By Kaitlyn Clark
The Haldimand Press
HAGERSVILLE—As the number of COVID-19 cases related to Anson Place long-term care (LTC) home and retirement residence has reached over 100 individuals between residents and staff, the home and its parent company have come under fire for their response to the outbreak.
In a press release on April 15, 2020, the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) said that the conditions health care professionals work under in LTC homes are “unfathomable” and that the union has “been calling for changes and personal protective equipment for all workers since the pandemic began”.
A few days later, it was announced that ONA had filed injunctions against Anson Place in Hagersville, along with two LTC homes in Toronto and one in London. ONA claims that these homes failed to the follow their own pandemic plans, did not respond quickly enough, and have not provided adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for their staff. A hearing was scheduled for April 21 after press time.
The Services Employees International Union (SEIU) also called on the Ontario government to take over three privately-owned LTC homes, including Anson Place, as has been seen in other provinces. President Sharleen Stewart said the handling of the pandemic in these homes was “pure negligence”. When asked if Ontario would consider taking over the homes, Minister of Long-Term Care Merilee Fullerton said that, while they are “working around the clock to make sure (the homes) get the support that they need”, Ontario would not be taking over management.
Responsive Group, an operating partner of Rykka Care Centres that owns Anson Place and the two facilities in Toronto, sent out a statement on April 17 that did not mention the ONA or SEIU specifically, but stated, “It is an extraordinary time in in the world. This pandemic has caused significant upheaval across Canada and the globe to health systems and our economic prosperity. But the most devastating impact has been on our vulnerable seniors. Families have lost their loved ones too soon. We feel those losses too. Our residents and our staff are part of our family.”
Responsive Group noted the “devasting impact” of this pandemic on its staff and their families and expressed their gratefulness for the staff’s commitment to residents. It stated, “It is why we have been working so hard to source supplies, invest in additional staff, and stay informed on the updates and directives from local public health units and from Ontario’s Chief Public Health Officer…. Each of our homes has been working very closely with their local public health units, hand in glove, to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect our residents and our staff.”
“Throughout this fight, we have had all the personal protective equipment we have needed to follow the very specific directives from public health to protect staff and work to prevent further spread of the virus – at all our homes,” continued the release from Responsive Group. “In order to protect the families of staff we have also been offering staff hotel rooms and food allowances wherever necessary. We will continue to work with our partners in health care to provide a safe and comfortable home for our residents and a safe working and rewarding workplace for our staff.”
Haldimand residents have shown significant support for the staff at Anson Place, including by leaving messages of support along the front fence outside the home. Kaye Varga wrote to The Press in the April 16 edition to give thanks to the staff, as did Carolyn Burrage in this week’s edition (see Page 5).
These sentiments were echoed in online comments on the April 16 article on the increasing COVID-19 deaths seen at the home. Lisa Pype wrote, “Prayers for all the staff. I can’t imagine how they are coping with that much loss at one time. This is such an under-recognized and under-paid position for these frontline workers.”
Brenda Lee stated, “Thank you to all at Anson Place taking care of the residents there. You are all heroes. Praying this will all stop soon!”
One resident asked what the company is doing to support their staff, such as sick pay for those infected and counselling for the mental stresses of this experience. The Press posed this question to Responsive Group and Lisa Roth, Executive Director of Anson Place. Responsive Group provided only their original release, and while Roth provides regular updates, she made no mention sick pay or counselling for staff.
Premier Doug Ford announced April 14 that LTC workers would no longer be allowed to work at multiple locations, as was previously often seen with workers being employed part-time in multiple homes. This step had already been implemented at Anson Place because of the outbreak, as those who tested positive are fully quarantined at home and those who tested negative began self-isolating outside of travel between Anson Place and home.
Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Medical Officer of Health for Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU), noted that “many” homes in the health district were already practising this measure, adding, “It’s a good suggestion that individuals should remain at one site, especially during this pandemic. I think it was a good idea previous to the pandemic. My recommendation would be for that to continue indefinitely into the future, even with the conclusion of this pandemic.”
When asked about the claims made against Anson Place and the other homes by ONA and SEIU, Nesathurai said he could not comment as public health is not the regulatory authority, but he is aware that both of the regulatory authorities for LTC homes and retirement homes are in contact with Anson Place. He added, “We (HNHU) are focussed on trying to manage the outbreak at Anson Place by providing guidance to the administration and staff.”
Roth noted on April 20, “We are grateful for our public health unit’s ongoing support…. With their support, we will be retesting a number of our frontline staff and plan to welcome back a few members of our team throughout the week. In addition to returning team members, new care staff will be joining the Anson Place team, including Physiotherapist Assistants and a Registered Practical Nurse. The Hagersville community was also hugely receptive to our call for community support. We have interviews scheduled and plan to orient volunteers … later this week…. I want to thank the community for answering our call for support in a time of need.”
As of press time, 71 Anson Place residents had tested positive, of which 24 had died, and 34 staff members had tested positive.
Updates
April 22, 2020
Anson Place announced one more resident had passed on April 21 after press time. It was unknown at that time if the death would be attributed to COVID-19. If so, it would bring the total number of deaths to 25.
April 24, 2020
The current number of deaths at Anson Place is 27, including one death which has an unconfirmed cause.
On April 23, Ontario Superior Court Justice E.M. Morgan ordered the operators not to impede the nurses’ professional opinions on when PPE are needed. He wrote, “Nurses are not to be impeded in making an assessment and determination at point of care as to what PPE or other measures are appropriate and required.”
The Ontario Nurses Association is happy with this decision.
Responsive Group also said they are “comfortable” with the decision, as they state it confirms the directives they follow from the Chief Medical Officer of Health to be appropriate.
