Long-term care home entered eye of the storm
Pandemic recovery a team effort, Noori Shahkar writes.
March 5 started like every other day at the Lynn Valley Care Centre. Staff were engaged in their duties, checking in on residents, caring for their daily health, hygiene and meal needs, and socializing with them, providing much-needed levity to help them through their day.
At the time, the words “coronavirus” and “COVID-19” seemed a world away, something that may or may not have originated at a wet market in Wuhan, China. That day, eight new COVID-19 cases were announced, bringing the grand total to 21. Authorities were monitoring, but it appeared to be a virus affecting travellers, international ones in particular.
The day wore on and as the night shift began its work, our world turned upside down: One of our team members had tested positive for COVID-19 — the first positive community case in B.C. — and our 200-bed facility was about to become the eye of the storm as the pandemic took hold.
It became clear to us that 19 other team members needed to self-isolate to mitigate against further spread of the virus. Losing that many staff members had a significant impact. Like other care facilities, COVID-19 ravaged Lynn Valley Care Centre, spreading at an alarming rate.
It didn’t matter that the centre had a history of operating issue-free since being founded in 1963. Or that we set up to be recognized, respected and accredited as a leading provider of exceptional senior care on the North Shore, and to be the preferred long-term care home in the region.
It didn’t help that on the night of March 8, we had to redirect our strained resources to dealing with what turned out to be a hoax call to scare our staff and residents. This distraction took up significant resources, during which time the virus continued to infect our facility. (We worked closely with law enforcement agencies on identifying the perpetrator, and an arrest has recently been made in this case.)
Our focus moving forward is to ... ensure we are able to handle any future outbreaks.
Despite all this, our team moved quickly to do what we could to mitigate the spread of the virus. Daily dialogue with representatives from the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority who oversee us was instituted. Professional replacement staff were brought in, communal meals were immediately discontinued in favour of tray service, handwashing and other safety protocols as provided by the health authorities were implemented, and tracing and testing for any resident or staff showing symptoms were introduced.
A quick primer on long-term care homes like ours: They are set up to support people at the later stage of their life, which can include extensive or complete support with everyday activities such as getting dressed, getting in and out of bed, eating, and personal hygiene.
This level of closeness between our residents, their families, our staff, and their families, makes us all part of one large family. As such, our team takes responsibility for their care very personally.
Against this backdrop, over the last 16 weeks, teams at long-term care homes have been working on the difficult task of helping the families of those we lost through their grieving process, doing what we can to help them heal amid the challenges of physical distancing. We would be remiss if we didn’t also recognize the support of the community at large. This has been a major boost for us at the Lynn Valley Care Centre.
And while we are grateful that most of our team members and residents have recovered from COVID-19, and are relieved to see the end of the outbreak and to be virus free for almost two months, our thoughts and prayers go out to those we lost, as well as their families.
Our focus moving forward is to work with our staff, our residents and their families to enhance our processes and preparedness to ensure we are able to handle any future outbreaks. Know that all options are on the table for consideration and review, and know that long-term care homes still represent a more than viable and much-needed option for society as we live longer and age. Don’t close the book on us quite yet. We will rebound and become stronger in the process.