The management of a retirement home in Guelph has been taken over by Guelph General Hospital under order of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health after problems found over several months went unfixed by management.
Heritage House Retirement Living in Guelph’s south end is home to 54 residents and is experiencing a current outbreak, with four residents and one staff member having tested positive for COVID-19.
According to the order, the retirement home was inspected by WDG Public Health in May and multiple deficiencies were observed, including lack of personal protective equipment available at the point of care and inadequate physical distancing between staff and residents.
In follow-up assessments held in September and October, the same deficiencies were observed multiple times and each time those concerns were communicated by WDG Public Health to the manager.
WDG Public Health staff followed up with management once more in December, before the outbreak was declared on Jan. 21.
The hospital took over management of the home on Jan. 24 after a class order was made by WDG Public Health under Sec. 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, said Marianne Walker, president and CEO of Guelph General Hospital during a phone interview on Monday.
“Public Health would work with them first before bringing in the hospital to take over the management,” said Walker. “It’s about having serious actions taken after other steps have been explored.”
The concerns brought up by WDG Public Health, including PPE, active screening and hygiene have all been addressed in the last week , said Walker.
“Right now where we have taken over the management of Heritage House, we are providing more of the leadership,” she said. “There is not a lot of the staff who have been impacted to date, we are happy to report.”
Walker said outbreaks in congregate settings like long-term care homes and retirement homes are difficult to control. The hospital will be reaching out to its partners within the Guelph and Area Ontario Health Team to help provide support staff who can come into the home and assist.
Currently, a mobile enhancement support team made up of members of the local Ontario Health Team is supporting Village at Riverside Glen, a long-term care and retirement home which is also experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19.
A total of 50 residents, as well as 22 staff, have tested positive for COVID-19 at Riverside Glen in the most recent outbreak. So far two people have died.
That team is made up of staff from across the partners within the local Ontario Health Team, including Guelph Community Health Centre, Guelph General Hospital, Guelph Family Health Team among others.
“We have pooled our staff together. Right now we have over 22 staff that we have brought together and redeployed to Riverside Glen,” said Walker. “The main purpose is to mobilize human resources and provide the interim staffing and also infection prevention and control to support the teams working so hard at Riverside Glen to control and manage the outbreak.”
Walker said the mobile enhancement support team plan was something the local Ontario Health Team had been proactively planning for.
“We were hoping we wouldn’t have to use it and it was so great to see so many staff and we are so thankful for them for stepping up and supporting our most vulnerable population,” she said. “It really demonstrates how the system is actually working and how it should work when local health provider come together.”
