COVID-19 outbreak hits Alzheimer’s ward at Jewish Eldercare Centre
Nearly half the patients in an Alzheimer’s ward in a long-term care facility have been infected by the novel coronavirus.
One person has died at the Donald Berman Jewish Eldercare Centre in Côte-des-neiges and another is in hospital, while 24 more are infected with the virus. The centre is still waiting for the results of nine other tests.
Mark Karanofsky, an attending physician at the centre, said the Alzheimer’s ward where the outbreak is concentrated has patients that often roam the halls, and he believes that is what has allowed the virus to spread so quickly.
On that ward, the third floor of the Kastner Pavilion, 15 out of 32 patients tested positive for the virus. The first patient tested positive in the middle of last week, and numerous patients have been tested over the last few days.
The Alzheimer’s patients who have the virus have been kept to their rooms so they don’t spread it further, Karanofsky said.
“They’ve also increased the number of staff: they tripled the number of nurses that normally work on that floor,” Karanofsky said. “As of this morning, everybody on that floor seems to be doing well. We’re crossing our fingers that it will stay that way. They’re all at risk because it’s rare for us to have anyone under the age of 70 here.”
He added the source of the outbreak is unknown, as people can be infected two weeks before they show symptoms.
The daughter of one of the residents said she was frustrated with the lack of communication from the centre.
The woman, who didn’t want to give her name for fear of reprisal, said she learned about the outbreak on Monday night by reading media reports.
She was only told on Tuesday that her mother had tested positive for the virus on Saturday.
“I’m obviously very worried, and I’m frustrated,” the woman said. “It’s very frustrating that I had to learn about this in the media, and I didn’t even know that she tested positive until today. I think you have to be transparent in a time of a pandemic so we know what’s going on and how they are coping.”
Karanofsky said the policy in place is for nurses or other staff members to call the families of infected patients daily to give updates on their conditions. Families of patients who are not infected are to be called at least once a week, he said. For his part, Karanofsky said he called the families of nearly all his 40 patients by mid-afternoon Tuesday and planned to complete those calls by the end of the day.
He said, however, that staff are overworked, especially on the Alzheimer’s ward. Medical students from Mcgill have been recruited to help staff with communications, he said.