Staff actions at two local long-term care homes where COVID-19 outbreaks were underway may have helped spread the virus and increase the number of resident infections, say provincial inspection reports.
Provincial inspectors turned up several pandemic health and safety violations at The Village of Riverside Glen on Woodlawn Road and Caressant Care in Arthur, where outbreaks led to the death of 28 people and nearly 200 positive cases collectively.
During Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care inspections at The Village of Riverside Glen on Jan. 19 and 20, officials report seeing long-term care staff fail to remove personal protective equipment (PPE) immediately after leaving a COVID-19 positive resident’s room, helping with meals for a non-positive resident after leaving a positive resident’s room, and walking into a staff break area before removing their PPE after leaving a non-outbreak area.
“This non-compliance was a pattern as breaches in infection control practices impacted three out of six resident home areas,” states the inspection report. “The licensee not ensuring that infection control practices during the COVID-19 outbreak were followed posed actual risk of harm to residents and increased the risk of exposure and spread of infection within the home.”
The Village of Riverside Glen long-term care home was in a declared COVID-19 outbreak from Dec. 17 to Feb. 23. Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health reports there were 40 residents and 36 staff members who tested positive during that time. Nine deaths are associated with the outbreak.
In the past 36 months, The Village of Riverside Glen long-term care home has received four written notices from the ministry, agreed to 16 “voluntary plans of correction” and been issued two compliance orders, the inspection report notes.
The facility’s retirement home was under outbreak from Jan. 10 to Feb. 27, with 59 residents and 26 staff testing positive. Five deaths are linked to that outbreak.
An outbreak was declared at the Caressant Care long-term care home in Arthur on Dec. 26. It lasted until March 2.
Public health has linked that outbreak to 57 COVID-positive residents and 63 staff, along with 19 deaths.
Ministry inspections occurred on Jan. 6 and 7. Inspectors found positive residents had not been properly separated from others and there weren’t enough personal support workers to accommodate separating residents into cohorts.
“Failure to implement resident and staff cohorting put residents and staff at risk of further transmission of COVID-19,” the inspection report states.
The retirement home side of Caressant Care in Arthur was in a declared outbreak from Dec. 12 to Jan. 28 that saw 25 residents and 12 test positive for the virus, with one death.
Caressant Care and VIllage of Riverside Glen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
