. Read More Original Article Source Credits:   CityNews1130 , https://www.citynews1130.com/ Article Written By:  KELVIN GAWLEY Original Article Posted on:   Oct 22, 2020 Link to Original Article:  https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/10/22/private-care-home-workers-call-exclusion-from-b-c-pandemic-pay-extremely-unfair/Read More

People can alleviate anxiety symptoms by keeping to routines, exercising, and staying connected with their social network as well as following public health guidelines such as washing your hands, wearing masks, and maintaining physical distance. Read More Original Article Source Credits:   Vancouver Sun , https://vancouversun.com/ Article Written By:  Kevin Griffin Original Article Posted on:  Oct 09, 2020 Link to Original Article:  https://vancouversun.com/news/mental-health-challenges-expected-to-increase-during-the-first-full-winter-of-covid-19Read More

No longer can the discussion of the care of people living in long-term care facilities be ignored, be sloughed off for another day. We have been hearing about the negative experiences of residents in long-term care, and workplace concerns from long-term care staff, for a long time, but the current pandemic has amplified those voices. And their message is resonating. Read More Original Article Source Credits:   TheProvince , https://theprovince.com/ Article Written By:  Jim Mann Original Article Posted on:  May 24, 2020 Link to Original Article:  https://theprovince.com/opinion/jim-mann-when-long-term-care-is-revolutionized-we-should-learn-from-people-who-live-with-dementiaRead More

We are excited to welcome our students back to campus from October 13, 2020. To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to reduce the potential risk of exposure, please read the Covid-19 campus access safety protocol emailed to you BEFORE you come to the site for training this coming Tuesday, October 13, 2020. Complying with Gateway College’s safety protocol is in the interest of maintaining a safe campus for students, employees, and visitors and is consistent with the requirements of WorkSafeBC Limited Access for Visitors: The campus can be accessed by appointments only for essential business from October 13, 2020. Mask is mandatory to be on site. Visitors must complete a pre-screening questionnaire before the visit. We encourage phone or email inquires to avoid in-person contact as much as possible to maintain safety. The office hours are from 8:45 am to 4:45 pm. Contact us at (604) 738-0285 or info@gwcollege.ca.Read More

Jessica Steinwand was still finding her feet as a nurse when COVID-19 hit, having just started work last May. “At that point, that’s when I really started to feel … I’ve kind of got this, I can deal with this stuff,” said Steinwand, who now works on a medical unit at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. Read More Original Article Source Credits:   Vancouver Sun , https://vancouversun.com/ Article Written By:  Derrick Penner Original Article Posted on:  Aug 29, 2020 Link to Original Article:  https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/new-nurses-on-b-c-s-health-front-lines-get-more-behind-the-scenes-backupRead More