3 Winnipeg care homes face 'most challenging time yet' as staff shortages grow amid outbreaks

Three Winnipeg care homes run by the same organization are facing unprecedented staffing shortages as more COVID-19 outbreaks continue to emerge in health-care and long-term care facilities.

At least 18 staff and 18 residents have tested positive across Actionmarguerite St. Vital, Actionmarguerite St. Joseph and Actionmarguerite St. Boniface, according to a letter to families and updates posted to theActionmargueritewebsite.

"This is an intense time for us," Micheline St-Hilaire, CEO of Actionmarguerite, said in a post on the care home's website on Sunday. "As we begin a third year of this pandemic, we can say that this has been the most challenging time yet."

The province reported an outbreak at Actionmarguerite St. Josephand St. Boniface last week.

The organization says the St. Joseph outbreak is localized in a unit on the first floor, where one resident had tested positive as of Sunday.In a letter to families on Friday,Actionmargueriteadministration says five St. Joseph employees had tested positive at that time.

The same letter noted at least12 employees of the St. Boniface locationhad tested positive in connection with outbreaks inunits 2AB, 4AB and 5C. At least 13 residents in one towerhave tested positive, according to Actionmarguerite's website.

WATCH | Staffing shortage amid miltiple outbreaks:

Three Winnipeg care homes face staffing shortage amid multiple outbreaks

3 years ago

Duration 2:52

Three Winnipeg care homes run by the same organization are facing unprecedented staffing shortages as more COVID-19 outbreaks continue to emerge in health-care and long-term care facilities.

The letter also suggests there wasone known staff case as of Friday linked to anoutbreak in a third-floor unit at the St. Vital location.At least four residents have tested positive so far, the organization says.

Staff are checking for symptoms in residents twice a day, according to the letter, and positive residents with symptoms are being tested andisolated in their rooms.

Family caregivers on standby

In its update on Sunday, the organization did not include an updated tally of how many staff have tested positive for COVID-19, though it says it ismeeting the shortage by focusing resources on essential services for now.CBC News has requested more details.

In theletter to families dated Dec. 31, the organization says it hasreached out to the "pandemic resource pool for staffing support and to retired employees." Designated family caregivers are also being asked to be on standby.

The letter also outlines waysActionmargueriteis tryingto stem the spread, including suspending visitation (except in end-of-life situations) and keeping all residents in their rooms as much as possible.

Communal dining and group activities have been paused, new admissions have been suspended and doctors are being staffed daily in units with outbreaks, the letter states.

Workers are also reviewing medications and treatments to determine which are essential. Staff will discontinue giving "non-essential medications"to prioritize the administration of essential medication, though the letter doesn't explain what medications aren't considered essential.

Baths and showers are being replaced with sponge baths, beds are only being changed when wet or soiled, and residents may be expected to wear the same clothes for more than one day unless soiled,according to the letter.

Advocate concerned about plan

Longtime seniors' advocate Trish Rawsthorneraised concerns about Actionmarguerite's approach.

"I can see the anxiety, the frustration that these people will have that care will be missed,"said Hawsthorne, aretired nurse of four decades "We should've had a plan in mind. They shouldn't just be sending out newsletters saying, 'Your [loved one's] care is going to be next to nil because we aren't prepared.' Why not?"

Rawsthornesaid if the plan all along was to potentially rely on designated family caregivers in the event of a staffing crunch, loved ones should've been given more notice to be on standby.

She said changes to bathing and clothingroutines are an element of care. The fact that those things may fall by the wayside suggests a lack of preparedness despite lessons learned from past waves, Rawsthornesaid.

"I really think they need to be not treating them as patients. These people arepaying for the services that they need and if you can't provide the services than I am not sure what we're doing," she said.

Rawsthornesaid supervisors from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Shared Health should be on site to monitor the situations, based on recommendations froma review of theMaples care home outbreak response in late-2020 that saw 56 residents die due to COVID-19.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said it has sent someone to help Actionmarguerite's St. Boniface location daily, since it's the largest of the three locations. Three health-care aides have also been redeployed to help the outbreaks at the Actionmarguerite sites.

A spokesperson forRseau Compassion Network, which ownsActionmarguerite, said in an email that no one from the management team would be available for an interview since they want "to exclusively focus on managing the actual COVID outbreaks."

The government of Manitoba has not responded to CBC's request for comment yet.

Outbreaks on the rise

The Actionmarguerite outbreaks comeas more outbreaks emerge in Manitoba hospitals and long-term care facilities amid a surge of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

The following Winnipeg locations were also experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks as of Sunday, according to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority:

• Beacon Hill Lodge.
• Children's Hospital, CH4.
• Children's Hospital, CH5.
• Deer Lodge Centre, Lodge 5 West.
• Fred Douglas Lodge.
• Golden Links Lodge.
• Health Sciences Centre,GA5/GA5 SD.
• Health Sciences Centre,GD4.
• Holy Family Home.
• Misericordia Health Centre.
• Oakview Place.
• Riverview Health Centre, 4W.
• Seven Oaks General Hospital, 4 U 8-12.
• The Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre.
• St. Amant.
• West Park Manor.

The WRHA also says the Tuxedo Villa, and parts of the Riverview Health Centre and Holy Family Home, arein the midst ofundisclosed forms of respiratory outbreaks.

The Victoria Hospital's 4 North unit is also facing an outbreak of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, according to the WRHA.

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