Families concerned for days ahead after new COVID-19 outbreak declared at Calgary seniors' home

Another seniors' home in Calgary has been hit by an outbreak of COVID-19, this time in the southwest community of Millrise. 

The Millrise Seniors Village announced Thursday that two residents at its Millrise Care Centre have tested positive for COVID-19.

A staff member has also tested positive for COVID-19 and is at home in self-isolation. The care facility said that case was unrelated to the two cases at the seniors' home.

Rachel Barsky's 87-year-old grandmother lives at the facility and became very concerned Thursday morning after receiving only a single orange to eat for breakfast.

"She asked, 'Well, why is that all I get?'" Barsky said. "The staff informed her that one of the managers had tested positive for coronavirus. And [our] family had not been advised by Millrise."

Barsky said her family had tried to obtain more information from the facility all day, but was unable to do so. She said her family worries about the health of her grandmother should she catch the virus.

"We're very, very concerned about her ability to fight this off," she said. "For someone that age, it's just not something that they're strong enough for."

'When it comes, it's still a shock'

Michael Sondermann's parents — 93-year-old Margarete and 94-year-old Wolfgang Sondermann— both live at the home.

The pair met in kindergarten and have been married for 70 years.

"I guess part of me has been resigned for a while that we would get news like this," he said. "But when it comes, it's still a shock."

Like Barsky, Sondermann also worries about the health of his family members, saying that he hopes that "by some miracle, my parents don't get this."

"But if there's a saving grace in this, it would be that they would probably be getting sick together," Sondermann said. "So if something really bad happens, it happens to both of them. That's probably what they would like.

"If they had to go, they'd go together, I'm pretty sure of that."

Belinda Ditangan, a spokesperson with West Coast Seniors Housing Management, the company that runs the facility, said staff are providing daily communication with family members of residents.

"During this period, our priority is — and needs to be — the care, attention and support that our residents and their families require," Ditangan said in an email to CBC News.

The company said it is ensuring staff members are not working in multiple facilities and are screened for their temperature upon entering the facility and on breaks.

Company apologizes for 'lack of communication'

In another emailed statement sent Friday morning, Ditangan said staff "have been busy throughout the day making phone calls and responding to phone calls as much as possible."

"As you can imagine, these calls can take longer than they typically might and we don't rush family members off the phone," the statement said.

"An email has now been provided to all families regarding the current status. We have posted similar information on our Facebook page — and will continue to do so on a daily basis."

A statement on that Facebook page acknowledged the frustrations family members had felt in getting information in a timely manner: "We want you to know that we fully appreciate your feelings of concern and anxiety, and how a lack of communication did not help matters —and for that, we apologize."

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The facility is the latest seniors' home to be hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. The worst case in the province, at the McKenzie Towne Long Term Care Home in southeast Calgary, has already seen 21 deaths.

The province reported two more COVID-19 deaths and 162 new cases Thursday.