Lakeridge Health, leading the containment of Covid-19 outbreak at Orchard Villa which claimed 31 lives, yesterday said 50 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel are helping out the Pickering long term care home (LCTH).
In an update statement, Lakeridge Health said under Operation LASER, Canadian Armed Forces 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,” said the update.
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, it added.
Lakeridge Health said more highly trained clinicians and staff are onsite at Orchard Villa to provide residents the care and personal supports they need as the outbreak is being resolved. These include Lakeridge Health registered nurses, registered practical nurses, personal support workers, and dietary professionals.
Infection Prevention and Control: Dr. Dan Ricciuto, a Lakeridge Health Infectious Disease physician, along with a team of infection prevention and control (IPAC) experts, has conducted a detailed review to identify opportunities to enhance safety at Orchard Villa. A number of new protocols and processes are taking effect, including enhanced mandatory education and retraining for staff at the home.
Deep Cleaning Continues: To end the outbreak of Covid-19 and to create a safe environment for people living and working there, contractors are on-site to continue with the ‘deep clean’. It is expected to take a few weeks to complete this work throughout the residence. This includes every part of the long-term care and retirement home, including all shared spaces and all rooms.
Resident/Family Updates: Every official designate family member has been contacted. Under Ontario’s health privacy legislation, the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), there are a set of rules regarding personal health information and how it can be disclosed. We can only make disclosures of resident medical information to the family member identified as the key contact for each resident, and we are following those rules closely, said the update.
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