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CEO’S MESSAGE

It is hard to believe that the year 2020 has come and gone, and with it, the anniversary of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Canada, on January 27. Together, we have experienced a year of great challenges related to the pandemic. Across the World, Canada and the Province, businesses, citizens and governments have all been faced with unprecedented and ongoing impacts of COVID-19; with the Second Wave hitting us just in time for the winter holiday season.

February is a month that we all look forward to by way of celebrating holidays and events – such as Lunar New Year, Family Day Long Weekend and Valentine’s Day. These celebratory events not only help us get through winter but allow us to spend more time with family and friends. There is no question, that this year, things have been very different.

Caseloads have plateaued, but with the new variants in our midst, we all need to continue doing all that we have in the months past, so as to keep everyone safe and healthy. The Provincial lockdown has significantly helped in curtailing the spread of COVID-19. As we move through this critical time, MLP Residence continues to monitor the situation on a daily basis, with safety and IPAC protocols being of paramount significance. MLP Residence’s mandate remains unchanged – to do everything in its jurisdiction to keep our residents and team members safe.

Preventing the virus from entering our Residence during this period has not been easy. As you are aware, MLP has not had a single case of COVID-19 amidst our Community, which is testimony to the hard work and dedication of our front-line workers. These individuals have sacrificed their time, energy and resources to ensure that everyone who works and lives at MLP remain safe and healthy. We are ever so grateful and privileged to be part of a team who work tirelessly, devoutly, and with focus to keep everyone safe. We recognize that this is not an easy accomplishment. We are forever indebted to our wonderful and awesome team and applaud their tenacity and dedication.

With guidelines and recommendations received regularly from the Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility, RHRA, ORCA and Public Health Ontario; MLP Residence continues to monitor and update its policies and procedures to ensure compliance to Provincial and Municipal directives, including in-home activities for our residents, infection control measures as well as visitation rules for families and friends. It is important to note that while the Ontario vaccination program is underway, MLP Residence will not relax its policies with respect to COVID-19 safety plans and procedures – until such time that mass vaccination among the population has been achieved and we are informed by our health partners to revert to “normal” operations.

In an effort to ensure that COVID-19 does not enter our Residence, we have, and shall continue to, enforce IPAC measures and screening tools. In addition, we have, and shall continue to in the future, reach out to all families of our residents to offer education and assistance, re safety procedures and measures which have been implemented at MLP. This means keeping you up to date on the COVID-19 directives as received from our health partners and the Ministry. MLP Residence’s focus is to facilitate the wellbeing of all our people, and this is the driving force behind everything that we do. We are cognisant that some people’s mental health and wellbeing may be strained due to the many necessary inconveniences, or there may be elevated anxiety due to an increased risk of isolation – given social distancing practices; but we want to assure you all that we are, and will continue, to proactively deal with these challenges for the greater benefit of all.

As part of our pandemic response plan and respecting the need to protect the health of our seniors, MLP continues to offer communication and visitation alternatives by way of telephonic, video and digital means, for families to remain in constant touch. Where this is not practical or feasible, we may allow restricted visitation (based on current public health statutes), practicing social distancing and other risk management practices.

There is no doubt that this has been a long race back to normal. But remember, this is a marathon, maybe even an ultra-marathon. The Corporate vision of MLP requires every member of our Team to be the responsible citizen that they can; in order to help keep all those who depend on MLP. Our business continuity plan is strong and is effectively deployed. Throughout these challenging times, MLP’s General Manager has regularly been communicating with families of our seniors, offering them information which can be used to support and leverage our services, including information to the changes to in-house programs, screening and sanitization processes, modifications to group activities, and changes to visitation.

We value the special bond that keeps us all at MLP together – providing excelling services and luxurious accommodation options for all whom we serve. Every action that we take is to ensure that our commitment to service is effectively, efficiently and empathetically conferred.

As we move into March, we wish you peace and tranquility, and the support of friends and family – in whatever form that may come. Warm regards,

Sincerely,

Anik Jivanjee

Chief Executive Officer
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