WRHA PCH COVID-19 Status Update
December 15, 2020
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 careful, fluid coordination with WRHA clinical management, PCH management and staff, regional programs, and partners such as the Canadian Red Cross.
*Please note new updates will be published to this page twice weekly.
Current status:
As of 9 am, Dec. 15, there were active COVID-19 outbreaks at 31 of Winnipeg’s 39 long-term care facilities.
An outbreak is declared following the identification of one positive case in either a resident, a staff member or an external service provider (example: Agency staff).
Of the 31 facilities with current outbreaks, 16 had zero active resident cases as of 9 am, Dec. 15.
The outbreak at Middlechurch Home was declared resolved on Dec. 11.
Larger-scale outbreaks are currently being experienced at:
- Charleswood Care Centre
- Convalescent Home of Winnipeg
- Fred Douglas Lodge
- Holy Family Home
- Oakview Place
- Park Manor Care
- Poseidon Care Centre
- St Norbert PCH
For a complete list of facilities with active COVID-19 outbreaks, please scroll to the bottom of this post.
A message to our staff, residents, PCH partners, and our community:
The staff, managers, facility operators, and leadership in our long-term-care sector grieve deeply and sincerely for the loss of PCH residents who contracted the virus, and as fellow citizens of Winnipeg we share in the pain experienced by so many families in our community.
Staff, including redeployed staff, at Winnipeg PCHs continue every day to step up and tirelessly ensure the care and safety of residents, despite the unprecedented and difficult situation. They are tired and they are worried, yet they persevere, and we would like to extend our sincere gratitude for their efforts.
Managers in Winnipeg’s personal care homes and long-term-care facilities, and the leadership of our long-term-care program, continue every day to consider best practices and implement measures according to clinical experts and established protocols. We will employ every feasible tool at our disposal to ensure outbreaks can be mitigated and controlled to the best of everyone’s ability.
Measures underway:
Staffing:
As of Dec. 15, there are 137 PCH staff from the Winnipeg region who are actively COVID-positive. A further 281 have been declared recovered. Many more are ill, awaiting test results or isolating at home along with a family member and are unable to come to work. Staffing needs at PCHs can therefore change quickly day-to-day, and even shift-to-shift.
To assist with quickly filling these and other staff absences, the WRHA has identified other service areas that can be safely reduced and from where staff can be redeployed to meet PCH staffing demands and other priority areas. This planning is being done in partnership with Shared Health and the Provincial Recruitment and Redeployment Team (PRRT).
Urgent and emergent PCH staffing needs continue to be filled with redeployed resources available primarily from our Community Health Services areas. Over the past month, more than 600 shifts at Winnipeg PCHs have been filled in this manner. Even with this valuable resource base, staffing in PCHs continues to be challenged.
WRHA continues to activate the hub model of attaching PCHs to hospitals and community areas for the sharing of staff resources. Acute sector staff from Victoria, Concordia and Seven Oaks Hospitals have assisted by filling shifts at PCHs.
The PRRT continues to review and process applications for uncertified Health Care Aides – both those enrolled in the new Red River College (RRC) training program, and those not requiring training (e.g. those who are internationally trained or students in health sciences faculties).
Medical leadership has also identified physicians and nurse practitioners who are available in assisting with the medical monitoring of PCH residents, and who have indicated they can provide partial coverage in PCHs in the short-to-medium term.
On-site supports to PCHs and resident care:
WRHA clinical leads are currently providing support to the following Winnipeg PCHs: Golden Links Lodge, Maples PCH, St. Norbert PCH, Holy Family Home, Simkin Centre, Fred Douglas Lodge, Park Manor Care Centre, Oakview Place, Convalescent Home of Winnipeg, Charleswood Care Centre, West Park Manor and Poseidon Care Centre.
These site leads are working with the management of each of these facilities to provide oversight and guidance on resident/ clinical care aspects, staffing resources, infection prevention and control practices, and family communication.
The Canadian Red Cross continues to provide infection prevention and control assessments and guidance to PCHs. Red Cross staff are currently providing onsite support at Golden Links Lodge and Holy Family Home. The Red Cross deployment at St. Norbert PCH concluded on Dec. 14.
The Red Cross epidemic prevention and control team has been providing support at Charleswood Care Centre, and a new deployment of Red Cross personnel is expected there later this week. We are grateful to the Canadian Red Cross for the support they have provided over the past several weeks, and for the support they continue to provide.
PCHs continue to access the WRHA community intravenous (CIVP) team, palliative care team, regional infection prevention and control staff, and respiratory therapy specialists to support COVID-19 residents with higher care needs. Over the past few weeks, the CIVP team has provided hydration to more than 300 residents at 14 Winnipeg PCHs with outbreaks.
Regular physician coverage and medical monitoring of residents continues to be provided onsite and virtually at the priority sites.
N95 fit-testing within all licensed Personal Care Homes and Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities continues.
At this time, WFPS’s rapid response EMS team is not currently in place at any Winnipeg PCHs. Facilities have been advised to contact the team if emergency resident care needs emerge at any sudden time. Standard protocols for PCHs to contact EMS for resident care when required also remain in place, as per usual process. We want to thank our EMS partners again for their support of PCHs.
Facility-specific information:
Current priority sites include Park Manor Care Home, Charleswood Care Centre, Convalescent Home of Winnipeg, Holy Family Home, Fred Douglas Lodge and Oakview Place.
The WRHA is also closely working with, and monitoring the situation at, Poseidon Care Centre and West Park Manor.
While still facing challenges, Maples PCH, Simkin Centre, St. Norbert PCH, Bethania PCH and Golden Links Lodge have seen their staffing levels and case numbers stabilize. Many residents have now recovered from COVID-19 and staff who have been self-isolating are returning to work.
PCHs continue to make progress on implementing IP&C recommendations from the Canadian Red Cross and other action items identified by WRHA clinical site leads.
Management and Oversight
Daily situational update calls with the management teams of all PCHs and the WRHA long-term care program have been established to share information, progress and challenges in real-time.
The WRHA clinical leads providing oversight at PCHs in greatest need have daily status updates with WRHA leadership, to ensure resources are proactively directed to areas of greatest need. These clinical leads will be rotated to other sites or provide support to a cluster of sites, as needed and as the outbreak situation across WRHA PCH sites evolves.
Winnipeg PCHs currently experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks (as of Dec 15, 2020)
- Actionmarguerite St Boniface
- Actionmarguerite St Joseph
- Actionmarguerite St Vital
- Beacon Hill Lodge
- Bethania PCH
- Charleswood Care Centre
- Concordia Place
- Convalescent Home of Winnipeg
- Deer Lodge Centre (LTC)
- Fred Douglas Lodge
- Golden Links Lodge
- Heritage Lodge
- Holy Family Home
- Kildonan PCH
- Lions Personal Care Centre (Sherbrook Street location)
- Maples PCH
- Misericordia Place PCH
- Oakview Place
- Park Manor Care
- Parkview Place
- Pembina Place
- Poseidon Care Centre
- Riverview Health Ctr (LTC)
- River East
- River Park Gardens
- Simkin Centre
- St Amant (LTC)
- Southeast PCH
- St Norbert PCH
- Tuxedo Villa
- West Park Manor