As the COVID-19 pandemic circumstances continue to unfold, our priority has been and continues to be the safety and health of our staff and our consumers. We continue to be guided by the public health experts and our teams are working very hard both planning for and responding to the rapidly changing and evolving COVID-19 situation. Some examples of these efforts include:

• regularly updating our COVID-19 screening tools used to screen all consumers before each visit, staff daily before starting work and all guests/visitors to our sites before entry;
• updating our policies and procedures as new directives and/or guidelines are released;
• regularly communicating with staff; providing training and/or materials about new processes/protocols; addressing staff questions;
• working closely with Public Health departments in our communities for guidance on specific COVID-19 situations to manage and address any potential exposures;
• securing the necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supplies;
• actively working with our funders and many community partners to address health system pressures and COVID-19 related issues; and
• participating in advocacy efforts to ensure the needs of our consumers and employees are heard by those who are developing policies and guidelines at the provincial and regional levels.
  

In an effort to minimize the risk of transmission of the virus between our staff and our consumers, we continue to offer essential services to our consumers who are unable to be supported by other means. Despite the need for the government to re-open some businesses and activities in order to stimulate the economy, unfortunately, this pandemic and the state of emergency is not over.

Given that Nucleus supports many consumers, and employs some staff, who fall into categories of higher risk related to the impact of this virus; and because our staff must go into multiple consumer homes in order to provide the essential services our consumers need; it is extremely important to the wellbeing of our consumers and staff as well as to the sustainability of our healthcare system, that we all continue our preventative efforts to protect ourselves and one another from the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, we expect you will continue to practice the following:

• Stay at home unless you need to go out for essential purposes (groceries, medications, or healthcare services). Wherever possible utilize the support of family and friends (or support services if required) to obtain essential items. Please contact your Nucleus Supervisor if you need some assistance with getting what you need.
• Maintain a physical distance of 2 metres (or 6 feet) between yourself and others who do not live in your home.
• Do not allow guests into your home, however if this is unavoidable because they are assisting with essential tasks, ask them to use a face mask/face covering.
• Respond truthfully to the screener questions as they are asked of you
• Comply with any directions received by health officials regarding self-isolation
  

As per our current policy, our staff are expected to use face masks, eye protection (goggles or face shield) and gloves for all consumer visits, even when the COVID-19 screening results are negative. When there is a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, staff will have additional personal protective equipment (PPE) to wear. Out of an abundance of caution, these additional precautions (PPE) are currently required for at least two weeks following a consumer’s visit to a hospital or other high risk environment. Please notify the office if any Nucleus staff who come to see you are not wearing the required equipment so we can address this issue quickly.

Nucleus will continue to follow the guidelines from public health officials and take the necessary steps to help mitigate the spread of the virus. Our Supervisors will continue to be fully available to assist you by telephone, so please do not hesitate to call our office if you need some creative problem-solving to assist you during these challenging times.