Activity intensified today at Pickering’s Orchard Villa Long-Term Care Residence with the arrival of two teams from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who will begin supporting Lakeridge Health as it continues its ongoing efforts to help Southbridge Care Homes to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 at the residence.
“Over the last six days we’ve seen a tremendous increase in the staffing compliment at Orchard Villa due to the wonderful volunteers from the Lakeridge Health family, as well as the dedication of Orchard Villa team members who are able to return to work, and others from Southbridge Care Homes who have stepped in to provide care at Orchard Villa, “ said Susan deRyk, Interim President and CEO, Lakeridge Health. “Those numbers will be boosted further with the arrival of members of the Canadian Armed Forces from across Ontario. We’re also happy to report that the Patient Experience team has contacted all the designated family members of residents within the long-term care home at Orchard Villa, and they are now receiving regular individualized updates about their loved ones.”
“There has been a lot of progress in a short time to assist our operations and ability to combat COVID-19 at Orchard Villa,” said Ryan Bell, CEO, Southbridge Care Homes. “I know our community’s residents, families and staff greatly appreciate the support from our partners at Lakeridge Health and the Canadian Armed Forces. We continue to collaborate to provide the care and support that our residents need in this extremely difficult time.”
Under Operation LASER, Joint Task Force Central (JTFC) is providing support to Ontario by deploying five teams of approximately 50 people. These teams are composed of two nurses and 12 medical technicians from 4 Health Services Group, along with personnel to perform duties in support of operations. The arrival of the CAF at Orchard Villa will bring staffing to the level required to care for the residents of the home. Approximately 20 to 25 members of the CAF will be onsite each day to help residents, in two shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
JTFC personnel will work alongside the Lakeridge Health and Southbridge Care Homes clinical teams to deliver direct care to residents. While, at the same time, the operational team will help deliver important related functions such as assisting in the move of healthy residents to clean areas of the home, helping residents connect with their loved ones through information technology, and ensuring other resident needs are met.
Following a review of infection prevention and control conducted last Friday, Lakeridge Health has worked with Southbridge Care Homes to support best practice policies and procedures to help reduce the spread of the virus.
These measures include new protocols for the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and education and training for all staff on assessing risk, barriers to transmission, and additional precautions and extended use of PPE to help control outbreaks.
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Media inquiries
Sharon Navarro, Manager, PR and Digital Communications
Lakeridge Health
snavarro@lh.ca
