The Spectrum Office will be closed on BC Day, August 2nd, 2021
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COVID-19 Updates – July 15, 2021 – Golden Rules
- Get Vaccinated – Register at the BC Get Vaccinated website
- https://www.getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca/s/
- If you have questions about the vaccine, talk to your doctor.
- Employees can get 3 hours pay for each of their vaccine appointments.
- Please let us know if you need assistance getting a vaccine for yourself or your family members. All people in BC ages 12 and over are eligible for vaccination now.
- Stay home if sick
- For employees, if you are not feeling well, call 811 and follow their instructions.
- For managers, maintain your relief pool so that services can be maintained when a staff needs to stay home.
- For people we support and families and friends, please stay home if you are not feeling well. A social occasion can always be rescheduled.
- Respect personal space
- Two metres (six feet) is still a good guideline for maintaining a safe distance from people.
- Clean your hands – we are keeping sanitation stations at the office entrances and at people’s homes, so you can clean your hands easily when you arrive.
- Follow Guidelines
- Universal Precautions Policy – Guidelines that that promote a safe and healthy work environment. Spectrum personnel will be expected to follow these guidelines at all times both for their own protection and for the protection of individuals receiving services.
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- Communicable Disease Prevention Policy – We will follow Public Health Guidance to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
- Check before you travel – lots of people are taking time off now. We are asking employees to coordinate time off with their managers so that services can be maintained. Right now, vacations in the Okanagan and Cariboo will be difficult due to the forest fire situation.
- Consider people’s situations and comfort levels – keep in touch with family and friends, but consider safe ways to visit that respect people’s comfort levels.
- It’s always safer outdoors
- Visit with friends at parks or on patios – the open air environment will give you better recirculation and fresh air than meeting inside.
Office Update
As we gradually return to normal, our office routines will also begin returning to normal.
- The office will be open from 9am to 4pm
- Please call to arrange a meeting space so that we don’t end up with too many people gathering at once.
- Please sign in when you arrive at the office – sign out when you leave.
- Please continue to wear masks when you are moving around inside the office. You can take your mask off when you are sitting in one place.
- We will continue with office / PPE supplies being picked up on Wednesdays, Receipts reimbursed on Fridays.
- Let us know if you have any questions.
Vaccination Status
On July 8th, 2021, the Provincial Health Officer announced new guidelines for visitors and staff in long term care settings:
New public health requirements around vaccinations will add protections for people in long-term care. Effective July 19, new requirements to better protect seniors will include:
- A PHO order will require all long-term care and seniors’ assisted living facilities to provide public health with information on all residents, staff, personal service providers and volunteers so their immunization status can be determined.
- Workers who are not fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask at work and be tested for COVID-19 regularly using rapid tests.
- Volunteers and personal service providers entering long-term care settings must be fully vaccinated.
- Masks are required for visitors who are not fully vaccinated. Masks will not be required for visitors who are fully vaccinated, except when travelling through common areas.
- Each site will continue to maintain a sign-in list for contact tracing purposes and actively promote adherence to all infection prevention control protocols.
- https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0124-001331
These rules do not apply to community social services, but agencies can establish their own requirements for reporting of vaccination status and these seem like reasonable safety guidelines to keep workers and the people we support safe. We are developing our own guidelines and would welcome your feedback when we have a draft ready for review. For now, please continue to wear masks when you are inside and not able to maintain two metres (six feet) distance from others.
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You’re invited to a Conversation about the City of Vancouver’s Accessibility Strategy
Accessibility Strategy
Accessibility means being able to reach, understand, contribute to and use the places, information, and services in our city.
Persons with disabilities
Those who experience physical, mental health, cognitive, communication, intellectual, sensory, or age-related impairments, whether they are seniors, others with age-related impairments, or people with lived experience of mental health concerns or substance use issues.
For the purposes of this strategy, the City will use the term ‘persons with disabilities’ to reference the complexity and diversity of lived experiences.
We’re striving to have phase 1 of our Accessibility Strategy in place by fall 2021. This includes developing a draft strategy which sets out key, definitions, principles, and areas of focus, identifies what needs to be done, and plans how it will get done.
The proposed Accessibility Strategy will reflect our commitment to support the full participation of persons with disabilities by establishing and maintaining inclusive services, programs and infrastructure, and by identifying, removing and preventing barriers.
We anticipate that the proposed strategy will reinforce our recognition of the rights, dignity, and independence of people with disabilities within our community. It should strengthen our ability to foster a culture of equity and inclusion that values and includes all residents, visitors, and employees.
WHAT’S HAPPENING Building an Accessibility Strategy
Take our survey and let us know what would help you to participate and feel included in your community.
Share your feedback on
Shape Your City
To help create the draft strategy and ensure we hear diverse perspectives, we will:
- First host a series of conversations with persons with lived experience of disability, family members and/or caregivers and a number of community organizations who provide services.
- Host broader public engagement on the draft strategy once developed.
Watch this page for details.
About the proposed strategy
The proposed strategy will take into consideration the multiple identities that intersect to make us who we are and how experiences differ depending on factors such as gender, disability, age, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender identity.
The Accessibility Strategy will reflect and reinforces our commitment to:
- Respecting the rights, dignity, and independence of persons with disabilities
- Creating an environment where all people feel valued, respected, and openly welcomed
- Ensuring equitable access and opportunity to participate in planning and designing municipal policies programs and service delivery
- Fostering a culture of equity and inclusion for all residents, visitors, and employees, including persons with disabilities, seniors, and other inequitably treated groups
- Demonstrating City leadership by embedding an accessibility lens in the daily operating practices of every department
- Valuing and incorporating the knowledge and perspectives of people with lived experience
- Aligning the City’s strategy with both the federal and provincial accessibility legislation
The Accessibility Strategy is being developed in tandem with the Equity Framework and the Healthy City Strategy and will also align with the Vancouver Plan and the City of Reconciliation Framework.
Take the survey through the following link:
https://shapeyourcity.ca/accessibility-strategy
| Accessibility Strategy | Shape Your City Vancouver
An graphic illustration shows 10 people with different disabilities standing in a row. On the left side there is a white person with a prosthetic leg pushing a person of colour in a wheelchair who is high-fiving a white, feminine presenting person with pink hair prosthetic arm. Towards the middle a white feminine presenting person with a walker stands with a white person with dark glasses and … shapeyourcity.ca |
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June 30, 2021
Plan members can win $1,000 by submitting an e-claim! The enhancements we’ve made to the my Sun Life mobile app and mysunlife.ca make it easier to submit electronic claims. Service provider delisting update In an effort to better protect your plan, Sun Life sometimes finds it necessary to disallow certain health-care service providers, clinics, facilities or medical suppliers from claims processing and reimbursement.
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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 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:
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