Dear Residents, Family Members, Clients and Friends of Extendicare and ParaMed:
As many of you likely know, there has been extensive media coverage regarding an outbreak of a respiratory illness that has been labelled “Swine Flu” or H1N1 Influenza A. At this point in time, limited areas of the country have been impacted.
We care for residents and clients every day with complicated medical conditions and have protocols and practices in place to prevent the spread of infections. We want to assure you that Extendicare is very proactive in ensuring the health and safety of our residents and clients, and we are taking additional measures to address this situation. We have been in contact with each of our homes and ParaMed centres and notified them of the situation. Increased assessment and screening measures are currently underway to quickly identify any potential symptoms of a respiratory illness. We do ask that any family members and guests refrain from visiting residents at our homes if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms, as well as asking staff to remain at home if they are feeling ill.
We are also in close contact with local public health departments to remain apprised of any further developments and are following all Public Health Agency of Canada guidelines. If you are at all concerned about a resident in one of our homes or one of our home care clients, please do not hesitate to call the home where he or she is living or the local ParaMed centre.
Please click on the following link for questions and answers about Swine Flu for further information that can help keep you and your family safe:
http://www.extendicarecanada.com/news.aspx?deid=74 We are proud to be of service to you and appreciate the trust you have placed in us. Thank you for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Paul Tuttle
President, Extendicare (Canada) Inc.
