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B.C. closes all provincial parks

Elizabeth Nolan
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B.C. closes all provincial parks

BC Parks is immediately closing all provincial parks in response to the widespread call for increased action to address COVID-19.

The closure includes Burgoyne Bay, Mount Maxwell, Mount Erskine and Ruckle provincial parks on Salt Spring.

A news release states the closure responds to both the federal and provincial directives that people should stay close to home to reduce COVID-19 transmission risk. This temporary measure means people should not be going to provincial parks until further notice.

“Because physical distancing works, it is critical that we take every action needed to restrict the spread of COVID-19. This applies to British Columbians and out-of-province visitors who were planning to visit or stay at our provincial parks. The message is clear: stay home, avoid travel, do not put yourself or others at risk,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

“I understand and share the love people in British Columbia have for the outdoors and the connection between health and proximity to nature. We tried to provide safe space for people to get some exercise and fresh air in our beautiful parks. But it has proven too challenging to maintain safe distance between visitors. This action is difficult but necessary. We look forward to the day we can welcome people back to our wonderful parks.”

The decision to close the park system was informed by continued feedback from RCMP, local government, First Nations, local search-and-rescue organizations and the general public. While many people are observing the physical distancing requirements set by the provincial health officer (PHO), some continue to ignore the order, making enforcement in a wilderness setting challenging.

BC Parks said the timing is important given the upcoming long weekend and the beginning of the busy season for outdoor recreation and camping.

Rick Laing, who is volunteer warden for Mount Erskine Provincial Park, noted the road to Mount Maxwell is in bad shape at this time and it might be best if people stayed off it anyway. As well, there are opportunities to get exercise nearby the park boundaries or in other parts of the island.

“There are lots of place where people can still enjoy nature on roads and paths and things without actually going into the parks,” Laing said.

BC Parks is also extending the ban on all camping in provincial parks until May 31, 2020, in alignment with neighbouring jurisdictions and the temporary closure of Canada’s national parks. Refunds for bookings up to May 31 will be sent automatically.

Fire chief shares update

Contributed Article
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Fire chief shares update

BY ARJUNA GEORGE, SALT SPRING FIRE CHIEF

Good day,

I am writing to you today to give you an update on what has changed in the Fire Department since the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic. We had taken what was viewed at the time as extraordinary measures to be proactive in protecting the health and safety of our membership and community at large. We closed our offices to the public and prohibited all non-essential member traffic to our fire halls. We cancelled all face-to-face group training and meetings, which have since moved online with great success. Staff began multiple daily decontamination protocols of our halls and apparatus. Listing all the measures here is too lengthy for this letter. Suffice it to say, we were a month ahead of recommended government guidelines.

By taking measures so early on, we have been able to keep our membership completely healthy and able to respond 24/7. We had responded to a structure fire on March 27th in the early hours of the morning and the house was saved. We want you to know that we are here for you, we are healthy, and we are taking every precaution available to us to protect our Responders and our island. Recently, we have formed a Mental Health Task Force to help manage the added stress on our membership. Professional online counselling is also available at no cost to our Firefighters and First Responders. We have been working very closely with BC Ambulance and Lady Minto Hospital to coordinate our response and again reduce exposure to our members and the public. We are continuously improving and adapting to this very dynamic situation.

There have been some changes to protocols with respect to medical calls that you should be made aware of. Most importantly, our First Responders may appear unrecognizable with the added personal protective equipment. For example, gowns, masks, and face shields are now standard. Some of which have been made right here on Salt Spring Island by an army of volunteers inside and outside our department – to whom we are extremely grateful! It is that spirit of togetherness and perseverance that will see us through this Pandemic. As a community we have already triumphed over two natural disasters in the last few years. A catastrophic windstorm and a snowstorm both shutdown our island and forced us into isolation. Albeit far more temporarily than our current situation. This too shall pass.

Many of you have asked, what can I do to help? The obvious answer is stay home and limit the spread of this virus. Our geography works both for us and against us. We are so fortunate to have outdoor space to enjoy and still be able to maintain our physical distance. We are, however, an island with extremely limited resources should this escalate. Therefore, we are asking you not only to stay home but to take great care in all that you do. Do not take unnecessary risks. Drive carefully. Every emergency we can avoid saves resources for where they are most needed.

Alas, we will again persevere. Salt Spring Island is special. Anyone that lives here knows and feels that in their own way. Let us practice gratitude for what we have and patience for the coming weeks and months.

 

 

CRD takes responsibility for United Church Meadow

Driftwood Staff
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CRD takes responsibility for United Church Meadow

The Capital Regional District’s Salt Spring Island Parks and Recreation Commission has assumed responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the Salt Spring United Church meadow located at 111 Hereford Avenue in Ganges.

“The church meadow has been accessible to the public as a ‘park’ in the centre of town since the 1980s and the CRD looks forward to continuing this tradition through a license of occupation,” a news release issued Monday stated.

The meadow is accessed from the churchyard by a bridge, two entrance points from the Island Savings parking lot on McPhillips Road and two entry points from Hereford Avenue.

The CRD notes that in recent years the meadow has increasingly become a place where people are conducting themselves outside of the church’s intended use. With limited enforcement options and a desire to keep the space open for public use, the church requested the CRD assume responsibility for the community space and thereby implement the ability to enforce CRD park bylaws.

“Community parks are vitally important to establishing and maintaining the quality of life in our community,” said Gary Holman, Salt Spring Island Electoral Area Director. “I am pleased that through this new partnership with the Salt Spring United Church we can keep this green space open to the public for future generations to enjoy.”

“The Salt Spring Island United Church is excited to be working with PARC with regard to our meadow,” added Marilynne Cunningham, chair of the Salt Spring Island United Church board. “We acknowledge the work you are planning to do and trust that you will take into consideration the needs of the marginalized people of our community.“

The CRD invites the public to continue the use and enjoyment of this green meadow space within the parameters of the local CRD Community Parks Bylaw. Watch for upcoming changes to enhance the space and contact the office for a park use permit to reserve for future public or private events.

At this time PARC asks people to respect COVID-19 protocols on physical distancing and gatherings.

“The health and safety of the public and staff is our top priority. Distancing is your responsibility. Failure to adhere may jeopardize public access to parks.”

Videos depict unique needs of LGBTQ aging

Elizabeth Nolan
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Videos depict unique needs of LGBTQ aging

A project to improve conditions for older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and two-spirit individuals when they enter long-term care has new tools for people in the field thanks to innovative work by a Salt Spring-based researcher.

Robert Beringer is a Health Systems Impact Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health, University of Victoria. During his two-year fellowship he is working to evaluate and optimize LGBTQI2S engagement with hospice and palliative care in the Island Health region. Three film vignettes that he produced on-island over the past fall to highlight different needs and experiences of people outside the hetero-norm have now launched and are available for viewing and sharing from his website, www.lgbtqi2sdignityproject.ca.

Beringer’s previous research into gerontology and LGBTQ issues showed there is a lot of anxiety around losing independence, as people with non-conforming genders or sexuality suddenly face the bizarre and tragic situation of having to go back into the closet, or perhaps face discrimination from staff and fellow residents.

“There are fears about going into such homes at all because people wonder if they’ll have to hide their identities,” Beringer observed.

The LGBTQI2S Dignity Project website and film vignettes were first conceptualized in February 2018 at a “design jam”-style event that was organized in partnership between the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Gender and Health, EGALE Canada, Hacking Health, Rainbow Health Ontario, Cossette Health and the Michael Smith Foundation. The vignettes were filmed last November and were completed with 100 per cent use of Salt Spring talent.

Screenplays were written locally, along with a local director, videographer and actors, and Beringer himself acting as executive producer, caterer and financial manager. The vignettes were filmed in his home, which was made over to resemble different rooms of an assisted living facility.

“Filmmaking, I learned, can be a long, drawn-out process, with many starts and stops along the way,” Beringer reported. “After failed attempts with two [off-island] production companies, I decided to take a community-based approach and this began by asking members of LGBTQI2S organizations around B.C. for script suggestions. We chose to develop Never Married, It Still Hurts and Special Occasion, and I am pleased at what my team, entirely based on Salt Spring, has produced.”

“These are situations that are very moving,” said series director Suzanne Laine. “Everybody that got cast felt this was something really important to do. They felt it was really unique and important work.”

The vignettes average just six minutes in length, but they successfully bring home an emotional connection in a way that educational materials can’t really do. Scenarios include an older gay man seen in a care home’s common area, where he is subject to loud comments and exclusion by two female residents. The scene comes with both a “status quo” ending depicting how problems like this often get treated by staff, and then a more positive alternative showing how the care aide on site could have better responded to the situation.

In another film, a transgender resident is bullied by the home’s administrator, who doesn’t tell the staff the man is trans and refuses to refer to the patient in the gender he has lived with for many years.

“It puts both the worker and the client in a really awkward situation because the worker is looking for someone with the former gender identity,” Beringer said. “It’s really sad because it’s coming from the higher-up, who just doesn’t want to accept their identity.”

Although finding accurate statistics can be challenging, it is estimated that anywhere between three and 10 per cent of the population are lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, two-spirited or transgender. Using these parameters, there are between 4,500 and 15,000 LGBTQ2+ seniors served by Island Health.

Beringer credits Nicole Tremblay, clinical social work educator for Island Health, for leading the way to educating health authority staff and creating a manual called Developing Inclusive and Affirming Care for LGBTQ2+ Seniors. The manual was developed following a review of international and national research and through input from local focus groups, and is a model for the LGBTQI2S Dignity Project website. But more awareness is needed, Beringer said.

“I think there are lots of toolkits and strategies that people are trying to use, but they’re under-utilized. Either people think that they have no LGBTQ2+ residents in care, or they treat them like everyone else — which we know from research doesn’t work,” he said. “We’re hoping people will use these film vignettes as part of their toolkits if they’re doing sensitivity training. I’m not attached to who’s using them. I just want people to use them.”

Health partnership to distribute personal protective equipment

Driftwood Staff
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Health partnership to distribute personal protective equipment

The Salt Spring Community Health Society and the Salt Spring Chapter – Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice have announced joint funding by the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation and Salt Spring Island Foundation to manufacture and distribute re-usable face shields and isolation gowns as well as alcohol sanitizer to on-island physicians and health care workers, first responders and other highly exposed community workers.

“This is an exciting example of how four local organizations can partner to work in the best interests of the community, and is the culmination of many, many hours spent by highly skilled and creative professionals and volunteers to leverage the considerable open-source and maker movement,” said SSCHS president Jennifer Williams.

The equipment will protect physicians in their community practices, their staff, as well as first responders and community workers who serve vulnerable populations, among others. This, in turn, will protect community members and help reduce the number of people who need to access community health and Lady Minto Hospital services. It will also alleviate pressure on the scarce supply of personal protective equipment required by hospital medical staff.

“COVID-19 cases have been identified in the Gulf Islands and massive local activities are underway to prepare health care organizations and practitioners to provide prevention, diagnosis and treatment for affected members of the community. The use of personal protective equipment is essential to the safe provision of this care, but worldwide shortages extend to British Columbia and Salt Spring Island. On behalf of both our organizations, we are grateful for this funding,” said Dr. Manya Sadouski, physician lead for the Salt Spring Chapter – Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice.

SSC-RRDFP and SSCHS will jointly decide on, and prioritize, the appropriate allocation of these items based on World Health Organization guidelines as different individuals may need different equipment, while the SSC-RRDFP will monitor the ever-changing regulatory framework. Manufacturing is already underway, and those who receive PPE will be trained on correct use and sterilization procedures.

On-island organizations that are in need of PPE are urged to access the online need form here so distribution can begin as quickly as possible. The organizations ask for everyone’s patience as they roll-out this complex initiative.

Ferry Schedule Adjustment Coming Soon

Driftwood Staff
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Ferry Schedule Adjustment Coming Soon

Details are still  being finalized as to when BC Ferries will reduce its service to Salt Spring and the Southern Gulf Islands, as announced as part of a larger system-wide reduction on Friday.

BC Ferries says traffic across all of its routes is down approximately 80 per cent because of COVID-19. The Coastal Ferry Services Contract with the Province of British Columbia has been amended to permit the service reductions to reflect the change.

“The adjustments in service levels across BC Ferries are being taken to protect the health and safety of communities and our crew, match service levels to current demand and ensure the resiliency of coastal ferry service,” the corporation said in a service notice.

Major route changes including suspension of the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo route went into effect today and will be in place for the next 60 days. Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay sailings were also reduced from eight round trips daily to just four starting today.

BC Ferries states that when service to Long Harbour is suspended, most likely sometime later this week, Salt Spring  will be served by its two other routes, Swartz Bay-Fulford Harbour and Crofton-Vesuvius. Southern Gulf Island sailings will be combined with the Swartz Bay to Southern Gulf Islands service to one ship service using a Salish class vessel based out of Swartz Bay transiting to Tsawwassen, and a second ship serving the Southern Gulf Islands to Swartz Bay. 

Details on timing will be posted as soon as available. See also bcferries.com for schedule updates and service notices.

 

B.C. doctors now available via virtual care

Driftwood Staff
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B.C. doctors now available via virtual care

Doctors in British Columbia are now available to provide care to patients using telephone or video during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to providing in-person care when necessary.

Virtual appointments will be covered by the Medical Services Plan like any visit with the doctor. There is no additional cost for the service. Professional association Doctors of BC says the increased use of virtual care allows patients to receive medical care from their own doctor while practicing physical distancing or self-isolation. It protects not only patients, but also their doctors so they can continue to treat patients during the virus outbreak.

“Family doctors know their patients best – they know their medical histories, their families, and understand their needs,” said Doctors of BC President Dr. Kathleen Ross. “Many medical issues can be assessed and treated by phone and video.”

Ross urges patients to call their doctor first when they need medical care.

“Although the virus is top of mind right now, people still need ongoing care and advice for acute or chronic conditions requiring treatment or medication,” she said.

“There is a misconception that patients shouldn’t contact their doctors for routine appointments or non-COVID-19 related illness right now — absolutely they should,” she added.

For seniors living at home, those with disabilities, or people considering themselves to be high-risk, it is especially important that they contact their doctor for advice if they have not already connected. Family physicians will also continue to refer patients to specialists as needed.

To book a virtual appointment, patients should call their doctor’s office just as they normally would. Medical office staff will explain how to prepare for the telephone call or video conference. Some doctors’ offices have online booking systems, as well. Doctors will let their patients know if an in-person visit is needed, and their staff will follow up to make arrangements. Patients should not arrive at their doctor’s office without phoning first.

Medical Staff Association Provides Covid19 Update

Contributed Article
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Medical Staff Association Provides Covid19 Update

By Lady Minto Hospital Medical Staff Association

We all continue to follow the daily updates from the Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry and the Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, and hope for good news. So far, physical distancing seems to be working in our Health Authority and in BC as a whole. The increase in the number of new cases of COVID-19 has not been as rapid or as extensive as it might have been, and this is undoubtedly due to the extensive measures in place to stop the spread between individuals and within the community. The challenge will be to continue to physically distance, practice excellent hand hygiene, and avoid touching our faces in the days, weeks and months ahead.

 

We need to remember that the virus does not move, but rather people move the virus. This means that staying at home in our community is very important as a way to stop transmission. If you need to travel to a different community, you should be following all of the recommended precautions strictly. Similarly, if you know of people who are coming to visit here, for example those who have a second home on Salt Spring, please ask them to be extremely cautious so as not to bring the virus to our Island. Our local hospital is part of the Island wide system of care with plans for the care of patients with COVID-19 but our local resources are limited and can easily be exceeded. We do not have an intensive care unit (ICU) and patients requiring ICU care need to be transported off island – a challenge due to limited transportation resources.

 

Many community members are asking if they should be wearing masks and gloves. We recommend that individuals follow our public health specialists’ advice. Masks have not been proven to be effective at preventing community spread as they primarily reduce the spread of droplets into the air from infected individuals. They do not prevent the most common route of transmission, which is by touching surfaces on which infected droplets have come to rest, and then touching your face (mouth, nose, eyes). Hand washing is still the best protection, whether one wears gloves or not.

 

Islanders have risen to the occasion by staying home, physically distancing themselves, and following the advice and directions from Dr. Henry and Mr. Dix. We know this is hard on people and on island businesses. However, we all have a key role in keeping ourselves and each other healthy and safe.

New guidelines support health officer’s orders

Driftwood Staff
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New guidelines support health officer’s orders

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has issued new guidelines to support compliance with orders on business closures and gatherings made under the Public Health Act.

 

The new guidelines for municipal bylaw officers and other compliance officers give clear instruction on warnings, public education and fines to make sure there is compliance with the PHO’s orders and, if necessary, they are enforced consistently throughout B.C. communities.

 

“Local governments are key partners in ensuring the provincial health officer’s orders are obeyed so people in our communities can stay healthy,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “It’s important that communities, and those responsible for compliance, have clear and consistent guidelines to enforce the provincial health officer’s orders so businesses can adapt their workplaces and help keep people safe.”

 

To strengthen compliance and enforcement measures, the province will redeploy provincial compliance staff from other ministries to support local governments under the direction of the PHO. This includes liquor and cannabis control and licensing inspectors, gambling enforcement and investigations officers and community safety personnel. As outlined in provincial orders issued last week, bylaw enforcement officers do not have the ability to detain an individual as a result of a contravention or suspected contravention of a public health order, or issue a fine or penalty, including an administrative penalty, under the Public Health Act.

 

Local bylaw and other compliance officers can, however, provide enforcement assistance for the PHO’s orders by monitoring facilities and areas closed to the public by a public health order; providing warnings, information and advice to businesses and members of the public about public health orders, including warnings to businesses and members of the public who may be acting in contravention of a public health order; and providing information on potential contraventions of a public health order for follow-up by health authorities.

 

Compliance officers will provide public health agencies with recommendations and advice on whether further action is necessary. Any enforcement will be at the direction of the PHO or local medical health officer.

 

Therapist offers tips for staying sane in current crisis

Contributed Article
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Therapist offers tips for staying sane in current crisis

By ROWAN PERCY

In this COVID-19 health crisis, practising support skills — especially kindness, patience and mindfulness — is especially vital as we face new dimensions of stress.

Naturally, we worry how we will get through this. There are multiple factors to contend with — physical and mental health, fear of getting sick, financial fears and work issues.

Most of our lives have suddenly undergone big changes. For one thing, physical distancing feels strange. While we need to practice it, we miss contact with friends and family. Not going to work and spending so much time at home, offers new kinds of stresses.

Not only have our circumstances changed, but how we experience daily life is changing. If you are battling your worst impulses and reactions, you are not alone! If you’re helping in new ways, you’re also not alone! If you see yourself behaving outside your previous norm, this is likely to be a response to the effects on all of us of such large shifts in our health, our social life and our economy.

It takes time to accept this new reality. Many people are overwhelmed and afraid. A friend said to me, “Really? This is my world now?” Experiences such as: irritability, anxiety, feeling easily upset, crying suddenly, feeling wired, flat, depressed, feeling disoriented, disconnected, a loss of ability to focus, feeling quickly tired are to be expected.

There are some simple things you can do to help yourself and those around you. A quick one is to take three deeper than usual breaths. Sense the inside of your body expanding as your lungs expand your rib cage. Try it right now! The principal here is: Notice your state of mind and intervene. You only need a few seconds to give yourself attention and kindness. Remind yourself, feelings are not permanent: they come and go. Take frequent and brief “breathing spaces.” These breaks can promote a sense of calm and spaciousness.

We can also find benefit in absorbing ourselves in favourite activities. I need hardly remind anyone about Netflix or Crave! There is also: cooking, reading, exercise, creative work, laughter, playing with kids, virtual time with friends. When you do something you enjoy, you have more resilience for the overall stresses.

Although we are more physically separate, we have not lost community. We can develop our sense of community by sharing what we’re going through and offering help. A brief and balanced exchange on how you and a friend are coping can make all the difference to both people. Check-ins help us know we’re in this together. The odd irony to our situation, which I hope you also may be experiencing, is this strong spirit of pulling together, this renewed desire to be kind and gentle with each other. This helps us all and is needed.

Expressing our gratitude to our front-line and essential workers is also all-important. Our gratitude and support can strengthen them in their long shifts and stressful work.

Below are a few “staying sane” tips. If you find them helpful, you could cut it out and put it on your fridge as reminders!

STAYING SANE TIPS:

• Acknowledge your shifting experience: accept it with compassion (kindness). Remind yourself: “This will pass.”

• You don’t have to believe everything you think and feel is “the new normal.” You are much more than your current thoughts and emotions— they are different today than last week and will change again.

• Take time to notice what you need. Try or resume mindfulness, attend to your breath, meditate. Don’t rush over your experience. Strong feelings actually pass sooner, given some attention, than when we avoid, repress or push through them.

• Maintain healthy routines: sleep, exercise and good food.

• Take time outside, in nature. Lean against a tree or a rock, look up at the sky, lie on the earth. Touch the plants and trees. They do not have coronavirus! Be in the present moment: your sight, hearing, smell and touch.

• Remind yourself when you feel alone, “Right now, millions of others feel this way. We are all in this together.” Try sending your love to those millions, including you! It may help, you, at least.

• Reframe your situation. Instead of seeing it as “forced isolation,” we can frame it as time to rest and explore our world in new ways.

• Think how you can use this increased time at home creatively. Or, just take quiet time. That may be just what you need, rather than getting busy.

• Ask for what you need and ask others what kind of support they need. If you can’t provide it, help them think about how to get help. Generosity toward others relieves everyone of isolation.

• Practise gratitude: giving thanks for small or “large” things — a small blue flower in the grass, a health minister you trust.

• Remind yourself: My effort makes a difference. Everyone’s care matters greatly now (actually it always did, we just don’t necessarily realize that).

• If you miss daily structure, make a schedule that will help you keep steady. Make sure to give yourself weekends or equivalent; this may not be a brief crisis.

• Think about how best to support your social needs, e.g. virtual socializing, individually or in groups. Consider which social media are helpful to your wellbeing and stick to those.

• Follow guidelines in local media and stay informed with health authority updates, but avoid becoming obsessive: https://news.gov.bc.ca/ministries/health

• Use reliable news sources. Think critically: beware scams, trolls, misinformation and disinformation.

• Make a budget for the next few months to reduce money anxiety: know what you have to pay and what you can put off. If you can’t make the numbers work out, get free financial advice at your bank, credit union or check out your eligibility for provincial or federal aid.

• Practice kindness and patience with yourself and others.

Rowan Percy, MA, RCC is a Salt Spring therapist.

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