ATL Senior Living’s Best Practices Going Forward

At ATL Senior Living, the health and safety of our staff and residents will always remain a priority. Though we have always had protocols and safety features in place for all of our upcoming retirement communities, we understand that given the recent events, more needs to be done to ensure the well-being of not only our staff and residents, but of the entire community as well. We recognize that not only do we, as a service provider, need to ensure the health and safety of our staff and residents, but we also need to act accordingly to contribute to the health and well-being of our communities. To create healthy communities, involvement from each sector is required. While government policies are important, government action alone is not sustainable. The combined effort of all individuals, including local businesses, is required to create a safe and healthy community. ATL Senior Living will continue to act prudently to minimize disruptions to workflows as we encourage everyone to follow preventative measures recommended by Health Canada to stay healthy and help slow the spread of the virus.

How is ATL protecting the health of staff and residents?

Screening and Hygiene

• Strict screening of symptoms and regular monitoring of health by conducting temperature checks of all staff and residents
• Promotion of hand hygiene by implementing hand washing and hand sanitizer stations on every floor
• Frequent sanitization of common areas such as the Dining Room, Lounge, Reception Desk, and the Library

CAPES Membership

• ATL Senior Living is a participant in the Canadian Alliance to Protect and Equip Senior Living (CAPES), which is a national initiative that will provide over 15 million PPE to all retirement and long-term communities in Canada
• At all ATL communities, we will be implementing mandatory Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (i.e. masks) to be worn by all staff at all times

Building Amenities

• Automatic sliding/opening doors in all entrances to reduce physical touch
• For all our residences, we will be implementing a strict 2-metre rule for all staff and residents by including 2-metre measurements on the floor of our buildings.
• We will also be implementing one-way paths to further promote physical distancing

Access

• To limit the number of contacts of individuals, the new Provincial Order have placed restrictions on all senior residence workers and only allowing these workers to work at one residence. ATL Senior Living will ensure that all staff hired for our communities are following this Order and we will not be using the same staff for any of our other residences

Mental Health Supports

• We understand that social connection is integral to maintain good mental health. To protect the social and mental well-being of our residents, we will be teaching our residents some technological skills to be able to use applications that allow for virtual conferencing such as Zoom and Skype.
• For many of us, this is the first time that we have experienced a pandemic first-hand. With the uncertainty and losses that we have endured as a result, the mental health of many have been heavily impacted. At all ATL communities, we will provide virtual counselling appointments available for all staff and residents.

Convenience and Safety

• Until a vaccine is made available to the public, ATL Senior Living will have volunteers in place that will assist our residents with their grocery shopping.
• As well, ATL will also have a sanitizing system in place to ensure that store-bought items are properly decontaminated.