By Kaitlyn Clark
The Haldimand Press
HAGERSVILLE—With only one new case of COVID-19 confirmed among its residents and three new deaths this past week, the Anson Place outbreak appears to be slowing.
Anson Place announced back on April 14, 2020 that, due to expanded testing in the home because of the outbreak, they had confirmed 70 positive cases between the long-term care (LTC) facility and retirement residence. At this time, there had been 19 resident deaths related to COVID-19.
One more positive case among residents was announced April 18, and then again on April 24, bringing the total to 72 as of press time. Of this total, 27 had passed due to complications from COVID-19. There was one additional death in which the cause had not been determined as of press time.
“I am pleased to report that all retirement residents have now been retested for COVID-19 and we are working on a plan with public health to retest our long-term care residents. The COVID-19 retesting is being done to see if those who had tested positive previously can now be considered recovered,” said Lisa Roth, Executive Director of Anson Place.
Haldimand Norfolk Medical Officer of Health Shanker Nesathurai is hopeful that Anson Place is gaining a better level of control and commended the home for its efforts to date; however, he does not believe the danger is over yet: “It would not be unanticipated that there would be additional deaths. These people were infected sometime in the past before (additional containment) measures were instituted,” said Nesathurai. “It’s a challenge. I think they’re doing everything they can, but I also recognize that it is frail, elderly people that were infected. I remain optimistic though. I think they’re taking the advice of the public health service, and they have a very capable doctor there looking after patients. I’m hopeful they’ve turned the corner, but it will be some period of time before we call the outbreak over.”
Anson Place had previously announced that some of the 30-plus staff members who were self-isolated at home, having tested positive for COVID-19, were expected to return to work shortly as they pass their mandated self-isolation periods and receive negative tests for the virus. They had hired additional staff and brought on volunteers as well, which Roth said further additions would be aided by the province’s decision to give health care workers an additional temporary pandemic payment of $4 per hour.
“It will help with recruitment and also recognize the hardworking staff who work tirelessly to care for our residents,” said Roth.
Roth added that they have not requested assistance for the retirement residence as it has always had enough staff. However, “From the beginning, we have asked for assistance from either health system partners or the broader community for our long-term care centre.”
Along with the many volunteers that stepped forward in the community, the Local Health Integration Network “has provided designated staff” to the LTC.
“This is an incredibly trying time for our staff, our families, and our community,” concluded Roth. “I want to thank the families of our residents for their understanding and the community for their unwavering support.”
Concerns with Anson Place’s response
As reported last week in The Press, Anson Place was one of a few homes in the province to come under fire for its handling of the pandemic. The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) filed injunctions against four homes, including Anson Place. The ONA stated that one reason for the injunction was a lack of available personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff in the homes.
On April 23, Ontario Superior Court Justice E.M. Morgan ruled that homes must comply with public health directives and stated, “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.”
ONA Presidnet Vicki McKenna considers this verdict to be “a huge relief”, adding, “ONA is thrilled that our members will have access to the proper protective equipment they need to protect themselves, and therefore their residents, and that the homes’ administrators will be forced to follow infection control practices – and put safety over profit.”
Responsive Group, who owns Anson Place and two of the other homes, also said they are “comfortable” with the decision: “It confirms for all parties that the Chief Medical Officer of Health directives are appropriate to protect staff in long-term care. We will continue to comply with all the Chief Medical Officer of Health directives and the order of the Court. We hope, with the cooperation of the Ontario Nurses’ Association, to move to arbitration quickly so we can confirm our compliance…. All staff across all our homes have had access to the necessary PPE as outlined by the very stringent safety requirements from the experts at public health and the Ministry of Health.”
While many area residents have shown their support for Anson Place staff, Mike McCarroll has started a class-action lawsuit against the home that echoes concerns raised by ONA.
McCarroll’s 95-year-old mother, Ruby McCarroll, died of COVID-19 on March 30 at Anson Place. The lawsuit alleges he was only told his mother had COVID-19, or had even been tested for it, three days before her death when he visited because he was informed she was seriously ill. It also claims that the defendants “failed to protect the residents living in their homes by repeatedly failing to follow the leadership of public health officials and comply with public health guidance and directives regarding: (1) outbreak planning; (2) supply, use, and access to personal protective equipment.”
Roth however has stated in multiple updates that “Anson Place Care Centre continues to engage with Public Health and the Chief Medical Officer of Health to ensure all necessary directives are followed to manage the outbreak in our home”; this includes all staff wearing PPE and twice-daily screening of both staff and residents for symptoms, among other measures.
When asked if he had any concerns that Anson Place responded slowly to the outbreak, Nesathurai stated, “No. I think the moment that they were aware and the public health service was aware there were a number of measures put in place, which was when the first case was identified. Anson place put in a very assertive group of measures…. I think they did everything they could to try to contain this outbreak.”
