OUTBREAK OVER AT HARD-HIT LTC
A Canadian flag flies at half mast Friday outside The Village at St. Clair where 34 residents have died from COVID-19. The hospital that stepped in to help the long-term care home is stepping back as the centre's outbreak is now under control.
As a Windsor long-term care home hit hard by COVID-19 welcomes back about 20 workers who tested positive and completed their self-isolation periods, the local hospital that stepped in to help is now stepping back.
Hotel-dieu Grace Healthcare announced on Friday it would begin to scale back its physical presence in The Village at St. Clair over the next two weeks in order to focus its efforts more fully on the needs of Windsor-essex as a whole.
“As the HDGH team comes to the end of our second week working on site at VSC (The Village at St. Clair), I can confidently say we have turned the corner here in controlling this tragic outbreak,” Janice Kaffer, president and CEO of the post-acute care hospital, said in a news release.
“COVID has taken the lives of residents and it has temporarily taken the health of team members but it has not taken the resolve of the teams at HDGH and VSC to take control of this outbreak and bring it to an end.
“With the hope of vaccinations to happen in the next few days, we are optimistic that better days for our residents, families and staff are ahead.”
At least 34 residents of The Village at St. Clair have died as a result of COVID-19, with positive cases among 140 residents and 105 employees.
The facility's most recent outbreak was declared on Dec. 8.
The latest mass testing of residents in the 256-bed long-term care home has so far resulted in 68 negative results.
“Ongoing infection prevention and control assessments and personal protective equipment audits in consultation with HDGH and the Windsor-essex County Health Unit instils confidence that the VSC team has the equipment and the skill required to continue to manage the outbreak to its full resolution,” the Friday news release said.
The Village at St. Clair is expecting to receive its first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday. Based on public health criteria and the assessment of the home's medical director, eligible residents will be vaccinated soon after.
“The relationship we have nurtured with the team at HDGH and our other partners has certainly been a hopeful outcome in what has been a devastating time for our Village community and the region as a whole,” said Joanne Potts, vice-president of operations with Schlegel Villages, owner of the home.
“The confidence they have in our team and the overall commitment of our entire organization will help us get through this great challenge, and we know the expertise of the HDGH team is needed to support the wider community.”
The Village at St. Clair will also be reducing its collective neighbourhoods (resident units within the home) by one, meaning some residents will be moved temporarily to a different neighbourhood within the facility.
“This will allow us to address the ongoing staffing challenges and enable us to have our team members in the neighbourhoods with the most residents, rather than spread out over all eight neighbourhoods,” Potts said.
“Our goal is to be overstaffed at this point, and this measure will address a key aspect of our strategy to manage and address the COVID-19 outbreak and provide safe and consistent care for all of our residents.”