Care home tells families no more window visits
It has become an iconic image of the COVID-19 pandemic — a family member waving to an elderly loved one through the window of a long-term care home. Even Ontario Premier Doug Ford has talked about his wife visiting her mother that way.
But it will no longer be an option for families with loved ones in long-term care homes run by the City of Ottawa. In a memo this week, Dean Lett, director of long-term care for the city, asked families to stop visiting their loved ones at windows “to help ensure that physical distancing remains in place for all our residents.”
The news has devastated family members, who say the visits are the only remaining connection they have with anxious and isolated loved ones whom they’ve been unable to see in person during the pandemic. Many of them do not respond to electronic communications the same way, say families.
Diana Pepin, whose 89-year-old mother, Viola Surkan, lives at Peter D. Clark Long-Term Care in Centrepointe, said that her 92-yearold father visits his wife through the window most evenings before bed.
“I think that my father’s visits with my mother are keeping her alive. Her seeing him is keeping her will to continue on.”
Pepin called the decision cruel and questioned why the city is banning something that has been done at other long-term care homes across the province, including the one where the premier’s motherin-law lives. Ford, whose mother-in-law has now tested positive for COVID-19, has talked about his wife, Karla, standing outside the window of the long-term care home.
“It breaks my heart, watching Karla standing outside the window in tears.”
In a statement, Lett said the decision to limit visits outside of the homes “is based on prioritizing the safety and health of residents and staff. We have experienced a number of situations where families have visited and have not respected the requirement for physical distancing as directed through public health agencies.”
Lett added that the city-run homes have deployed additional staff and increased access to technology to help residents keep in touch with their loved ones through Skype, phone calls, emails and letters.
“We know the lack of connection during the pandemic has been so difficult for families and residents,” he said. “Families are encouraged to connect with staff to schedule regular opportunities to connect with their loved ones.”
But Pepin and others say online communications are not always possible with their loved ones. For some with dementia or cognitive difficulties, they respond immediately to seeing family members through a window.
Pepin’s father, Matthew Surkan, goes almost every evening about 7:40 p.m. to see his wife by a large window as she is heading to her room. The window is beside her bedroom.
Pepin said she had a hard time understanding the rationale for the decision and thought there might be concern about the possibility of infection through open windows. When she clarified with staff at the long-term care home where her mother lives, she was told the ruling applied to all windows.
“We have visited my mother every day for six years. We have not caused any disturbance,” she said. “This is going too far. This poses no risk whatsoever.”
Nancy Devonport said her 93-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease and lives at Peter D. Clark, has been asking to see her. She said the staff have offered FaceTime sessions but both she and her mother find them awkward, so they have brought her close to the window so that she can wave to her mother through a second-floor window.
“I am quite dismayed that interacting by just looking at one another through a window is not permissible when these people are so very, very isolated and really see no one but caregivers,” she said.
“This is 40 days now that I have been separated from my mom. I used to see her every day. Staff have showed no understanding about the emotional toll it is taking on these folks who are so vulnerable and don’t completely understand.”
Lorraine Thomas, whose 87-year-old husband, Helairie Thomas, also lives at Peter D. Clark, called the situation “heartbreaking.”
Lett said the decision to stop window visits was difficult, but added: “With the effects that we have seen the virus have on longterm care homes across the country, we have a responsibility to do everything possible to minimize the risks of COVID -19 from entering the homes and to protect the safety of residents and staff.”
The city operates four long-term care homes: Carleton Lodge, Centre d’accueil Champlain, Garry J. Armstrong and Peter D. Clark.
Some staff at Garry J. Armstrong and Peter D. Clark have tested positive for COVID-19.