Ontario Introduces COVID-19 Plan for Long-Term Care Homes

Ontario is increasing protections for Long-Term Care Homes.  The announcement was made by Ontario Premier Doug Ford,  Long Term Care Minister Merilee Fullerton and Health Minister Christine Elliott.

The COVID-19 Action Plan: Long-Term Care Homes adds the following three measures:

1. Aggressive Testing, Screening, and Surveillance: enhancing testing for symptomatic residents and staff and those who have been in contact with persons confirmed to have COVID-19; expanding screening to include more asymptomatic contacts of confirmed cases; and leveraging surveillance tools to enable care providers to move proactively against the disease.
2. Managing Outbreaks and Spread of the Disease: supporting long-term care homes with public health and infection control expertise to contain and prevent outbreaks; providing additional training and support for current staff working in outbreak conditions.
3. Growing our Heroic Long-Term Care Workforce: redeploying staff from hospitals and home and community care to support the long-term care home workforce and respond to outbreaks, alongside intensive on-going recruitment initiatives.

“Nothing is more important than protecting the health and well-being of our loved ones in long-term care, or the front-line heroes who care for them.”  Long Term Care Minister Dr. Merrilee Fullerton said.

An additional directive was issued  to Long-Term Care homes as employers.  They are to ensure their employees including nurses, PSW (Personal Support Workers) and RPN’s (Registered Practical Nurses) only work at one home.   “The order is temporary and can be renewed as needed, but will expire when it is no longer needed,” Spokesperson for Ministry of Long-Term Care Gillian Sloggett said. The province is encouraging institutions to offer full-time hours to part-time workers.

The order does not apply to those working for agencies that supply services to the province’s Public Health System.  “To ensure the safety of long-term care residents, these workers are subject to “active screening” directive set out by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, which requires a rigorous screening process before being admitted into a long-term care home,” Sloggett said.  For more information on the province’s plan visit their website