WRHA PCH COVID-19 Status Update
January 11, 2022
The WRHA’s long-term care program funds and oversees the operations of 39 long-term care facilities, including 38 personal care homes (PCHs) and the St. Amant health care facility, in the Winnipeg health region.
The WRHA has implemented and is managing a comprehensive system-wide approach to protect and care for residents and staff at Winnipeg PCH facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks. This involves coordination with WRHA clinical management, PCH management and staff, regional programs, and community partners.
Current status:
As of 9 am, Jan. 11, there were 24 PCHs with a declared active COVID-19 outbreak among Winnipeg’s 39 long-term care facilities.
For COVID-19, an outbreak is defined and declared with a total of two cases (staff, resident, visitor), epi-linked within 14 days of each other, and where at least one could have been acquired in the long-term care site.
For a complete list of facilities with active COVID-19 outbreaks, please scroll to the bottom of this post.
Measures underway:
Visitation
All social/general visits and social leaves at Personal Care Homes across Manitoba were suspended effective Dec. 31, 2021.
Relevant exceptions remain in effect. Designated Family Caregivers will continue to have access to facilities provided they pass all screening requirements.
Please contact individual PCHs directly for information on their current visitation procedures. For the provincewide guidance on visitation, please click here.
Staffing
Staffing has become a challenge across the region over the past few weeks, and has been affected recently by staff sick calls as the Omicron variant spreads through our community, including to PCH staff who have tested positive for COVID or are isolating as a close contact or while awaiting test results.
PCHs have been advised to review their pandemic staffing plans, along with the Provincial Long-Term Care Pandemic Plan, and to implement service delivery and staffing strategies to mitigate the risk.
We continue to monitor staffing closely. Processes are in place to redeploy staff from other WRHA service areas to PCHs if required, including to any PCH experiencing an outbreak. We are also working with the Provincial Recruitment and Redeployment Team to assist PCHs in need of extra staffing supports.
On-site supports to PCHs and resident care
WRHA Infection Prevention and Control coordinators are providing support to sites in outbreak, and a WRHA clinical lead continues to be available to all homes as needed to provide a review of risks within the facility and suggest mitigation measures.
The majority of PCH residents in Winnipeg have received their booster (third) dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (91.3% of Winnipeg PCH residents, as of Jan. 5). PCHs report that the majority of COVID-positive residents are fortunately experiencing very mild symptoms. However, three deaths have been reported in association with the 24 current outbreaks.
Management and Oversight
The management teams of the WRHA long-term care program and of PCH sites experiencing an outbreak meet daily to share information, progress and challenges, and problem-solve in real time. These calls provide PCH operators the opportunity to share site-specific observations and learnings to support the delivery of long-term care across the region.
Winnipeg PCHs currently experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks (as of Jan 11, 2022):
- Actionmarguerite St. Boniface
- Actionmarguerite St. Joseph
- Actionmarguerite St. Vital
- Beacon Hill Lodge
- Concordia Place
- Convalescent Home of Winnipeg
- Donwood Manor
- Fred Douglas Lodge
- Golden Links Lodge
- Golden West Centennial Lodge
- Holy Family Home
- Kildonan PCH
- Lions PCH (Sherbrook Street)
- Middlechurch Home of Winnipeg
- Oakview Place
- Pembina Place
- Poseidon PCH
- Beacon Hill Lodge
- Concordia Place
- Convalescent Home of Winnipeg
- Donwood Manor
- Fred Douglas Lodge
- West Park Manor