February 24, 2022 COVID-19 Update

24 February 2022

Family Update February 24, 2022

COVID-19 Update:

Outbreak(s) at RHC:

  • Update on the COVID-19 outbreak on A2 in our Personal Care Home
    • There are 5 residents who have active COVID-19, 7 residents have recovered, and 0 swabs pending
    • There are no staff positive cases linked to this outbreak
    • Symptomatic & COVID positive residents are on Enhanced isolation precautions
    • All residents are doing well at this time
    • Restricted resident movement between A and B side is in place
    • Cohorting of staff to one side as best possible (do not have staff cross between A & B sides) is occurring
    • Visitation is restricted until the outbreak is considered stabilized
    • Enhanced cleaning of high touch areas at least twice daily and when visibly soiled is in place
    • PPE donning/doffing station is in place in the vestibule outside of AB2 unit
    • Twice daily symptom monitoring will continue; if residents develop new symptoms, a repeat swab will be done
    • A2 is closed to admissions for the duration of the outbreak
  • Update on the COVID-19 outbreak on AB1 in our Personal Care Home
    • There are 4 residents who have active COVID-19, 5 who are COVID-19 recovered, and 0 swabs pending
    • At this time, visitation is restricted on AB1 until all swab results are back and the outbreak is considered stable
    • All residents are doing well
    • At this time no staff cases have been linked to this outbreak
    • All residents are on enhanced isolation precautions
    • Twice daily symptom monitoring will continue; if residents develop new symptoms, a repeat swab will be done
    • There are no positive cases in staff linked to this outbreak
    • AB2 is closed to admissions for the duration of the outbreak
  • Update on the COVID-19 outbreak on CD4 in our Personal Care Home
    • All 14 residents who have tested positive on the C-side are now COVID-19 recovered
    • All high-risk resident contacts have tested negative for COVID-19 on 2 occasions, most recently February 20.
    • There are no positive cases in staff linked to this outbreak
    • BID (twice daily) symptom monitoring will continue; if residents develop new symptoms, a repeat NP swab will be done
    • CD4 is closed to admissions for the duration of the outbreak
    • Visitation is restricted to designated family caregivers until the outbreak is over, or if any new symptoms develop in new residents
  • c-Difficile outbreak on CD1 in our Personal Care Home
    • On February 14, 2022 we declared a c-Difficile outbreak on CD1, with 2 residents testing positive for c-Difficile infection on the unit, 7 days apart
    • Please see this fact sheet on c-Diff, for information on this infection: https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/diseases/cdi.html
    • All symptomatic residents are placed on enhanced droplet/contact isolation precautions
    • There is increased environmental cleaning of the unit/equipment
    • Group recreational activities are on hold
    • Resident movement about the unit is restricted

Staff:

  • We continue to have staff who have tested positive for COVID-19, community acquired (decreased frequency at this time), as well as staff who are recovering and returning to work.

Designated Family Caregivers (DFCs)/Essential Care Partners (ECPs):

  • Due to the ongoing outbreaks on AB1 and A2 in our PCH, DFC and General Visitors are restricted on these units at this time until the outbreaks are considered stabilized.
  • As the CD4 outbreak is now stabilized, although not yet at the point where it can be declared “over”, DFCs are now welcomed back to visit their loved ones on this one unit. They must be aware of the risks of visiting on an active outbreak unit, consent to accept those risks, and follow all requirements of PPE use, hand hygiene, etc. They may not go anywhere else during their visit, but must remain in the resident’s room, arriving and leaving by direct route (e.g. may not stop in cafeteria, come and go for “breaks”, etc.). General visitors remain restricted until the outbreak is considered over.
  • DFC/ECP may not eat or drink together with the resident/patient
    • DFC/ECP may eat/drink in the designated spots in the cafeteria, maintaining physical distancing, remove mask and eye protection carefully, including hand hygiene.  After eating/drinking, perform hand hygiene and don mask and eye protection.  Six feet/two metres must be maintained at any time PPE is removed
    • DFC/ECP once screened, are to go directly to the resident’s/patient’s room without prolonged interaction with others
    • All visits are in-room only at this time

Social Leaves of Absence (“day passes”) for Long Term Care Residents:

  • Because community spread of COVID-19 remains high, and our residents live in a communal setting with multiple other vulnerable people, we are taking a cautious approach to resuming social leaves (passes) for our long term care residents, and they remain discouraged. Overnight passes are not permitted at this time.
  • If a social pass is requested, permission will be considered on a case by case basis, taking into consideration the vaccination status of the resident and the people they will be interacting with, whether the resident can tolerate wearing a mask for the duration of the pass (everyone they will be interacting with must also wear a mask for the duration of the pass), and any other risk factors in the individual situation. If a pass is very important to the resident (for example, an important family event) and they are unable to tolerate wearing a mask for the duration of the pass, consideration will be given to permitting it, but the resident would need to comply with isolation requirements for 10 days following return from the pass, including having a COVID-19 test completed during that isolation period. DFCs would be allowed to visit in the resident’s room during that isolation period.  

Thank you all for your support and diligence as we navigate our way through this Omicron wave of the pandemic. Be well.

RHC Leadership

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