Union says missteps led to crisis at home
Forest Heights Revera investigating concerns around PPE, symptomatic staff
KITCHENER — A variety of missteps by management at Forest Heights Revera Long-Term Care Home created a pandemic within its walls, a union president says.
The Kitchener home is now the facility with the most COVID-19 cases — 193 among residents and staff — with half of the deaths in Waterloo Region.
Locally, 67 people have died of coronavirus, 34 of them at Forest Heights.
The crisis could have been averted if staff had enough personal protective equipment and if they were allowed to wear the masks they had, said Ruth Pryce, president of Unifor Local 1106 which represents personal support workers, nurses and registered practical nurses at 30 different local workplaces.
Pryce said some personal support workers (PSW) were told not to wear N95 masks because it would scare residents, especially those with dementia.
“It is very disturbing to see what is unfolding in front of your eyes,” Pryce said. “The members do not have enough tools to do their job.”
Some PSWs who tested positive for the virus but didn’t show symptoms were told to show up for work anyway, she said. Residents who were positive should have been separated from others more quickly.
In a release Tuesday, Forest Heights Revera said it is aware of concerns with shortages of personal protection equipment and employees working with symptoms.
“We have heard concerns raised that an employee was asked to work when suffering from a fever, and that an infected resident was not properly quarantined. These are not acceptable actions, and we are investigating them to ensure that all protocols and directives are communicated to staff and implemented,” a release said.
Revera said there is now sufficient equipment and training is being provided to workers.
“If there were ever a temporary shortage, this would be addressed immediately by our partners in public health and hospitals,” the company said. Kitchener Centre New Democrat MPP Laura Mae Lindo, who held a virtual town hall with PSWs and the union last week, said the crisis at Forest Heights points to how underfunded long-term care homes are and how vital workers are undervalued.
“We have a gaping wound in long-term care homes and someone is trying to put on baby Band-Aids,” Lindo said.
“It’s clear the system considers PSWs as expendable. They are bearing the brunt of this pandemic,” said Waterloo New Democrat MPP Catherine Fife.
Macey Aramburo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Long-Term Care, said there may be times in which staff who have tested positive but have no symptoms may continue to work.
“In exceptional circumstances where additional staff are critically required, an earlier return to work of a COVID-19 positive health-care worker may be considered under work self-isolation, recognizing the staff may still be infectious,” she said.
Pryce said a shortage of staff and poor wages for PSWs are issues the union for has been highlighting with the government for years. PSWs often have 10 residents they have to get out of bed, shower and dress within an hour to get them ready for breakfast, she said.
“My heart breaks for my members,” Pryce said in an interview. “They are crying, they are so upset.
“They are scared,” she said. “To see your residents dying and your co-workers getting infected, wouldn’t you be scared?”
Some PSWs work part-time and have been forced to work at more than one home to make ends meet. The provincial government recently announced PSWs were not allowed to work between homes during the pandemic. The province also increased wages for PSWs, giving them an additional $4 an hour.
Karima Lalany, a personal support worker at Forest Heights, said the home is understaffed and those working are stressed.
Lalany worked at the beginning of the outbreak, which was declared April 1, but is at home now taking care of her elderly mother. Forest Heights asked her to return to work last week.
In the virtual town hall on the status of long-term care organized by Lindo, Lalany said one day at work she put on a mask when the nurse on the floor was wearing one.
“I wore it to protect my residents,” she said.
But then she was told to remove it by management, even though there was an outbreak at the home. Lalany said even some of her residents asked her why they weren’t wearing masks.
“They understand why we are wearing masks. We are not scaring them,” she said.
Once the pandemic happened, N95 masks and shields were made available, she said.
“It’s kind of too late,” said Lalany, who said the outbreaks could have better controlled if staff were allowed to use equipment and residents had been segregated.
Pryce said since a light has been shone on Forest Heights there have been improvements. The temperature of all workers is taken when they arrive for work and once their shift is done, she said.
Revera said that 12 PSWs have been temporarily reassigned to work at Forest Heights to offer relief to overworked staff. Twenty-three residents have been moved to local hospitals to relieve pressure on staff and help isolate infected residents still at the home.
At least another 32 residents will be moved to hospital over the next two days, Revera said.
“It was determined that moving additional residents from Forest Heights to regional hospitals would be in the best interests of the residents and staff,” the company said in a release Tuesday.
Revera also hired 20 extra staff in various roles, the company said.
“We are grateful for the heroic contributions of our front line staff at Forest Heights who have been working around the clock to care for our residents during the home’s pandemic outbreak. The team has truly exhibited compassion, courage and determination,” Revera said.
Pryce said staff continue to do a “fantastic” job despite the conditions.
“It’s just so sad it took this for the public to realize what is happening,” Pryce said. “It is so sad to see all the people who have died.”