Military to aid Ontario’s beleaguered LTC homes

‘ ... in a fight like this, you leave nothing on the table,’ Ford says

The Canadian Forces are preparing to deploy medical personnel to Ontario, where COVID-19 has ripped through the province’s long-term care system like “raging wildfire,” leaving staff overworked and desperate as they try to curb a mounting death toll.

During a Wednesday press conference, Premier Doug Ford announced Ontario is formally requesting assistance from the federal government, including Canadian Forces personnel and Public Health Agency of Canada resources. Initially, those personnel will be directed to deploy to five “priority homes,” Ford said. Personnel will provide staffing relief and other support for the day-today operations of the homes.

“We’re in the thick of a raging battle against COVID-19 in our long-term care homes. And when you’re in a fight like this, you leave nothing on the table,” said Ford.

Planning staff at national defence headquarters in Ottawa had been given an earlier headsup that Ontario was expected to request assistance similar to that provided to Quebec. The Canadian Forces has already sent about 125 military health-care personnel and support staff to Quebec after the federal government received a request last week for assistance from that provincial government.

Quebec Premier François Legault also announced Wednesday that he was asking for another 1,000 military personnel to be sent to long-term care facilities in the province.

Ford said that the requested assistance from Canadian Forces personnel and the Public Health Agency of Canada is just one small part of Ontario’s efforts to deal with COVID-19.

“Their support will provide staffing relief so staff can focus on the care of the residents,” he said of the request to send the military personnel to long-term care facilities. “They will assist with operations, co-ordination or medical care, logistics and general assistance to support the day-to-day operations.”

The military teams sent to Quebec long-term care facilities consists of nurses, medical technicians and support personnel. Similar teams would be brought together for Ontario’s request.

Volunteer emergency nurses and cleaning staff, infection-control specialists and staff from provincial hospitals are also being used to support the more than 100 long-term care homes in Ontario, Ford added.

“Every set of boots on the ground will make a difference in this fight,” he said.

Neither the premier nor Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton provided information on which of the homes would receive help from military personnel.

“Things change very quickly, sometimes hour by hour,” Fullerton responded when asked. “That military assistance will go to the homes in greatest need and so I will leave it there.”

Military sources say they expect most of the personnel to go to longterm care facilities in the Toronto area.

Of all 32 people who’ve now died of COVID-19 related complications in Ottawa, 23 have been at long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals dealing with outbreaks. Eleven of those deaths have occurred at one facility, the Montfort Long-Term Care Centre on Montreal Road.

The hard-hit Almonte Country Haven, where 23 of the 82 residents have died of COVID-19 complications, reported Wednesday

that “a significant number of residents are showing signs of improvement, with more than 10 residents having resolved symptoms.”

Ford, when asked why he didn’t call on the military earlier for aid, said the situation has been changing every day. “As we see an influx we’ll take all the resources possible,” he explained. “There will be enough people to take care of the five homes.”

The situation with COVID -19 in the long-term care facilities is like a “raging wildfire,” Ford said. Staff in those facilities have been working long hours. “They need a rest and they need support,” he added.

Legault said Wednesday that Quebec’s new request for 1,000 military personnel is centred on staff that can be used in non-medical tasks in the province’s longterm care homes.

The Canadian Forces has yet to officially receive that request but military sources say Quebec’s appeal for such a large number of personnel came as a surprise.

The Canadian military has limited numbers of trained medical staff. There are around 2,600 regular-force medical professionals, said Department of National Defence spokesman Dan LeBouthillier. That figure includes about 460 doctors and nurses.

However, those 2,600 individuals have a primary job of taking care of the 68,000 regular-force personnel as well as reservists on operations or full-time service. The number also includes positions such as medical lab technicians, medical technicians, pharmacists, dentists and dental hygienists.

With files from Taylor Blewett.