Team News

The Spectrum Office will be closed Monday May 24th for Victoria Day.

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CoVID-19 Updates – May 13, 2021 – Register, Register, Register

Joint Statement on BC’s COVID-19 Response – May 13, 2021

“Today, we are reporting 587 new cases, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 137,810 cases in British Columbia.

“There are 5,691 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. A further 130,310 people who tested positive have recovered.

“Of the active cases, 413 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 141 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

In her presentation, Dr. Bonnie Henry showed some analysis of the protection provided by vaccines:

For example, in this slide, it shows the number of people who got COVID-19 without vaccinations, and how well people were protected 21 days after their vaccination:

https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/20210513_PHO-Presentation.pdf

Register, Register, Register

In Health Minister Adrian Dix’s presentation, he repeated a number of times that the priority now is to Register, Register, Register.  Over the past week, an additional 389,000 people registered on the Get Vaccinated BC website.  This is the best way to ensure you get notified when you are able to book a vaccination appointment.  This applies to people waiting for their second shot as well.  No matter where you got your first shot – through the health authority, at a pharmacy or at home with a public health nurse – you should Register Now: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register
Or call 1 833 838-2323.

As soon as a significant majority of people have received their first shot, the Province will start to book second shots.

There are new instructions for front-line staff from Vancouver Coastal Health who want to register to get their vaccination through the healthcare worker process. See the VCH letter here. Beginning next week, adults of all ages in BC will be able to book their vaccination appointments through Get Vaccinated BC.

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Employment Standards Changes for COVID-19

The Provincial Government has announced two changes to Employment Standards:

1. Paid leave for vaccinations – Employers are required to provide up to 3 hours paid leave for employees to get their COVID-19 vaccination.
2. Three days paid sick leave for all employees who must take time off for testing, isolation or recovery from COVID-19.

Spectrum is collecting information from employees and paying three hours to all employees who provide evidence of their vaccination.  72 employees were paid for their vaccination leave on May 14^th, 2021, for vaccinations given between January and April 2021.

Since October 2020 we have been providing paid leave for all employees who must isolate due to Covid-19 and have provided 1,033 hours of paid leave to ensure employees are able to keep themselves, their teams and their families safe and healthy.

Staying Safe and Healthy

With high community spread (500 – 600 new cases per day), it is more important than ever to follow the safety practices that will keep you, the people you support and your families safe and healthy.

• Stay home if you feel sick – Call 811 for further directions and testing
• If you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, Call 811 for further directions and testing
• 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.
• Get outside, but continue to keep your distance.
• 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.
• Continue with these safety practices even after vaccination.  The vaccines help prevent serious illness three weeks after your shot, but they do not eliminate the possibility of catching COVID-19 or spreading the infection to other people.

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Home Share Vaccination Status

We are checking in to see if you have any questions about getting a vaccination for yourself or for the people you support.

People served in CLBC funded services received a letter allowing them to register as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable people.  This letter should have arrived by April 15^th, 2021.

Home Share providers were given access to vaccinations in April as Health Care Workers, with different processes for Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health.

The age-based system is now booking appointments for people who are 30 or older and this will drop to 18 and older by Monday next week.

Please let us know if you have any questions about vaccination.  We are following the Provincial Health guidelines which say the way to a safer summer for everyone is to get vaccinated as soon as possible.  For questions about vaccine safety, please talk to your doctor.

Register for vaccinations at the BC Get Vaccinated site:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register

Thank you for everything you are doing to keep the people you support and your families safe and healthy.

As I was writing this, an Update for Home Share Providers arrived from CLBC, so it is pasted below.

Ernie Baatz

Executive Director

Spectrum Society for Community Living

Dear Home Sharing Providers,

As we approach the summer months, we hope you are well and enjoying longer days and more sunshine. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to those we serve.

This message provides you with an update on the work of the Home Sharing Working Group which met recently on March 18, 2021. The Home Sharing Working Group was established to work on issues home sharing providers have raised in past consultations. You can find some background about the group, its plans, and past info bulletins on CLBC’s web site here.

In this update you will find these topics:

• New Home Sharing Handbooks coming soon
• Standards created for the coordination of Shared Living
• Team gathers information on Home Sharing entity concept
• CLBC’s next COVID-19 telephone update on June 8

New Home Sharing Handbooks coming soon

Over the past two years, members of the Home Sharing Working Group, CLBC and our partners (including members of the BC CEO Network) have been working together on a much-needed update to our Home Sharing Handbooks.

The working group has been updating the CLBC Handbook for Home Sharing Providers and creating a new handbook for individuals and families.

As the scope of the project became bigger than anticipated, and due to the impacts of COVID-19, project timelines were extended. Expanding the timeline and creating a more flexible and adaptable approach during this past year helped ensure that a respectful and supportive process was undertaken to incorporate feedback from individuals, families, and home sharing providers.

Over the past year, project team members worked closely with a variety of key stakeholders to begin the first step in the design process. User testing was completed, and project team members developed draft materials based on the feedback received. The draft handbooks were then circulated so additional feedback could be incorporated into the development of the final products.

We would like to thank the following groups who have graciously taken the time to support this project, provide their feedback and share their stories so that we could develop resources that are useful, relevant, and relatable.

• Individuals living in home sharing
• Home Sharing Working Group members
• Home sharing providers
• Home sharing coordinators
• Families
• Service providers
• Self advocacy network members
• CLBC staff

The handbooks should be ready for distribution in June. The final handbooks will be shared with all Home Share Working Group members, subscribers to this Home Sharing Information Bulletin, CLBC service providers who deliver home sharing, BC CEO Network members, and many other valuable partners. They will be printer friendly and posted on CLBC’s website.

Standards created for the coordination of Shared Living

The name ‘Shared Living’ is a term used for two different types of residential services offered to CLBC eligible individuals. The two services offered through Shared Living are:

• Home Sharing: Eligible CLBC individuals living in the shared living provider’s home
• Live-in support: CLBC eligible individuals receive support in their own home

In agency coordinated home sharing situations, the agency is responsible for providing support to the home sharing providers with whom they contract. The agency must monitor home sharing services to ensure that they meet the necessary requirements and standards. These agency accountabilities are defined in a contract between the agency and CLBC. CLBC is improving clarity on these accountabilities by adding Standards for the Coordination of Shared Living. These standards will be aligned to the existing standards set by Accrediting Bodies.

The Standards for the Coordination of Shared Living Services Project was implemented by CLBC’s Quality Assurance Department. As home sharing continues to grow, it is important to make sure the standards that agencies must follow are up to date and relevant. These updated and improved coordination standards are designed to support coordinating agencies and provide a better understanding of expectations for those who provide this service.

The Quality Assurance Project team members would like to thank the Home Sharing Working Group for inviting them to provide project updates and gather feedback. Project team members have attended four meetings (since July 2020) and will continue to provide updates and gather input until the standards are final.

It is expected that home sharing providers and individuals living in home sharing will benefit from agencies having more consistent practice and a better understanding of their coordination role.

In addition to attending Home Sharing Working Group meetings, the project team has been working closely with agencies from across the province listed below to ensure the updated standards consider the needs of all types of agencies (big and small) that provide shared living services. We appreciate the time and effort put forward to collaborate, contribute, and support this project.

• Community Connections
• Community Living Society
• Community Living Victoria
• Eagle Nest Community and Aboriginal Services Ltd.
• posAbilities Association of British Columbia
• Semiamhoo House Society
• Thompson Community Services Ltd.

More information on Shared Living, and the role of agencies who coordinate these services, can be found in the Shared Living Resource Guide: A Toolkit of Ideas to Support Good Lives In Community here.

Team gathers information on Home Sharing entity concept

As home sharing continues to grow, CLBC has been focusing on making a range of improvements to make sure that with growth, home sharing continues to be a vibrant service that is effectively and sustainably delivered.

CLBC is presently exploring the creation of a provincial independent entity to play a supporting role and strengthen a number of roles related to home sharing, including leadership in stewarding the model; recognition and celebration of excellent supports; supports to home sharing providers, individuals and families; coordinated recruitment and training; and advice to CLBC. We believe an independent entity could support the longevity of home sharing and ensure it continues to be a reputable residential option benefiting those living in home sharing, their families and home sharing providers.

Project Update / Timeline

• The idea of an independent home sharing body was presented to Home Share Working Group Members in January 2021.
• CLBC established a small task force of home sharing providers, families, service providers and CLBC staff. Task Force members were selected based on their experience, knowledge, and collective wisdom in sharing and in collaborative community living work. Members do not represent their organisations but rather the perspective in fulfilling their Task Force membership.
• Terms of Reference was finalized and approved by the task force. Click here to view.
• Beginning in February 2021 task force members began scheduling interviews with various organizations/associations. The focus of the interviews is to understand their service model, memberships, what works well, the challenges, and lessons they have learned.
• Interviews conducted to date: BC Federation of Foster Parents, Members of the former Central Okanagan Professional Caregivers Society, BC Home Share Caregivers Association, and Shared Lives Plus in the United Kingdom.
• CLBC provided an update in its Home Sharing Info Bulletin here.
• CLBC provided an update to the Home Share Working Group meeting on March 18.

Next Steps

• The task force will be seeking to better understand the Indigenous perspective in recognition of CLBC’s commitment to Indigenous reconciliation and the need to consider the unique history and cultures of Indigenous Peoples. This includes understanding the impact of public policy and the need for culturally safe services, and to comply with the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
• In addition, the task force has identified a need to more fully consider the perspectives of families and individuals who live in home sharing and service providers delivering home sharing. To do so, it will continue the research interview process with family members, individuals with lived experience and service providers.
• Once research is complete, the project team will consolidate all information to answer two questions in its report:
  1. What is the need for a new home sharing entity in B.C.? (What are the benefits?)
  2. What roles should an entity play and how should it interact with other home sharing stakeholders?
• The task force will complete its report with the goal of providing CLBC with recommendations on how such an entity could support the betterment of home sharing.
• The report with recommendations is expected to be completed by the end of September 2021.

 

Task Force Members

• Anita Sihota (service provider)
• Carla Thiesen (service provider/home sharing provider/former CLBC staff)
• Margaret Milsom (home sharing provider/founder of home sharing support group/foster parent)
• Debra Vining (home sharing provider/former foster parent/former service provider staff)
• Arlene Zuckernick (family member of individual living in home sharing)
• Sherwin Strong (Indigenous self-advocate living in home sharing)
• Tracy Charlton (CLBC staff)

For further information about the work of the task force, please contact Margaret Medina, Project Coordinator: Margaret.Medina@gov.bc.ca.

CLBC’s next COVID-19 telephone update on June 8

Mark your calendar. CLBC will hold its next COVID-19 telephone update for service providers and home sharing providers on Tuesday, June 8, from 1 to 2 p.m. PDT.

Call-in details will be sent in an invitation in the coming weeks, along with how to submit COVID-19 health and vaccine questions to Dr. Daniele Behn Smith, Deputy Provincial Health Officer.

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Next meeting: The next meeting of the Home Sharing Working Group will be in August 2021.

Click here to sign up for updates on home sharing initiatives including invitations to our COVID teleconference updates. Feel free to share this link with other home sharing providers.

If you have any questions, please contact Margaret Medina at Margaret.Medina@gov.bc.ca.

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RISE Community Groups and Workshops

For info or to register:

• Email info@cnh.bc.ca
• Call Collingwood Neighbourhood House at 604-435-0323
• Or ask a RISE Staff member

Spots are limited.  Registration required.

Please click these links below for further details:

Rise Groups

RISE Spring 2021 Workshops Info

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It is a great time to review the contents of emergency medical and earthquake kits in your home. 

Are your water and food rations currently dated? Other items like glow sticks and batteries have expiry dates. It’s a good time to make sure everything is up to date.

Did you use some of the medical supplies during the year?  Now is a great time to order replacement items.  Please note that WCB First Aid Kits are required in all of the homes that are staffed.

Have there been changes in the number of people residing in your home?  Do you need more or less supplies?

Have any of the people you live with changed their diets over the past year? Do you need to change the dietary foods in their earthquake kits?

If you need help with restocking your emergency medical and earthquake supplies please feel free to contact Judy Smith at judy@spectrumsociety.org for assistance.

It is a good time to review all safety procedures in the home; making sure that exit routes are clear of debris, including accessing risk factors (for example, moving items on shelves that could fall and moving heavy items to bottom shelves instead of top shelves). Are all staff are familiar with where emergency care items are stored?  Please review the following information from our policy manual with the staff and individuals you support. Include staff to join on skype or zoom if you cannot meet in person so everyone is familiar with this process.

(https://sscl.sharevision.ca/public/PolicyDirectory/General%20Policies/34.0.EmergencyPreparedness.pdf)

When you have completed your Earthquake Drill please record this information on Sharevision.

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How to Register for First Aid:

We recommend obtaining and/or renewing your First Aid through St. John’s Ambulance with the Emergency First Aid Community Care course. If there is another course offered by a different provider, please contact Human Resources prior to enrolling to determine if it is equivalent and meets the basic requirements.

To obtain/renew through St John’s Ambulance, please call (604) 321-7242

• They above number is their main line, but they have a number of locations across the lower mainland if you would like to call a location directly: http://www.sja.ca/English/About-Us/Pages/Locations.aspx
• Register yourself for Emergency First Aid Community Care.

If an employee does not have a valid first aid certificate upon hire, the fee to obtain or renew certification is the responsibility of the employee. Future renewal fees for active employees are covered by Spectrum.

• If you are renewing your first aid, ask St. John Ambulance to invoice Spectrum Society
• Let them know Spectrum Society will be paying for your course fee.

*St. John Ambulance may request authorization from Spectrum. Email hr@spectrumsociety.org with the date/location you want to complete the course and we will call them to confirm your registration.

First Aid is a requirement for employment as indicated in ‘Policy 4: Requirements for Employment. Below is a link to Spectrum’s First Aid policy:

https://sscl.sharevision.ca/public/PolicyDirectory/Personnel%20Policies/P04.0.Requirements.for.Employment.pdf

For employees renewing their first aid, please ensure St. John’s Ambulance (SJA) includes the CPR pocket mask with your first aid registration. If the CPR pocket mask is not included with your registration fee, SJA requires attendees pay for this on the day of course completion; you can save your receipt and submit it to Human Resources for reimbursement.  

Please email your certificate of course completion to hr@spectrumsociety.org to have your file updated.

Please let Judy know if you have any questions or issues registering, by emailing judy@spectrumsociety.org