St. Ann's Senior Citizens Village
2910 Louise Street S7J 3L8 Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Attention all friends and families: Christmas phone calls and FaceTime visits are being made by 2 Recreation staff at this time. They will continue for today, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Please do not call into the Home to inquire about your call time. The staff in the Home must still give care to your loved ones and they need uninterrupted time to do so. ... Each Resident has different needs and different schedules and the staff are making the calls during the time that suits their needs. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this strange (and sometimes difficult) Christmas season.

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family. The Residents spent the afternoon opening gifts from family and Santa. The presents were all dropped off early (thank you for helping keep us safe) and stayed in isolation until today. Our sleighs carried the gifts into the dining room. The Residents sat at their spots in the dining room as the elves delivered their gifts to them. The laundry elves labelled all the clothing. There were many chocolatey smiles after all was said and done. It was hard for many of our Residents to understand why their loved ones weren’t around to give the gifts but they could definitely feel the love in the parcels. So many of the gifts were photos and their eyes lit up as they looked through everything. What a wonderful Christmas!

New public health regulations. Our Residents get their temperatures checked twice a day. They are supposed to wear masks when not eating and not in their rooms. Everyone at St Ann’s is doing their part to stay safe, even our beloved Residents!

Please sit down and enjoy 20 minutes of faces you might recognize and songs to brighten up your Christmas.

If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours! Have a blessed Sunday everyone

Special thanks to the students at these Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools for creating such beautiful Christmas cards for our Residents. St. George ED Feehan Holy Cross... St. Peter Holy Family Bishop Pocock Your Christmas spirit was shining through every card and brought joy to our Residents.

As directed by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, we will be extending the restrictions on Visiting inside the Home. All visits will be window, video or phone call visits. Below are the scheduled times for these types of visits. Seven (7) days a week: 10:00am... 10:30am 11:00am 11:30am 3:00pm 3:30pm 4:00pm Mon, Wed, and Friday only: 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm These times allow our Recreation staff to provide some activities for the Residents as well as assist with visits. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation to make this work. All visits will be about 25-30 min in length (maximum). (Any visits already scheduled for this week will be kept, even if they don’t fit into the new schedule) Carla Eager Director of Recreation and Therapies St. Ann's Senior Citizens Village 2910 Louise Street Saskatoon, SK S7J 3L8 306-374-8900 ext. 233

Remembrance Day looks a little different this year but we never forget to be thankful to those who fought for our freedoms. https://thestarphoenix.com//remembrance-day-five-little-kn

Little bit of fun this afternoon before we decorated the trees for Christmas. Deer season opened at St Ann’s today.

Attention all St. Ann’s Family and Friends: As per the directive from the SHA, which can be read here https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca//Increased-COVID-19-in-, we will be cancelling all booked indoor visits until further notice. This does not include Compassionate Care visits (in our case, Quality of Life and End of Life visits), these will remain in place as is. Please feel free to email or call me with questions.... We will be increasing our Video Visits and Window Visits. All currently booked Video and Window visits will continue as planned. The Recreation team will use this time to ensure all of our Residents understand as best they can what is happening and work with them to keep busy and active. We have a new email address where you can send emails to your loved ones which will be printed for them. Feel free to include pictures if you'd like. [email protected] Thanks for all of your understanding and support! Carla Eager Director of Recreation and Therapies 306-374-8900 ext. 233

Attention all St. Ann’s families: Please read the following news release from the SHA. More details will be posted and emailed tomorrow morning. https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca//Increased-COVID-19-in-

Thursday October 15th 6:09pm (Fixing of the concrete floor and laying of new flooring) My Observation of our Renos ; as requested by Carla, written by Shirley W. Well I must say, Rae our CEO should be known as CWKE Chairman who knows everything. He said that’s not what his Dad would call him. ... He folded tables and carried chairs and got the crews ready to roll. They were cute looking boys for those who missed it. I actually got hired to push the pill cart to the nursing station. I haven’t got fired yet. They have the vacuum out and ready to roll. Here I go again. I keep getting moved as they are taping and I’m in the way. Waiting for them to start. Now they are going to start grading and grinding the floor. Oh my, what a noise, but it works. They have a plastic hose on a machine that goes out to the garden. Kate the RN just climbed the tape line to go for supper but believe me, she just wanted to see what was going on. I’ve been here since 6 o’clock and everything is starting. Time to go to my condo for bed. My room is right next to the noise but it lulled me to sleep now. Sounds like my side is ready for flooring, not yet but maybe tonight. Next Morning observation: The recreation room is beautiful, so well done. You would never know that this is a care home. We are very classy!! See more

Do you know any seniors looking for affordable, safe housing in Saskatoon? We have vacancies in our apartment buildings. Give us a call!

A few more happy faces from our recent bus rides. We cruised around the city, seeing kids outside schools, cows at the university, and lots of colourful fall leaves. If the coming weeks stay nice we will be able to take a few more trips out.

Hello to Everyone! This post is to bring information regarding our latest phase of construction/renovations. We are currently in the process of renovations on the last wing of rooms, B Wing. This last phase also brings us the challenge of flooring removal and replacement in the main dining room and recreation lounge. Due to asbestos in the old flooring, all areas must be sealed off for the duration of the removal which throws our usual lives and routines off. ... During the week of September 28th to October 5th, we will be tackling the biggest and most disruptive part of the construction. We are asking that ALL visiting be suspended for that week to allow our Staff time to deal with the change as well as helping our Residents cope. We will be re-routing movement as certain areas will be off limits. All visits can resume the morning of October 5th. We thank you very much for your understanding during this time. We had no plans to deal with COVID-19 during our Renovations but yet, here we are!

Visiting Changes Effective Wednesday October 14th As we are experiencing colder temperatures, our ability to have outside visits is difficult. We have been working on a plan for what to do next. Due to increased numbers of COVID-19 in our community, we are limited on the changes we can make. Below is our plan for visits going forward (may be subject to change at any time):... Inside Visits (One person at a time {of two designated visitors}) Monday: 10:30am and 6:30pm Tuesday: 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00pm Wednesday: 10:30am and 6:30pm Thursday: 1:00, 2:00, 3:00pm Saturday: 10:30am and 3:00pm Video Visits (Facetime, Skype, Zoom, DUO): Friday: 11:00am, 3:00pm and 6:30pm Window Visits: Sunday: 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00pm You will be told if your visit will be happening in our Chapel or inside the Home. If your visit will be in the Chapel, please come directly to the Chapel doors. All INSIDE visitors will be screened and have their temperatures taken. Please DO NOT visit if you have any symptoms of unknown origin (cough, shortness of breath, fever, nausea, etc). ALL visitors must wear their masks at all times during the visit. They must stay 2 metres (6ft) away from the Resident. Nothing should be handed over directly to the Resident during the visit. Changing of Designated Visitors: Each Resident is allowed to have TWO designated visitors. Those TWO designated visitors will be allowed to be changed at the discretion of the Management of the Home. If a visitor needs to be changed, please contact Carla Eager at 306-374-8900 ext. 233. Visitors must stay the same for a two week period. Example: Resident Sarah Smith: Designated visitors listed are Jerry Smith and Evelyn Black. They have visits from October 11th- October 24th. Evelyn calls Carla and requests that her sister Norma Jones be a designated visitor for the upcoming two week period. So, for October 25th November 7th, Sarah’s visitors are Jerry Smith and Norma Jones. All visitors are encouraged to be aware of their movement within the community. As we have all seen, exposure to COVID-19 can come from anywhere and often we don’t know until after we have been exposed. We need to be extra vigilant at this time. Video and Window visits is a great way to have more people connect with our Residents without putting anyone at risk. It’s also an opportunity for more family members to visit. All Visits need to be booked with Carla at 306-374-8900 ext. 233. Many people choose a set day and time each week which helps with scheduling but is not required. Carla Eager Director of Recreation and Therapies St. Ann's Senior Citizens Village 2910 Louise Street Saskatoon, SK S7J 3L8 306-374-8900 ext. 233

There is always something for which to be THANKFUL

We escaped! screamed Shirley with a cheer and a smile...Today we took our first bus ride in almost 6 months! Although it was only 4 people it still felt great. Shirley, Ed, Mel and Edna toured with Krista and Carla around the city and into the country. More rides are planned over the next few weeks to allow others a chance to get out too.

It’s been just over one year that we have been living in a construction zone when we started the renovations on our rooms and common spaces. We are in the final stretch now, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel! We just completed A Wing room renos and moved 10 Residents into their new homes. The construction team will now move onto our last wing, B Wing. They will also be working on flooring removal and installation in the dining room, nursing station area and ...recreation lounge. The next 4 months are going to put our patience and resilience to the test. The Residents have been so forgiving and understanding through all of this and we thank them. For any visitors who may be coming in for scheduled visits or otherwise, we thank you for following signage and respecting the workspaces. Thank you for your support as we work through this final construction stage on top of the pandemic protocols.

A few more freedoms make a world of difference. Our August Birthday party short video below. September we will have Bus Rides! Crop checking and riverbank tours here we come!

Fresh corn was the treat for Friday afternoon. The Residents loved peeling it and then eating it. Best corn I’ve tasted in a long time Out of this world good! So juicy! Thanks so much to Doug Carmen for the donation of 2 dozen cobs from his farm. (and thanks to Francis Wheeler for always thinking of us at this time of year!)

Having a little fun while sending some important messages to everyone! Hope you had a good August long weekend!

Dear whoever is reading this....We hope you have a reason to smile today!! We had a good reason to smile this weekour hairdresser is back!!!

The Saskatchewan Health Authority has given us the green light to start making plans for Family Presence inside St. Ann’s. The first step we must take is to make a list of Designated Family Members who will be able to come into St. Ann’s for visits. Each Resident is able to have 2 designated people on the list. Only one person is able to visit at a time. The visiting person will be asked screening questions and asked to sign that their answers are accurate. 1. Do you have: a ...fever? New or worsening respiratory symptoms? New onset atypical symptoms (chills, headache, loss of sense of smell/taste)? 2. Have you tested positive for COVID-19? 3. In the last 14 days have you: Been outside of Canada, including the United States? Had close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19? 4. In the last 14 days have you: Travelled outside of Saskatchewan but within Canada? Had NON-close contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19? Spent prolonged time with people outside your extended household where you were not able to maintain physical distance or use a mask? Lived in, visited or worked in a community or facility deemed an area of concern for COVID-19? If the screening questionnaire is completed and it is assessed that they can visit, they will have their temperature taken and be given a mask to wear. We will educate them on mask use and hand hygiene. We will then direct them to the area for visiting. We ask all visitors to come in clean clothing just as our staff does every shift. There will be no access to washrooms during the visit. We will start by offering visit times as follows: Tuesdays 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 Thursdays 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 The start date for Inside Visits will be Tuesday July 14th. We will be assessing our capacity for more after we have been successful in implementing this first phase of Inside Visits. We have many Public Health orders to comply with and ask that you are understanding and patient with us. Please respond back to us with your choice of 2 designated people. These people need to take stock of their previous 14 days and going ahead they need to take precautions in the community. Any changes to the designated visitors will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Everyone will need to take responsibility for ensuring the safety of our Residents and Staff, and now other Visitors. COVID-19 is still in our community and we must keep it away from our most vulnerable people as well as the people that work in healthcare. We will continue to offer the Outside Visits to all other friends and family. Please contact Carla with your loved one’s Designated Visitors names and phone numbers: [email protected] or 306-374-8900 ext. 233.

Hello Friends and Family of St. Ann’s. It doesn’t feel like that long ago we had news to share about our Outside Visits starting. Those visits have been great, we are so happy to see you all again! Today the government announced some changes to Visitor Restrictions in LTC homes across Saskatchewan. We know that you are all anxious to see your loved ones and get back to normal. We want you to know that we are working on a plan to make safe visits happen. We must be diligent ...and responsible with the well being of your loved ones and so we are asking for your patience while we get our plan in place. July 7th is the date given by the Health Authority but we won’t be ready for new visiting guidelines until later in the week. We will keep our current visiting options available until we can ensure the health and safety of our Residents, Staff and Visitors returning to St. Ann’s. See more

Happy 153rd Canada Day from everyone at St. Ann’s! We wanted to have another Community BBQ this year but Covid-19 had other plans for us. Sometimes it’s just as nice to celebrate small with good friends!

We have now completed 3 weeks of outside visits. What a wonderful boost to our spirits! Thank you for working with us in regards to the rules put in place for everyone’s safety. We now must move on to our summer visiting routine. July and August bring us warmer mornings and evenings and we would like to combine those with getting back to some regular programs inside the home. Our Recreation calendar has been bleak the last few weeks as we adjust to the outside visits. The te...am has come up with a plan to hopefully suite the visitors’ needs as well as most importantly, the Residents’ needs. The information below outlines the available time slots for outside visits. These times will start on Wed. July 1st, 2020 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 11:00am 6:30pm Tuesday and Thursday 1:00pm 2:00pm 3:00pm Saturday 10:30am Sunday 1:00pm 2:00pm 3:00pm Another change that we need to implement is to put a limit on number of visits per week per Resident. We have 70 lovely people who live here that all deserve a chance to see their families, be that outside, on Facetime or through the window. All of these visits require manpower to set up and facilitate. All Recreation programs also require manpower, often 2 staff members at once. We will now be putting a 2 visit per week per Resident limit. We are encouraging your family members to join together for visits as best you can. We have space outside for more than one family group to visit at once (up to about 8 people!). You can also consider sharing the 45-50 min time slot and allowing more family groups to visit for a shorter length. I know this is going to be difficult for the large families we have here but it is something that we feel will give the best balance to Recreation programming and family visits. All bookings need to be done at least two days in advance and during the work week. We are receiving an overwhelming number of requests via phone and email and it’s a full time job just to keep everything coordinated. Please pass this message on to all family and friends who may be trying to make a booking. Thank you for your continued support and understanding. Carla Eager Director of Recreation and Therapies [email protected] 306-374-8900 ext 233

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. - William James On June 10th our St. Ann’s families appreciated our staff with Pita Pit to say many thanks! for their continued dedication to keeping our Residents safe. We would like to also say Thank You to the Bilodeau, Traill, Sarich and Dieno families for their donations to the Staff Appreciation Fund.

We are celebrating all of the men in the St. Ann’s family this Father’s Day with a little video of Advice from the Men. Hope you enjoy it!

First successful afternoon of outside visits!!Thank you to all of the staff who are helping make these visit happen for our Residents and their families. These pictures and memories will become part of our collective history-how COVID-19 changed our lives...

Thank you to CTV Saskatoon and Laura Woodward for taking the time to share our news broadcast. We had so much fun making it that we are ready to put together another one. Stay tuned!!

Outdoor Visits at St. Ann’s--Beginning Tuesday June 9th *All outdoor visits must be scheduled in advance. Please contact Carla at 306-374-8900 ext 233 or at [email protected] We will be scheduling visits every day, in the afternoons. Please indicate which day of the week works for you. We will confirm with which time in the afternoon your visit will be. *Each visit will be limited to the immediate members of one household because of space limitations. Be su...re to plan with other family households to allow everyone a chance to visit. *All visitors will be screened prior to visiting. (anyone with symptoms will not be able to visit) *You are encouraged to bring a mask with you for your visit. There will be NO access to a washroom during your visit. *Visits will be held at the front of St. Ann's. Recreation staff will meet you at the front doors and direct you to your visiting location. Please dress for the weather. *We will continue to accept items for your loved one through the front door, where we can safely sanitize the items prior to your loved one receiving them. They cannot be handed to your loved one at the visit. *In order to keep your loved ones safe, you will not be able to touch them when you visit. Charades are a great way to show hugs, kisses and high fives! *If you feel that your loved one would not like an outdoor visit, we will be able to accommodate a window visit or video visit. The first one or two visits will tell us what your loved one prefers, adjustments can be made on an ongoing basis. *If the weather is bad, all visits for that time frame will be cancelled. We will communicate with you if that is the case. (Any good weather requests can be forwarded via prayers to God) Thank you for your patience and understanding during these ever-changing times. We appreciate your efforts in helping us keep our Residents and staff safe.

Hello everyone! We have been made aware that St. Ann’s will be able to host outdoor visits between our Residents and their loved ones. As this is brand new information we ask that you allow us time to plan these visits with the restrictions given by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. We will be designating certain areas and times to hold the visits. Please check back tomorrow for more information and updates. In the meantime, we ask for your prayers for good weather and patience as we plan.

During this 10th week of isolation, we look ahead to what the next few months might look like. We pray and hope for our community of Saskatoon and Saskatchewan to be healthy and virus free. We see some restrictions being adjusted outside of St. Ann’s but no changes inside. The Recreation team has discussed how we will continue on with life inside St. Ann’s. Originally we had hoped to be able to continue with some activities and programs while providing time to facilitate wind...ow and video visits. This has proven to be challenging having open time slots all through the day. For this reason, we have decided to go back to a calendar format for activities and limit visits to certain times of the day and week. We will be able to have visiting time daily, but only during set times. We will also need to limit the number of visits per week/per Resident to allow for everyone to have a chance. Window and video visits will be held during the following times: Monday: 6pm-8pm Tuesday: 1pm-4pm Wednesday: 6pm-8pm Thursday: 1pm-4pm Friday 6pm-8pm Saturday: 10am-11:30am Sunday: 1pm-4pm The Recreation team has always been proud of keeping the Residents engaged with meaningful as well as just-for-fun activities. We still have many rules to follow but hope that our new plan will ensure that they can once again be busy and active every day. Thank you for your support and understanding!

In this time of quarantine, we are pleased to announce that our own Steve Slusar, of Steve's Barber Shop, has come out of retirement and at age 79 has started cutting men’s hair again! (He’s happy to let the staff take care of the curling and colouring of the ladies!) Also, he wouldn’t leave the shop without a cut of his own.

Our Caregivers are an amazing bunch...they deserve many, many thank yous and so much appreciation. RNs, Care Aides, Food Service workers, Cooks, Recreation workers, Housekeepers, Laundry Aides, Maintenance and grounds crew, Physiotherapy, and Administration--Everyone plays an important role and everyone deserves a thank you today! Several family members asked us how to say thank you to the Staff so we created a Staff Appreciation Fund. From this fund we treated them to lunch from Panago Pizza a few weeks ago and today's treat was Homestead Ice Cream & Novelties. Thank you to the Rolfes, Benard, Lepage and Buglas families for their donations. We will continue to be able to treat our staff in different ways. If you are looking for a way to say thank you, please consider a donation to the Staff Appreciation Fund.