Team News

February 15, 2021 we will celebrate Family Day and the Spectrum Office will be closed

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COVID-19 Updates – January 22, 2021 – BC’s Immunization Plan

Staying Safe and Staying Healthy

The basics of keeping the people we support, our teams and your families Healthy and Safe are important to practice every day:

• Stay home if you sick – Call 811 for further directions.
• Wash your hands regularly
• Keep your distance – at least two metres or six feet from people outside your bubble
• Wear a mask on transit, in stores, in all indoor public spaces.
• Keep your social bubble small – But stay connected with friends and family. Phone, video chat, go for a walk outside – it is so important to keep in touch.

I am hearing from many people that these restrictions are causing them anxiety.  We all want to get back to “normal” and visit with friends.

But every social gathering brings a cascade of risks.  If you are meeting with someone outside your bubble, you are now sharing all your contacts with that person and their bubble, and they are sharing the experiences and contacts of everyone in their bubble with you.

A safe social gathering right now is going for a walk outside.   Enjoy the sunshine and the fresh air and get some social connection along with some exercise.  Spring is coming and it will be much easier to spend time outside.  Vaccines are coming and people will have some additional protections.

If you would like to get some mental health support, government has shared these resources:

Mental health and anxiety support: www.bouncebackbc.ca
Or: www.anxietycanada.com
Or: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/about-covid-19/mental-well-being-during-covid-19
Or: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/managing-your-health/mental-health-substance-use/virtual-supports-covid-19

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B.C. takes next steps to protect people with COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan
British Columbians are a step closer to receiving their COVID-19 immunizations, with additional details and timelines released for the largest and most complex immunization plan to ever roll out in B.C.

Premier John Horgan; Adrian Dix, Minister of Health; Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer; and Dr. Penny Ballem, executive lead for B.C.’s immunization efforts; announced details of the next phases in B.C.’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan. The plan will see approximately 7.4 million doses of vaccine administered to every British Columbian who is eligible to receive it between April and the end of September.

People living in group homes and their staff are included in the Phase 2 group receiving vaccinations in February and March 2021.

Read more in the full press release…

There was also a presentation used in the press conference to provide more details on the immunization plan.  The slide for Phase 2 is below:

Exactly Where and When these vaccines will be delivered is to be announced in the coming weeks.

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Pandemic Pay Update

I have heard from many more agencies who have received their pandemic pay funding in the last two weeks so we are very hopeful we are next in line.  As soon as we receive the funding, we will process payroll to send your pandemic pay.  As a refresher, Pandemic Pay is a lump sum payment based on $4/hour for hours worked between March 15, 2020 and July 4th, 2020.  For Spectrum employees, it totals about $300,000 and we need to receive this funding before we can pay it out.  The Province has apologized for the delay in rolling out this program:

Delays are largely due to administrative complexities associated with distributing a new program to an estimated 250,000 employees working for hundreds of different employers.

Despite the challenges of the program, it should not have taken this long for employees to receive their pay. The Province apologizes for the significant impact this delay has had for everyone affected.

You can read more about Pandemic Pay here:

Pandemic Pay Update:  Pandemic Pay has been received and deposited into bank accounts on Thursday, January 28th.

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Join CLBC’s Jan. 26 COVID-19 telephone update for service providers and home sharing providers

Dear CLBC service providers and home sharing providers –

Please join our telephone update on Tuesday, January 26 for a chance to receive COVID-19 health and safety information from Dr. Daniele Behn Smith, Deputy Provincial Health Officer. Also on the call will be Ross Chilton, CEO of Community Living BC (CLBC), and Brenda Gillette, CEO of the BC CEO Network.

We have already received many questions about vaccinations. We are in the middle of a very dynamic planning period and health authorities are working hard to organize the most complex vaccination strategy we have ever had to implement in our province. We are conveying questions to the office of the Provincial Health Officer and Dr. Behn Smith will provide an update.

If you are a home sharing coordinating agency, please pass this opportunity on to your home sharing providers.

The call will be moderated by Brenda Gillette, CEO, BC CEO Network. Speakers on this call will include:

• Dr. Daniele Behn Smith, Deputy Provincial Health Officer
• Ross Chilton, CEO, Community Living BC

When: Tuesday, January 26
Time: 1:35 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Vancouver time) How to call in:

• Vancouver – 604-681-0260 Elsewhere – 1-877-353-9184 Participant code: 87916#
• Special instructions: Due to the number of expected participants, please begin to dial in as early as 1:25 p.m

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