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Residents' quality of life most impacted by COVID-19 outbreaks, group wants to see change

John Scotland is the CEO of the Steeves & Rozema Group, which runs Heron Terrace and a number of other LTC and retirement homes across southwestern Ontario. He says he sees the impact of outbreaks on staff and residents. (Dale Molnar/CBC - image credit)
John Scotland is the CEO of the Steeves & Rozema Group, which runs Heron Terrace and a number of other LTC and retirement homes across southwestern Ontario. He says he sees the impact of outbreaks on staff and residents. (Dale Molnar/CBC - image credit)

As dozens of long-term care and retirement homes in Windsor-Essex battle another round of COVID-19 outbreaks, organizations and care home operators say residents' quality of life continues to be the most impacted.

More than 700 long-term care (LTC) and retirement homes are in outbreak, according to Sunday data from Public Health Ontario. Thirty of those homes are in Windsor-Essex and remain in outbreak Monday, based on data from the local health unit.

"It's been like a rollercoaster these last couple of years," said John Scotland, the CEO of the Steeves & Rozema Group, which runs Heron Terrace and a number of other LTC and retirement homes across southwestern Ontario.

Heron Terrace is currently one of the homes experiencing an outbreak, with three active resident cases and 12 active staff cases.

He said the constant change in restrictions takes a "toll on everyone's spirits," and that outbreaks often mean people will need to isolate.

Sanjay Maru/CBC
Sanjay Maru/CBC

"If you are in a home or area of a home that's in outbreak and you're isolating in your room, you're experiencing meals in your room and the amount of activities are limited, even with friends and family coming in as essential caregivers, it's just not the same," he said.

Additionally, he said outbreaks place more strain on staff, by either causing some to work overtime or having temporary replacement staff to backfill.

In the last few weeks, Scotland said Heron Terrace was "scrambling" to fill shifts, but that seems to have settled in recent days.

Sam Peck, executive director of Family Councils of Ontario, told CBC News that she's hearing from families who have loved ones in LTC that residents are still feeling isolated, despite being fully vaccinated.

Group wants rules that 'maximize the quality of life and minimize risk'

Family Councils of Ontario is a group that helps family caregivers form peer support groups in long-term care homes and they also are LTC home advocates.

Dale Molnar/CBC
Dale Molnar/CBC

"Because of residents not being able to interact with their peers or to wander or walk freely throughout the home, it's very isolating and there's fear from residents about, 'why's this happening, what's going to happen next?'" she said.

"We're increasingly hearing that the harm is greatly outweighing the benefits of people being isolated in a way that is supposedly to reduce the risk of infection and adverse outcomes for them."

Peck said Family Councils of Ontario wrote to the Ministry of Long-term Care advocating for measures that "maximize the quality of life and minimize risk," specifically when a home is experiencing an outbreak.

She said they want to find ways for residents to talk to their peers, walk around the homes, go on day trips and have communal activities.

"I think there's ways to do it safely and I think we're moving in that direction," said Peck, adding that cohorting could be a possible solution.