Stasia Huby lived in the eye of a COVID-19 storm for more than a month.
The virus was first discovered on December 22nd at the Heritage Retirement Residence in West Kelowna. When the outbreak was reported by Interior Health on February 2, four people were dead while 41 residents and five employees were infected.
Huby was one of the lucky residents who emerged healthy from her suite. She had been alone, a little scared, but also stoic.
“I’m a very strong guy,” she said. “But when it happens, it happens. There is not much you can do about it. “
During the Heritage Outbreak, Hobby’s daughter, Joanne Waddell, did her best to keep connected from her Ontario home. Huby has no family in town other than a son-in-law, and Waddell describes her mother as a person who enjoys being social.
Waddell last visited Huby for two weeks in August, but they limited themselves to video chatting during the outbreak. Waddell commended the Heritage staff for making sure Huby had what she needed and said the situation was going as well as possible for her family.
But the two months that Huby spent in her suite are an irreplaceable loss of time for her 87-year-old.
“If they’re in their 80s or even 70s, the clock is ticking,” said Waddell. “And for this to happen to you at this point in your life, it’s like a waste to be quarantined and stuck in a room unable to do things because (you) are in the final stage of yours Life. “
The Heritage Retirement Residence in West Kelowna is one of the BC nursing homes to have had a COVID-19 outbreak since the pandemic began. Photo: Philip McLachlan
The majority of COVID-19 deaths in BC have occurred in care facilities such as the Heritage Retirement Residence.
According to the BC Center for Disease Control, there have been 222 long-term care, assisted living and independent living outbreaks across BC since the pandemic was first declared on March 5, 2020 at the Lynn Valley Care Center in North Vancouver . Including acute care, that number climbs to 273 outbreaks as of January 30.
Of the 3,103 residents who tested positive, 872 died on January 30th. There were no deaths among the 2,088 employees who tested positive.
Despite the January 29 announcement by Health Secretary Adrian Dix that 26,584 residents had been vaccinated and the first dose of vaccines was available for every nursing home in BC, there were still 23 active outbreaks as of February 2.
Dr. Albert de Villiers, chief medical officer for internal health, said it was no secret how the virus got into long-term care facilities.
There is a clear link between an increase in cases in a community and outbreaks in nursing homes.
“We know with these types of viruses… the only way to do it [to come in] is through people. It won’t blow in through the windows. “
This means that the family visits relatives and the staff that residents rely on to look after them.
De Villiers said staff are doing their best to adhere to health protocols but mistakes happen – forgetting to wash hands, for example – and the pandemic just before their first anniversary has left caregivers tired.
De Villiers said Interior Health tried to take this into account by paying attention to the mental health of employees and taking people off shift when needed. Employees are screened with health issues, but regular testing is not practical.
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is the most accurate available, but it currently takes about 20 hours to get a result. Rapid tests (the Pan-Bio-Antigen test and a separate molecular test) are less accurate, but only last 15 to 20 minutes each.
But De Villiers said it was still a drain on resources as staff had to take time off to take a sample and have it analyzed.
BC Senior Attorney Isobel Mackenzie believes that more regular testing of staff should have been introduced in October when the province announced a second wave of infections had begun.
Rapid tests or maybe a twice-weekly PCR test wouldn’t necessarily show if a staff member didn’t have a patient outbreak, but Mackenzie said it would prevent further infections in staff and residents.
“As soon as your test result is positive, we can pull you out of the shift,” she said.
Residents at the Cottonwoods Care Center in Kelowna celebrate receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations. Photo: Indoor Health
Mackenzie also criticizes the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) in BC
Before the pandemic, she said that privately run nursing homes were responsible for their own PPE supply with items such as gloves and masks. However, when the initial demand for PPE skyrocketed, smaller nursing homes with lower purchasing power were exposed. A centralized, permanent supply chain in the province would solve this problem, she claims.
Mackenzie said it was important to remember that long-term care facilities are not the same as acute care. The former are houses in which residents and employees form relationships.
How can residents safely interact with loved ones in a place that ideally does not differ significantly from a private household? De Villiers believes that public health needs to provide a new answer.
“We know if you leave people in long-term care and there is no family or social connection, it’s not good for their health, either,” he said.
De Villiers and Mackenzie also want to see changes in the way senior health care is considered for residents and employees after the pandemic. Mackenzie said the health of employees with a workplace culture that encourages sick leave must be given greater priority.
De Villiers expects public health to double on news that discourages people from being social when sick.
Huby will see that future. She had her first vaccination on January 16 and celebrated her birthday on February 10. The Heritage Retirement Residence will remain your home.
“I couldn’t choose a better one.”
CONTINUE READING:
• Vaccines are coming, British Columbia seniors need to be ready, Horgan says
• Have a Heart: Nelson’s wife reaches out to isolated seniors
• In an emergency, BC conducts a clinical trial with the drug COVID-19 to treat severe cases
• The opposition calls for better family access to nursing homes in British Columbia
@tyler_harper | tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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