Visiting restrictions at long-term care (LTC) homes again loosen.

High vaccination rates were a significant factor, and will provide residents freedoms they have not seen since the start of the pandemic.

Shiela Hanson is the Director of Nursing at Pioneer Ridge in Thunder Bay, and explains her reactions to the decision.

“We’re thrilled that things are starting to loosen up a little bit.” said Hanson. “It’s really wonderful for the residents to finally get a little leeway to be able to visit because it’s been really hard on them when they can’t.”

Physical contact between residents and visitors is now possible, and individuals with mobility issues who were not able to leave the homes during outdoor visits are now able to have friends and families.

Hanson goes on to mention the guidelines that must be followed by any workers or visitors that enter Pioneer Ridge

“For anybody coming into the home, staff and essential caregivers, there is a procedure you must follow. So there’s a screening process, you have to go through a whole screening, and actively answer the questions to any symptoms. You need to have your temperature taken, and then once you pass all that screening we have a little testing clinic in our building. So you go to the testing clinic and you have what is known as a rapid antigen test and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes and it will tell you whether you’re negative or positive, and luckily everybody has been negative that we have come through.”

One of the biggest changed means that LTC residents will be able to leave their homes to visit friends and family. Hanson explains how significant this is for residents.

“They have to have been fully immunized. They can go out for a day visit with their families for lunch or for a supper and come back. They can also go on overnight trips, now there’s a little more to these trips. They have to be tested when they come back to the home, but still the parameters are their to allow them to go out for a night, so that is really something for them because they haven’t been able to go out for things with their families.”