⚠️41 #LTCs in outbreak⚠️
⚠️93 residents & 162 staff sick⚠️
These measures comes far too late and don’t go nearly far enough. My interview with @ConsumerSOS ⤵️
Correction 161 staff (though god knows what that # will be tomorrow).
FYI: There we’re only 7 #LTCs in outbreak on Dec 07 when I started raising 🚩‘s.
Ps. I was warning this government that #Omicron was becoming an issue for #LTC back in early December. There were 7 outbreaks by Dec 07 but the rate of growth was clear. I continued to track it ⬆️ over the last 3 weeks. They should’ve listened and acted sooner.
REMINDER: I've been calling for #BOOSTERS for #LTC for 2+ weeks now. Had they listened + acted faster, we could've completed boosters in LTC by now. Instead, only 84% of residents + 43% of staff have boosters and no word on that # for essential caregivers. #Reactive#Omicron
🧵 So we’re learning 41 #LTC homes are in outbreak & general visits are being halted. Essential caregivers STILL allowed in (good!). They’ve increased boosters among staff + residents BUT only meagrely & the figures are still too low! (84% residents & 43% of staff have boosters).
STILL NO MANDATE FOR N95 USE AT ALL TIMES (only when caring for covid+ residents) & STILL NO TALK OF AIR QUALITY UPGRADES OR SURGE STAFFING PLAN.
This plan focuses on 💉’s & still falls short. Why aren’t mobile clinics being sent to #LTCs to expedite boosters @RodPhillips01⁉️
I would also like to point out that the new LTC Act (Bill 37) DOES NOTHING TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN. We asked for clear legal rights for essential family caregivers and residents to never be separated again @RodPhillips01 but received none.
It’s in these moments I think of all the LTC families I’ve grown very protective of….like @hollyhoneyburke@samanthalburke who were forcibly separated from their mother in #LTC….like @JoAnneBeggsRSW who was forcibly separated from BOTH her parents (one of which passed alone).
I think of @CathyMParkes who lost her father while he was kept confined without any family access at Orchard Villa. I think of @Doris_Wai who lost her grandmother at Tendercare without a chance to say goodbye.
Many homes face short-staffing because there are NO STAFFING STANDARDS IN PLACE OR PROPER LABOUR ARRANGEMENTS FOR WORKERS, thus retention remains an issue even for “good” not for profits (less of an issue w/ municipal homes because they have better work contracts & retention).
RECAP: There are 3 types of LTC ownership:
➖Private, For Profit (🙅🏼♀️)
➖Private, Not For Profit (many culturally specific homes fall under this umbrella)
➖Municipal (which have the BEST resident & staffing outcomes yet comprise the LOWEST share of our Ontarian LTC sector 🤯).
THIS is why we’ve been hitting home to this government that we need proper care standards in place NOW + regulations requiring decent work, pay, training/regulation for its workers.
This government did NOTHING CONCRETE to address these outstanding issues.
I'll be on @CityNewsTO @ 6pm talking w/ @MaleehaCity about the @fordnation currently doling out 30 year contracts to #ForProfit LTC operators with terrible records. Tendercare & Orchard Villa are 2 such homes currently up for renewal - 2 homes w/ the WORST #COVID19 death rates.
Some statistics recently released by @OntarioHealthC:
➖@fordnation gov't is midway through allocating 30,436 beds
➖Majority of these (16,304) are in process of being allocated to #ForProfit providers.
➖Of those, 12,084 have gone to 10 large chain companies w/ horrid records
➖The minority of beds are being allocated to NOT FOR PROFIT LTC providers (10,990) + ONLY A PALTRY 2,918 to publicly owned municipal homes (the model with the BEST DOCUMENTED RESIDENT/STAFF OUTCOMES).