City-run long-term care homes have been able to keep coronavirus out

The City of Ottawa’s long-term care facilities as of Friday had managed to protect residents from COVID -19, not registering a single case of the virus while other oldage homes across the province are having daily heartbreak.

“I just pray every day we can continue to keep the virus out of the homes and I’m so thankful for the work that our staff do,” city longterm care director Dean Lett said.

“I wish I could say there’s a magic formula, but there really isn’t. I think we’ve taken every recommendation and directive and we’ve implemented it has soon as possible. The safety of our residents and our staff is paramount, so we’ve done everything that we know possible around best practices to keep the virus out of the homes.”

Lett has been director for threeand-a-half years but has been working in the city’s long-term care program for 18 years. He said each day during the pandemic has been hectic.

“I don’t think anyone was prepared for this one,” Lett said. “I was around for SARS and for H1N1. Those were a cakewalk compared to what we’re in today.”

Ottawa Public Health reported outbreaks at 16 institutions in the city, including hospitals, long-term care homes and retirement homes, as of 4 p.m. Thursday.

The provincial government reported 106 outbreaks at long-term care homes across Ontario, involving 1,229 residents and patients and 621 staff. There were 216 resident deaths across the province in long-term care facilities.

The City of Ottawa runs four long-term care homes with a total of 717 beds and about 1,110 staff. Strict entry restrictions are protecting residents and employees as they shield their facilities from the virus.

Lett said families can enter the homes only if their loved ones are very ill or at the end of their lives.

The homes are allowing in some outside services, such as physiotherapists, tradespeople who are servicing equipment, or other professionals helping with the care of residents. Those contracted workers are screened in the same way staff are and they’re required to have personal protective equipment, such as gowns, masks, shields and gloves.

Staff screen residents twice daily for virus symptoms, Lett said.

Any resident admitted to a home, or any who are being readmitted, is placed in isolation for 14 days and staff are taking precautions assuming the resident has the virus.

Lett said he can’t imagine what it’s like for a new resident to one of the homes. As a precaution, new residents in the last phase of their lives, including those with dementia, are first placed in their rooms for 14 days without being able to see their families.

“That’s not what we would like them to be experiencing as they move into long-term care,” Lett said.

The necessary pandemic measures have had an impact on residents’ companionship. Activities in the home have been altered so residents are adhering to the physical-distancing rules. In some cases, there are two seatings at mealtimes.

There’s no choice. If the virus enters the buildings, it could be deadly.

The program brought in more tablet computers to the homes so residents can communicate with families, Lett said.

Even before this week’s provincial order — which Lett applauded — the city had asked its longterm care staff to work at only one facility.

However, there could be a downside to the workplace restrictions. Lett was waiting to hear on Friday how many staff he would be losing, since the city’s long-term care program has casual employees, including registered nurses, who work for other health-care organizations.

Lett said the program has a pandemic plan that identifies minimum staffing in each service area. If the city can’t meet the levels for registered nurses and registered practical nurses, it would use personal support workers to make sure residents continue to receive the necessary care, he said.

About a month ago, the program cross-trained housekeepers and food-service attendants to be able to feed residents, since meal periods in the homes is one of the day’s major undertakings.

“Once we know exactly how many staff we have left, then we’ll do a forecast of what additional resources we may require to meet the care and services for residents,” he said.

The city ’s long-term care homes are in good shape when it comes to personal protective equipment, Lett said. They have one to two weeks’ worth of supplies, depending on what supplies they’re using.

Despite the stressful working conditions associated with a pandemic and closures affecting personal lives, staff at the city’s longterm care homes are showing up and getting the job done.

“I can’t express how thankful and how proud I am of the people I work with,” Lett said.

“They’re coming into an environment where, on any given day, there were risks associated with managing responsive behaviours. That’s only heightened now with the pandemic. These people deserve medals. They go up on those units and they work every day and it’s amazing, the courage and the dedication of our staff.” jwilling@postmedia.com twitter.com/JonathanWilling

We’ve taken every recommendation and directive and we’ve implemented it has soon as possible.