Written by Gage Gosselin

With the province lifting all remaining health measures, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has made changes to long-term care homes. 

Effective Monday, February 28, 2022, at 8:00 am, family presence in long-term care homes will begin to move to open family presence, with an exception for a small number of homes where precautions are deemed necessary by the local medical health officer. 

A list of homes and their family presence status can be found here. 

The SHA states the return to pre-pandemic family presence protocols will provide the opportunity for all residents to welcome more family and visitors, which is essential to the well-being and care of residents. In light of the removal of Public Health Orders as of February 28, policies and guidelines, including outbreak management and infection prevention and control, will reflect the transition to living with COVID while still ensuring the safety of long-term residents. 

Outbreaks will be managed on a case-by-case basis, states the SHA, with the commitment to maintain a minimum of essential family presence with additional precautions. The approach will resemble outbreak management for other communicable diseases. Homes will continue to maintain safety protocols, and processes will remain in place for protocols when deemed necessary. The SHA states it will continue to use information from residents and families through the Family Presence Expert Panel to help with decision-making as the transition to living with COVID takes place. 

According to the SHA, as of February 22, 2022, 55 percent of SHA long-term care homes had already transitioned to recovery family presence, accepting additional family and visitors. 

Family presence in acute care facilities remains at level 1, which means every patient can have two designated family/support persons, allowing one person to visit at a time. 

The changes in long-term care to open to family presence means:

  • Families are welcome according to the preferences of the resident.
  • Family is defined by the resident. 
  • There are no limits to the number of family/support or visitors that can be present at one time. Frequency of visits can be daily.
  • Timing of in-person visits may be subject to scheduling limitations of the home.
  • Masks are required in common areas but are no longer required in residents’ rooms, unless the resident is COVID positive and on precautions.
  • Residents can resume visits in the community, outside of the home.
  • Everyone is required to follow SHA guidelines for screening, personal protective equipment and distancing, even if they are vaccinated.

The SHA wants to remind all members of the public: 

  • COVID-19 transmits along a spectrum from droplet to aerosol.
  • Memorize and recognize the symptoms, which are similar to other respiratory illnesses including the flu and common cold and may include one or more of the following: fever, cough, headache, muscle and/or joint aches and pains, sore throat, chills, runny nose, nasal congestion, conjunctivitis, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite (difficulty feeding for children), altered sense of taste or smell, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing. Stay home if you have symptoms and monitor yourself.
  • Get familiar with testing recommendations: Information on testing can be found here.
  • Get fully vaccinated and boosted: The data is clear that the best way to protect yourself, your loved ones and your community from serious illness and death is to be fully immunized. For more information on COVID-19, click here.
  • Care for yourself and others: Anyone at any age can contract COVID-19. 
  • Be kind to each other and to health-care workers.