LANGLEY SENIOR RESOURCES SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER—SEPTEMBER 2020

MESSAGE TO MEMBERS

WE APPRECIATE HOW CHALLENGING THE PAST FEW MONTHS

HAVE BEEN TO ALL OF YOU WITH THE ARRIVAL OF CORONA

VIRUS AND THE RESULTING CLOSURE OF OUR CENTRE.

WE HAVE HEARD FROM MANY OF YOU HOW MUCH YOU

MISS YOUR FRIENDS AND THE SIMPLE ROUTINE OF COMING

INTO THE CENTRE. THE BOARD AND STAFF MISS ALL OF YOU

AS WELL.

THE LANGLEY SENIORS CENTRE IS OPENING WITH LIMITED

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES ON OCTOBER 19. THE BUILDING

WILL BE OPEN ONLY TO THOSE WHO HAVE PRE-REGISTERED

FOR A PROGRAM. UPDATES COMING SOON!

WE HOPE THIS NEWSLETTER HELPS YOU TO FEEL MORE

CONNECTED TO US. WE MISS YOU AND THANK YOU FOR

YOUR PATIENCE.

MANDATE: To connect

people 50+ with recreation,

resources and programs

designed to meet individual

and specific needs and

improve their quality of life.

MISSION: To deliver services

through a holistic approach

aimed at meeting the

emotional and social needs of

seniors and their families.

VISION: We envision a

community in which all

seniors are supported and

empowered to socialize, learn

and enjoy life.

VALUES: Caring, Respect,

Empathy, Safety, and Equality

1

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

There have been some recent changes to

your board. Steve Ferguson, Ian Love and

Ron Zauner have resigned from the board

and we thank them for their hard work

and contributions to LSRS.

Loretta Solomon and Linda Beckstead

have returned to serve on the LSRS Board.

The Composition of the LSRS Board is now: Loretta Solomon—Chair Adam Murphy—Vice Chair Linda Beckstead—Secretary Marilyn Anderson—Treasurer Alec Bennett—Board Member Ken Melech—Board Member Sarah O’Donnell—Board Member Barb Senff—Board Member Patricia Wiesner—Board Member

2

The Board is pleased to share the news of a new Advisory Committee to be implemented this

Fall and we hope you will share our excitement with this new development. We have heard

your requests to have more opportunities to shape and guide the future of the Centre, its

programs and services. The Advisory Committee will be comprised of Board members, staff,

members and volunteers. Stay tuned to hear about how you can be part of this new

opportunity.

In addition the board has implemented various committees which include a Board Nominating

Committee, a Finance Committee, a Fundraising Committee and a Maintenance and Grounds

Committee.

The centre continues to operate with a skeleton staff, as a number of employees have opted

to take a leave during the pandemic.

Lee Douglas will be retiring from LSRS on September 18 and we would like to thank her for

her significant contributions to LSRS over the years. Janet Madden will be assuming her

position as Reception Services Supervisor.

Janice McTaggart went into quasi-retirement in March but still acts as our Volunteer

Coordinator. The Centre still plans on holding a retirement party for Janice once it can

safely be done.

STAFFING

IN ORDER TO COME INTO THE LANGLEY SENIORS CENTRE

YOU MUST: 1. Have pre-registered in your program (even if it is free).

2. Have no symptoms of Covid and agree to inform us if you test positive for COVID-19.

3. Accept the risk of possible illness due to your participation.

4. Check in with a volunteer at the entrance.

5. Wear a mask inside the centre (please bring your own).

6. Stay 2 meters or 6 feet away from others.

7. Use hand sanitizer prior to entering and wash your hands frequently.

8. Not eat inside the Centre.

9. Have your temperature taken upon arrival.

10. Provide your name and phone number for contact tracing.

COVID-19 SYMPTOMS

Symptoms of COVID-19 can vary from person to person. Symptoms may also vary in different age groups. Some of the more commonly reported symptoms include:

new or worsening cough

shortness of breath or difficulty breathing temperature equal to or over 38°C

feeling feverish chills

fatigue or weakness muscle or body aches

new loss of smell or taste headache

gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting) feeling very unwell In severe cases, infection can lead to death.

Symptoms may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure to COVID-19.

3

CENTRE UPDATES

OUTREACH DEPARTMENT: Our Outreach Department continues to support seniors throughout

the community online and over the phone. The Better at Home housekeeping program has

continued throughout the pandemic. Currently, only transportation for essential medical

appointments is being offered. Volunteers and staff are providing grocery shopping/delivery

service along with delivery of LSRS Meals-to-Go.

FOOD SERVICES DEPARTMENT: We have successfully implemented a Meals to Go program and

will be continuing this service for the foreseeable future. A Thanksgiving and Christmas family to

go meal package will be offered this year. The Board recently approved restarting external

catering and room bookings to outside parties with stricter protocols in place and the limit for

events will be a maximum of 50 people including all staff.

ADULT DAY PROGRAM: We are located at a separate location than our Senior Resources

Society. This is a special place that allows seniors to come together in a safe and comfortable

environment. Staff uses a therapeutic approach that assists adults who struggle with dementia

and enables them to manage or express their emotions, and find sources of enjoyment or

meaning through our recreational activities.

Our Day Program was discontinued as of March 2020 with Covid -19. The staff got together and

started providing support to our clients. We started by phoning, then delivering cookies,

birthday song at the door, monthly newsletters and projects for them to do at home. The staff

have created a YouTube channel with our exercise programs and education programs (Langley

ADP is the channel).

We have opened our bathing program, which is full with 3 baths per day, our clients are very

grateful to have that up and running as some clients have not been able to access a bath for 5

months. We have our safety plan in place and is working well.

It has been a very difficult time for our caregivers; we still offered our caregiver support group

once a week by zoom and then small groups outside, as well weekly telephone calls for support.

We have gotten approval from the Ministry that we possibly can open with small groups of

clients; we are working very hard on our Opening safety protocols and plan, to insure the safety

of all clients and staff.

4

FOCUS GROUPS: We want to hear from you! One thing we know for sure - our programs and

services will look different and be delivered differently in the future due to coronavirus.

How would YOU like our programs to look in the future? How can our Centre better meet YOUR

needs? Do YOU have innovative ideas of NEW programs & NEW ways of delivering them?

A series of 1 hour Focus Groups will be held this Fall facilitated by a Board and staff Member. We

will be looking for 6 - 8 Members to be a part of each group. If you are interested, please email

lindaw@lsrs.ca, or call 604-530 –3020 Ext 303. We will randomly select participants and contact

you when we have dates planned.

MAINTENANCE & REPAIRS: We have completed a number of repairs and updates. Most of the

Centre has been repainted, the pergola in the outside patio has been replaced and the columns

outside the front doors repaired. A number of other smaller repairs have been attended to also. A

complete trimming of the overgrown trees and bushes around the Centre will take place in

September. As part of a recent inspection report, it was noted that the flat section of the roof

requires replacement soon. We have been obtaining quotes which are in the $50,000—$70,000

range. This major repair will be scheduled soon.

FILMING: A number of local productions have expressed interest in filming at the Centre and with

the shutdown of our Recreation programs this would be an excellent opportunity to generate some

revenue from this source. The Centre has agreed to have filming from two movie companies over

the period of September 21 to October 8.

The first movie being filmed will be a Hallmark production called “The Christmas Doctor” and the

second film will be “Day of the Dead”.

RECREATION: The Board and Staff are currently in discussion to see what programs can safely be

offered to the membership. Updates will be provided regarding our October 19 Re-open within the

next few weeks.

The Langley Seniors Centre is taking every effort to ensure the safety of visitors and members by

providing hand sanitizer stations and wipes. In addition a number of plexi-glass barriers and

screens have been purchased. Staff and volunteers continue to regularly wipe down handrails,

door knows, tabletops, bathrooms and commonly touched surfaces daily.

CENTRE UPDATES

5

CENTRE UPDATES

AGM: LSRS is required by law to have its annual general meeting each year, by December 31. We

normally have our AGM in September, but have postponed it due to the pandemic. There are two

options for the Society, which include applying for an extension into 2021 with the BC Registrar of

Companies, or going ahead with our AGM online using a program such as ZOOM. The Board will be

making a decision shortly as to what course of action we will be taking, and then the membership

can be apprised.

Footcare and Flu Shots: Foot care services have resumed and can be booked over the phone. We

are working with Save-on-Foods to organize our annual flu shot clinic. We do not have a definite

date but would be near the end of October or early November. More details to follow in our next

newsletter coming soon!

E-mail requests: Currently we are using e-mail to reach out with Centre updates. Some information

also gets passed along via Facebook. If you use email and would like to have your email address

added, please email lindaw@lsrs.ca to have your name added to the list. Please pass along any

information to any friends who do not have email. We have to help keep everyone connected.

If you don’t have email, we will be providing some paper copies of the newsletter outside of the

front door or at our Meals-to-go pick-up. Please feel free to grab a copy.

6

LSRS CONTACT INFORMATION: Langley Senior Resources Society 20605—51B Avenue Langley, BC V3A 9H1 Phone: 604-530-3020 Executive Director: Paul Goldberg—Ext.310 paulg@lsrs.ca Recreation Co-ordinator: Linda Weatherly—Ext.303 lindaw@lsrs.ca Volunteer Services: Janice McTaggart– Ext. 302 janicem@lsrs.ca Head Chef, Catering & Events: Gerry Wiesner—Ext.315 gerryw@lsrs.ca Reception Services: Janet Madden– Ext.312 janetm@lsrs.ca Outreach/Better at Home Program Coordinator Carrie Hadden—Ext. 305 carrieh@lsrs.ca Accounting Natasha Rose—Ext. 314 accounting@lsrs.ca Adult Day Program 20256—56th Avenue Langley, BC V3A 9H1 Phone: 778-328-2302 Program Director: Kelly Brown– Ext.1 daycare@lsrs.ca Hours of Operation: Monday—Friday 9:00-4:00 Saturday—Closed Please note: The building is only open to those who have pre-registered for pro-grams. Doors will remain locked, no drop-ins at this time.

7

Coming Soon

Everyone at the Centre is working to find safe ways

to re-open limited programs.

More information will be coming soon regarding programs,

registration and new protocols.

We will have new information out within the next few weeks!

Langley Senior Resources Society

would like to thank our sponsors for the contin-

uous support that they have provided for the

Seniors Centre.