Pickering’s Orchard Villa Long-Term Care Residence saw the arrival of two teams from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) under Operation LASER yesterday.
They will begin supporting Lakeridge Health as it continues its ongoing efforts to help Southbridge Care Homes to contain the outbreak of Covid-19 at the residence, said a Lakeridge Health statement.
“Over the last six days we’ve seen a tremendous increase in the staffing compliment at Orchard Villa due to the wonderful volunteers from the Lakeridge Health family, as well as the dedication of Orchard Villa team members who are able to return to work, and others from Southbridge Care Homes who have stepped in to provide care at Orchard Villa, “ said Susan deRyk, Interim President and CEO, Lakeridge Health.
“Those numbers will be boosted further with the arrival of members of the Canadian Armed Forces from across Ontario. We’re also happy to report that the Patient Experience team has contacted all the designated family members of residents within the long-term care home at Orchard Villa, and they are now receiving regular individualized updates about their loved ones.”
“There has been a lot of progress in a short time to assist our operations and ability to combat COVID-19 at Orchard Villa,” said Ryan Bell, CEO, Southbridge Care Homes.
Under Operation LASER, Joint Task Force Central (JTFC) is providing support to Ontario by deploying five teams of approximately 50 people. These teams are composed of two nurses and 12 medical technicians from 4 Health Services Group, along with personnel to perform duties in support of operations. The arrival of the CAF at Orchard Villa will bring staffing to the level required to care for the residents of the home. Approximately 20 to 25 members of the CAF will be onsite each day to help residents, in two shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the statement said.
It said JTFC personnel will work alongside the Lakeridge Health and Southbridge Care Homes clinical teams to deliver direct care to residents. While, at the same time, the operational team will help deliver important related functions such as assisting in the move of healthy residents to clean areas of the home, helping residents connect with their loved ones through information technology, and ensuring other resident needs are met.
Following a review of infection prevention and control conducted last Friday, Lakeridge Health has worked with Southbridge Care Homes to support best practice policies and procedures to help reduce the spread of the virus.
These measures include new protocols for the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and education and training for all staff on assessing risk, barriers to transmission, and additional precautions and extended use of PPE to help control outbreaks.
2,700 residents and 3,500 staff in Durham LTCH
Durham Region Health Department yesterday said it is implementing the Ontario government’s Covid-19 Action Plan for Protecting Long-Term Care Homes, to help address the increasing concerns of Covid-19 in area long-term care homes (LTCH). This plan includes aggressive testing, screening and surveillance for Covid-19 for residents and staff in long-term care homes.
“Long-term care homes across Durham Region have been hit hard and have seen many tragic outcomes associated with the spread of Covid-19,” said Dr. Robert Kyle, Durham Region Medical Officer of Health. “While Health Department staff continue to work very closely with all area long-term care homes and retirement homes to offer guidance and information to help reduce the risks for both residents and staff, this plan will provide additional measures to further address Covid-19 concerns in the long-term care sector.”
The most recent direction from the Ontario Ministry of Health is to conduct surveillance testing for residents and staff in all long-term care homes across Ontario; this will involve testing for Covid-19 in people who do not have symptoms. In Durham Region, long-term care homes and retirement homes that are currently in outbreak are being prioritized for this additional surveillance testing, said the Health Department.
There are approximately 2,700 residents and 3,500 health care worker staff in long-term care homes in Durham Region and the Health Department is working as quickly as possible to prioritize and test all homes.
The latest information about COVID-19 and Durham Region long-term care homes is available online in the Durham Region COVID-19 Data Tracker at durham.ca/covidcases. For more information from the province visit ontario.ca/coronavirus. For information on Durham Region Health Department’s COVID-19 response, visit durham.ca/novelcoronavirus.
CLICK FOR MORE NEWS ABOUT COVID-19
ALSO READ: