Company News Casa Antonia declared totally free from COVID
Casa Antonia Nursing and Residential Home in Balzan has been declared totally free from COVID, but the home is not letting down its guard as it is doing its utmost to ensure that the residents are safe, by constantly implementing new measures, said the Home’s general manager Dr Sarah Cassar.
COVID numbers began to rise again in Malta after 17 July, however Casa Antonia reported its first positive patient on 3 September. On 30 September, Casa Antonia had only one active case while 34 patients had recovered from the virus. On 14 October it was declared as COVID-free.
“At the time, when we discovered the first case, we had been receiving visitors only by appointment, from behind a Perspex screen and had already prohibited residents from leaving the home, except for urgent medical appointments. Regular swabbing of residents and staff had continued since the virus first hit in March and the Home was never open to visitors entering under normal circumstances. We have been following more rigorous procedures issued by the health authorities since 7 August as a result of the increased number of COVID cases in Malta,” said Dr Cassar.
Cases increased gradually, reaching a peak on 13 September, when 13 new cases were found. As soon as the first case was found during the ongoing swabbing protocol, all residents were asked to isolate in their rooms, and all residents and staff were immediately swabbed and then swabbed again after four days. All meals were served in rooms, while visitors and all outside service providers, including physiotherapists and similar services, were stopped completely. All residents that were not positive continued to be swabbed every three days. Residents who had symptoms or required care were isolated in the high dependency unit to further help control the spread, while residents who might have been in contact with any positive cases were duly quarantined. In the meantime, the Home constantly kept the respective relatives informed of each outcome.
Infection control measures in place prior to the discovery of the first case as well as training to staff given in the months prior to the outbreak proved vital in the Home’s ability to control the outbreak. Furthermore, Casa Antonia benefited from the professional advice and guidance of geriatric consultant Dr Zaid Teeby and primary health doctor Leonard Callus, provided to the Home by the public sector.
“Every day they visited each positive resident to assess their progress and discuss any issues with our nurses. Both worked in synch as well as with the management and staff to implement aggressive infection control measures. These included having staff ‘bubbled’ into groups whereby they are always allocated to the same floor, where they work each time with the same residents and the same colleagues. We are truly grateful for the ongoing guidance offered by Dr Teeby and Dr Callus during these challenging months,” said Dr Cassar.
“Ensuring the mental well-being of residents remained a priority for our Home and through dedicated commitment we reassured residents that the measures arising from health protocols were all for their own benefit. Live music was played in the garden for residents to enjoy from their balconies. Furthermore, our in-house activity coordinator made regular calls to isolated residents, while special snacks and reading material were delivered to their rooms. We believe that our serene environment promotes mental well-being and relaxation as our home is situated away from traffic in a quiet cul-desac, overlooking the President’s Gardens of San Anton,” concluded Dr Cassar.