The Village Palms

20/05/2022

We are posting to update you on the current COVID situation within The Village Palms Retirement Village.
As you will know, we have had several residents who returned a positive RAT test to COVID and, as a result, had to reluctantly close our doors once again to visitors.
We are pleased to inform you that it looks as if we have been successful in containing the virus and that there have been no new cases. We still have two residents who are testing positive, who are remaining in isolation but as we have prevented further infections, we are once again able to welcome family members to the village.
We will revert to the previous booking system, and still require all visitors to wear an N95 mask (available from all pharmacies). To book an appointment, between 09.30 and 16.30, please call reception on 03 595 5203.
Please, if you feel in any way unwell, do not visit our village and we will happily arrange a Skype call between yourself and your loved one.
We would like to sincerely thank our residents and families for their patience and understanding, as well as our team of healthcare professionals for assisting to keep every resident safe and shielded against infection.

09/05/2022

We are posting to update you on the current COVID situation within The Village Palms Retirement Village.
We have been conducting regular surveillance testing of all residents and have now identified further residents within both the care unit and the apartments who have returned a positive COVID result.
This being so, it is with regret that we will be required to further extend our restrictions of visitors to The Village Palms Retirement Village for at least the next seven days. We will obviously keep you informed as to how events are developing and will post again next week to advise you of the situation. Please be reassured that we are in constant liaison with the District Health Boards Infection Control Team and implementing their advice to minimise the risks of further transmissions.
We know that maintaining contact with family is of paramount importance and we will happily arrange a Skype call between yourself and your loved one. Alternatively, residents are still able to leave the village to visit with family and friends, but we ask that these arrangements are made ahead of time with our Nurse Manager or Clinical Manager.
We will, of course, be in regular contact with the families of any resident that returns a positive COVID result.
We would like to sincerely thank our residents and families for their patience and understanding, as well as our team of healthcare professionals for assisting to keep every resident safe and shielded against infection.

05/05/2022

We are posting to provide everyone with an update on COVID and visiting to The Village Palms.
We currently have two residents who have tested positive and it is with regret that we will again be unable to accept visitors to The Village Palms for at least the next seven days. We will obviously keep you informed as to how events are developing. Apartment residents may still receive visitors providing that they are able to enter and leave via the apartment side door. We cannot accept visitors arriving through the main entrance or communal areas.
We know that maintaining contact with family is of paramount importance and we will happily arrange a Skype call between yourself and your loved one. Residents remain able to leave the village and visit their families at this time.
We will be in regular contact with the families of any resident that returns a positive COVID result.
We would like to sincerely thank our residents and families for their patience and understanding, as well as our team of healthcare professionals for assisting to keep every resident safe and shielded against infection.

30/03/2022

Please be advised that The Village Palms will be unable to accept 1st floor care visitors for the next 7 days with the exception of compassionate visits authorised beforehand by the Nurse Manager or Clinical Manager. Despite the visiting restrictions, all residents remain able to go out to visit friends and family. Apartment resident visiting remains without restriction at this time.
We thank you all for your continued support, love and kindness shown to our residents and team members.

24/03/2022

Further to our last post, we are acting on advice and continuing to restrict visiting to The Village Palms until Monday 28th March 2022 when this decision will be again reviewed. We are continuing to allow compassionate visits that have been prearranged with the Nurse Manager or Clinical Manager. As before, all residents are free to leave the village, but we ask that they do so with minimal interaction between themselves and any other resident or team member.
Once again, on behalf of the whole team at The Village Palms, we thank everyone for their patience, help and understanding.

21/03/2022

We ask all family members to please be aware that we cannot allow visiting at The Village Palms Retirement Village at this time. The only exception to this will be for compassionate visits that have been pre-arranged and authorised by our Nurse Manager or Clinical Manager.
All residents remain free to leave the village, but we ask that they exit the building with minimal interaction between themselves and any other resident.
On behalf of everyone at The Village Palms Retirement Village, we thank you for your patience, help and understanding.

14/03/2022

Dear Facebook followers,
Please be advised that we are asking all visitors to The Village Palms to wear an N95, KN95 or a P2 mask when visiting, all of which are available from your local pharmacies. These masks are a lot safer and offer more protection to the wearer and our residents than the normal surgical masks.
As ever, thank you all for your patience and understanding.

23/01/2022

As you will probably be aware, the government has placed the whole of New Zealand into the 'red' protection framework setting of the traffic light system. What this means for The Village Palms Retirement Village is that we are continuing to accept visitors but with some restrictions:
- All visitors must book their visit in advance by contacting reception.
- There will be a limit of 30 minutes maximum per visit
- There is a maximum of 2 visitors at any one time for each resident.
- - Unvaccinated visitors will be required by the village to undertake a RAT test prior to entry into the village. Please inform reception if you are an unvaccinated visitor when booking and, when arriving for your visit, remain in your car, call the village and inform reception that you have arrived. A nurse will administer the test in your vehicle. These tests take around 15 minutes.
We ask all visitors to please abide by these restrictions to ensure that we keep every resident entrusted into our care shielded from COVID, minimising the risk of the virus entering their home.
As always, we are grateful for the love and support shown to our team who are doing everything they can to keep your loved one both safe and comfortable.

14/12/2021

We are writing again to update you on the latest information and requirements for visiting at The Village Palms Retirement Village.
As you may know, from today (December 15) Auckland residents will be able to leave Auckland and travel across the country. This is as long as they are vaccinated or have a negative PCR test.
Whilst this is welcome news for many, it does however increase the risk posed to our local Christchurch community including those who call The Village Palms home. With this in mind, we are strengthening our COVID protection measures for visitors to the village. Please bear in mind that this is for the protection of your loved one and everyone else that has been entrusted into our care.
As from midnight tonight, the following rules will apply and will be strictly enforced.
• The front doors to The Village Palms Retirement Village will remain locked and access will only be granted by the receptionist between the hours of 09.30 to 16.00, seven days a week. Nurses have been instructed not to let visitors in after this time. Please do not attempt to visit outside of these times.

• Visiting will be strictly by appointment only.

• Special precautions will be in place if unvaccinated visitors wish to enter the building. These precautions include managing visiting in an outdoor space or the designated unvaccinated visitor’s room, being escorted to and from the visiting area, being required to wear full PPS including face shields. Unvaccinated visitors will also be required to show evidence of a negative COVID-19 PCR test 48-72 hours prior to the scheduled visit. If this is not possible, unvaccinated visitors will be required to have a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT test) prior to being admitted. Please note that this test takes around 15 to 20 minutes and unvaccinated visitors will be required to wait outside the village until a negative result is obtained. The cost of the test will be on-charged to the resident that is being visited. Unvaccinated visitors may also be required to undertake a RAT test, even if they can produce a recent COVID-19 PCR test result, at the Nurse Managers discretion.

• For residents leaving the village for trips or outings with family should only visit venues with a vaccination certification requirement, private dwellings, or outdoor areas. Residents must follow contact tracing, mask wearing and all public health measures. The family will be asked to provide details of all venues that were visited.

• All visitors must contact the reception in advance to discuss and book their visit. The current screening measure will remain in place i.e., the completion of a health screening questionnaire, temperature check, scanning in of the QR code, hand sanitization and completion of the visitors log prior to admission into the village. Visitors should stay at home if they have COVID-19 symptoms, are under investigation of COVID-19, or a close contact of someone who is under investigation of COVID-19 or a confirmed case. Visitors over the age of 12 years will be asked to show their My Vaccine Pass as evidence of a double COVID-19 vaccination. We will not allow visits by under 12’s at this time.

• The number of people and the time and length of the visit will be determined by the Nurse Manager who will manage the visiting process to ensure the safety of everyone.

Please be assured that we know how difficult these times are for families and loved ones. We are in uncharted waters and all we can do is to do our best to keep everybody shielded and safe. These measures, as well as being double vaccinated, are our final defence against COVID gaining a foothold within the village. You may be feeling anxious and scared and we are too but together we have a much greater chance of keeping COVID out of our home and away from your loved one.
We thank you for your continued understanding and support.

03/12/2021

Dear resident and family member
As you will be aware, at midnight last night, New Zealand transitioned from the 4-level COVID-19 Alert System to the COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights) system. This will mean changes to the way aged residential care facilities nationally will manage COVID-19.
As from today, all retirement villages except those located in Northland, Auckland, Gisborne or Whanganui will be placed in the ORANGE category.
This new ‘traffic light’ system is designed to offer protection to people, business and the health sector while we get used to living with COVID-19 in our communities.
What does this mean for us at The Village Palms?
The new system at ORANGE means there will be restrictions for The Village Palms in line with the Government’s guidelines for vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals. The requirements for visiting the village residents and the care residents will differ slightly but are intended to offer the best defence against COVID gaining a foothold in the village.
For visits to our residents on the 1st floor care unit, we are reintroducing the visitor booking system with visiting hours from 10am to 4.30pm Monday to Sunday, including public holidays.
Vaccinated visitors are welcome however visits are limited to two people at a time for a maximum of 30 minutes each visit. Visits may only take place in the resident’s room and visitors must not enter other residents’ rooms or congregate in communal areas such as libraries and lounges.
Masks must be worn at all times when visiting The Village Palms.
Please book your visits by calling reception on 03-595 5203.
What happens when I arrive for my visit?
You will be asked to check in as normal and scan the COVID Tracer app situated at the entrance to the village, hand sanitize and complete the visitor declaration. You will also be required to show the My Vaccine Pass. Please be aware that you may also be asked to provide additional photo identification. If you do not yet have a My Vaccine Pass, they are easily obtainable from www.mycovidrecord.health.nz. Simply request that your pass be emailed to you. This usually only takes only a couple of minutes. You can then save this pass to your phone or computer, or you can print out a physical copy.
If you do not have a smartphone or access to a computer, you can call 0800 222 478 to request that your ‘My Vaccine Pass’ is mailed out to you. If you don’t know your National Health Index (NHI) number, you will be asked a few questions to confirm your identity, such as your name and date of birth. Otherwise, you can also find your NHI number on your prescription bottles or containers or by calling your doctor or health services provider.
We require all visitors, including school age children, to wear a mask for the duration of visits.
What if I am unvaccinated?
If you are unvaccinated or accompanying a child under 12 years and wish to visit a loved one, additional precautions will need to be put in place to maintain the safety of everyone working and residing at The Village Palms.
During fine weather, a dedicated outside space will be made available to you but we ask that social distancing is maintained. If the weather does not permit an outside visit, we have a dedicated space available for you. For the time being, we have had to convert our Family & Whanau room on the first floor into the unvaccinated visitor’s room. This is the only small, contained and easily cleaned space that we can provide. Unfortunately, this means that the resident’s phone will be moved into the small lounge and library area. We are currently having the new access port activated although there may be a slight delay until this work is completed. This area will receive intensive deep cleaning between unvaccinated family member visits. Please phone the village directly to organise a time to visit, as we need to arrange this in the safest way possible and ensure that designated visiting areas are available for your use.
For those visitors that have arrived in New Zealand within the last 14 days, please contact Gladys Tino, our Nurse Manager to discuss any specific requirements that will need to be implemented to make your visit both safe and enjoyable.
What if I am visiting a resident in a serviced apartment?
All of our communal village areas such as the dining room, libraries, lounges and bar will remain open for residents and their visitors. However. visitors will still need to show a vaccination pass upon entry to the building as outlined in the Government’s traffic light framework. Access to these areas is strictly limited to vaccinated individuals only.
What about activities?
Our usual activities programmes and events will continue, including our happy hours, women’s and men’s groups and morning teas. Mask wearing is essential except for when eating and drinking.
What if I am feeling unwell?
We ask that if you feel in any way unwell that you do not visit The Village Palms. As a reminder, symptoms of a COVID infection may be like that of a cold or influenza and can include any or all of these common symptoms:
• New or worsening cough
• Sneezing and runny nose
• Fever
• Temporary loss of smell or altered sense of taste
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath
Less common symptoms of COVID-19 may include diarrhoea, headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, malaise, chest pain, abdominal pain, joint pain or confusion/irritability. These almost always occur with one or more of the common symptoms.
We ask that you please help us to keep The Village Palms Retirement Village a safe home for our residents. Our team members are working hard to ensure that each and every resident is loved, cared for and is shielded as much as possible from the stark reality of COVID circulating in our local community. We can only do this by working together in partnership with every visitor to our village.
Thank you again, for your patience and understanding.
Kind regards
The whole team at The Village Palms Retirement Village

Get proof of your COVID-19 vaccination status – My Vaccine Pass and International Travel Vaccination Certificate.

31/10/2021

As you will be aware, the government has not placed Christchurch into a higher alert level in response to the identified positive COVID cases in our community.
For us, it is a difficult balancing act as we try to use the least restrictive measures that continue to ensure the safety of those in our care.
In light of the above, we will be returning to the level 2 requirements but we would ask that visitors visit between 09.30am and 4.30pm, and that they ensure the all PPE and sign in requirements are followed.
Residents will not be asked to isolate if they attend a public place, but we ask, for their own and others safety, that they still follow social distancing, wear a mask, wash and sanitise hands and inform us immediately if they feel unwell.
Please know that we are continuing to do all we can to ensure that everyone at The Village Palms remains safe, happy and shielded in these difficult times.

27/10/2021

As you will no doubt be aware, COVID 19 has once again gained a foothold in Christchurch. Although this news is saddening, it is not entirely unexpected.
As a response to these positive cases being identified, The Village Palms has gone into immediate lockdown. Our greatest priority is to keep everyone entrusted into our care safe and we will do everything we can to ensure that we can do this.
With immediate effect, we will not be allowing any visitors to our village. The only exception to this will be essential tradespersons and outside clinical staff performing an essential service. These individuals will go through vigorous pre-entry requirements and will not be allowed to mix with the greater population of the village.
Please know that we are aware of how difficult it is for family members and residents to be cut off from their friends and loved ones and we are so sorry that we are compelled to implement these restrictions.
As ever, we genuinely thank you for your help and support in keeping everyone as safe as possible.