National Post (National Edition)
From one lockdown to another
Senior citizens in rest homes face fresh urgency
Rebecca Kelly, 78, has known for years that she would one day have to move her husband George Skinner, 82, from his suburban Ottawa retirement home into a nearby long-term care home, as his dementia progressed and his health declined.
The surprise was that she had to do it with less than 24 hours notice, when a bed became suddenly available in the middle of a pandemic lockdown that specifically urged isolation for vulnerable seniors.
Forbidden from entering either institution, Kelly met her husband at the retirement home door, was handed three garbage bags full of his things, and accompanied him by taxi to the long-term care home, where she had to leave him at the door as they took him into isolation.
“I don’t even know what they put in the bags,” Kelly said in an interview. “He was confused, but he’s OK now. I’ve FaceTimed him. They’re very good at the home.”
The urgent, impromptu move, which saw Skinner transferred into a 14-day period of isolation at the longterm care home, illustrated the tense new reality faced by family members and the institutions that house seniors, from retirement homes and assisted-living facilities to long-term care homes.
For such facilities, the consequences of the pandemic have been fast and devastating, just as they have for hospitals.
In British Columbia, early COVID-19 deaths were mainly among residents of the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver, which saw Canada’s first fatality and still accounts for most of the deaths in that province.
Then came Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ont., where 14 residents and the spouse of a resident have died, making up a large number of Ontario’s 37 total deaths.
CBC reported Wednesday that its tally put the total number of deaths in nursing and retirement homes at 29 deaths out of 40 in Ontario.
Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of Quebec’s seniors residences have at least one case of COVID-19, Premier Francois Legault said, noting 519 of the province’s roughly 2,200 seniors homes and long-term care facilities have reported cases.
“There must be no visits in residences. It’s a matter of life and death,” he said.
The Quebec government has already pledged $133 million in emergency assistance for seniors residences to help them hire new staff and adapt to the crisis.
The new demands of operating during a pandemic have caused novel stresses. For example, CTV reported that, according to a whistleblower, one long-term care home has been stockpiling personal protective equipment and denying it to workers, in preparation for a long lockdown.
“This is a fluid situation, the numbers are constantly changing,” said Toronto Public Health spokeswoman Dr. Elizabeth Rea.
She said there are six outbreaks of COVID-19 at longterm care homes in Toronto, and one at a retirement home. In all cases just a few people — six or fewer — are known to be infected, including both residents and staff.
There are nine other longterm care homes with single positive cases, all of which have instituted two weeks of “full precautions,” but those will not be classified as “outbreaks” until there are two confirmed cases at each location.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has spoken about building an “iron ring” around seniors homes — both retirement homes and long-term care homes — and has introduced a set of emergency measures. These measures relax requirements on institutions to file paperwork on complaints, and make it easier for them to hire non-clinical workers.
One Toronto family described how they were unable to continue sending their own private support workers into a retirement home during the pandemic.
An alliance of industry associations have cautioned they face the potential loss of half of their workforce due to coronavirus infections and precautionary measures.
“Despite the heroic efforts of dedicated staff, a severely short-staffed home simply cannot provide the level of care that residents need during this pandemic ... These are extraordinary times, and the government is right to respond with extraordinary measures,” reads the open letter from the Ontario Long Term Care Association, AdvantAge Ontario, Ontario Long Term Care Clinicians, Family Councils Ontario, and the Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils.
An advocacy group for seniors has also highlighted the new sort of risks posed by both the pandemic and the official response.
“These people are living in close contact with others and are at extremely high risk of fatal complications from contracting COVID-19,” said Marissa Lennox, policy director for the Canadian Association for Retired Persons, which advocates for senior citizens.
“We cannot afford to cut corners in their care, nor reduce transparency in reporting incidents that could mean the difference between life and death. How will these measures protect both residents and care workers, and prevent a recurrence of the current situation at the nursing home in Bobcaygeon?”
The uncertainty has left family members like Kelly on edge, feeling unable to help, or even to deliver their loved one’s familiar things to take the edge off the time. In Skinner’s case, he does not even have his furniture, radio, and other personal effects.
“I’m not complaining. They should have locked him down,” Kelly said. “It’s very stressful. Not being able to see him is stressful enough.”