By Cecilia Nasmith
Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini announced Wednesday that 11 long-term-care homes in the riding will share in more than $855,000 to help strengthen COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures, from PPE to enhanced testing.
Nine Northumberland homes are included in the total.
Burnbrae Gardens Long Term Care Residence in Campbellford is receiving an additional $35,600, bringing the total prevention and containment support to $359,800.
Extendicare Cobourg is receiving an additional $70,800, bringing the total prevention and containment support to $326,400.
The Golden Plough Lodge in Cobourg is receiving an additional $149,600, bringing the total prevention and containment support to $590,000.
Streamway Villa in Cobourg is receiving an additional $38,800, bringing the total prevention and containment support to $385,400.
Extendicare Port Hope is receiving an additional $183,600, bringing the total prevention and containment support to $521,800.
Hope Street Terrace in Port Hope is receiving an additional $113,200, bringing the total prevention and containment support to $478,000.
Regency Long Term Care Home in Port Hope is receiving an additional $62,000, bringing the total prevention and containment support to $411,400.
Maplewood in Brighton is receiving an additional $61,500, bringing the total prevention and containment support to $542,300.
Warkworth Place is receiving an additional $67,000, bringing the total prevention and containment support to $443,000.
“These investments are incredibly important, as the government continues to roll out the vaccine plan as soon as we get the supplies,” Piccini said.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Gemmill, who was invited to be part of the announcement, said that the protection of people who live in long-term care has to be a number-one priority.
“Long-term-care homes, as you know, have been hardest hit of all, when we consider the mortality that has occurred across Ontario – but it's also the stress on the families, the staff.”
Long-term-care residents are in a vulnerable position due not only a lessened degree of control over their lives but also because of their age and declining health.
“I very much welcome this investment into the well-being of these residents,” the doctor stated.
Part of ensuring this, he added, is to ensure proper staffing – especially during a pandemic situation when staff themselves may be out due to illness.
Piccini offered his own tribute to these front-line staffers and their tireless work on behalf of the residents.
“The staff are very much family with the residents. They do such a remarkable job.”
In order to ensure four hours of care per person in these settings, the government has launched one of the largest recruitment and training drives in the province's history.
As for vaccines, the MPP said, “we continue to work diligently with the Federal government on supply. When we were told overnight that 280,000-plus vaccines are not coming into Ontario, that threw an extensive logistical challenge across the province, where we were planning refrigerators, where we were planning to deploy vaccines all over.”
But vaccination has begun, Dr. Gemmill said, with some 700 doses given to residents of a handful of selected long-term-care homes throughout the health unit region.
With fingers crossed – and an ear out for any changes that might be announced – he expects another thousand doses within days, which will be earmarked, again, for long-term-care homes. Once the residents of these homes are done, he added, “we are quite ready and looking forward to helping to get staff immunized, and also the essential care givers nominated by the residents and their families who go in on a regular basis.”
One thing he has observed of the situation in Israel, where they are well along on their vaccinations, is that the situation is stabilizing very well. This kind of thing offers hope for that future time when Canadians are vaccinated on a more widespread basis.
