Tillsonburg care home outbreak has left family cut off from great-grandmother
Outbreak at Maple Manor has killed 4 and infected 54 residents and 34 staff members
By now we're likely all familiar with stories about families cut off from loved ones in care homes, unable to enjoy the close connection of an in-person visit due to rules aimed at slowing the rampant spread of COVID-19.
For the Gatt family, it's gone a step further. A devastating outbreak at the Maple Manor nursing home in Tillsonburg has left staff so busy, they've been unable to set up phone calls, video chats or window visits with their beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Grace Oatman, who is 89.
Oatman's grandson, Anthony Gatt, said since the outbreak was declared before Christmas, he's had trouble getting through to staff on the phone.
"It's been totally broken communication," he said. "We can't even do window visits, or get them to leave her a message to let her know we're thinking of her. It's a scary situation because I know my grandma is probably quite afraid."
Gatt said he understands Maple Manor staff are under immense strain as they deal with an outbreak that has killed four residents, infected 54 others and led to 34 positive cases among staff in the 103-bed nursing home.
Still, Gatt wishes a staff member could be designated to handle communication between residents and their families.
'It's a scary situation because I know my grandma is probably quite afraid' - Anthony Gatt
"There are a lot of people wanting to talk with their loved ones in there and it's extremely difficult to even get through [on the phone]," he said. "This is the only line of communication we have."
Gatt said his grandmother has significant health challenges, including a cancer diagnosis. She also has hearing loss and other conditions that make it impossible for her to operate a phone, computer or mobile device without help. So far, she has not tested positive for COVID-19.
The family was able to have a window visit with Oatman on Dec. 20 — an event captured in the photo in this story — but since then, Gatt said he's been unable to speak with her grandmother or get staff to convey a message to her.
"We just don't want her to feel that she's alone, or that we've forgotten about her," he said.
Home admits delays
The president of Maple Manor Nursing Home, George Kaniuk, admits there may be some delays in answering calls from family members. He says if they are persistent, they will get a response.
Kaniuk said with 34 staff members out with positive COVID-19 tests, doctors and nurses from other facilities and agencies have stepped in to help. Kaniuk said his staff and the reinforcements are doing a brave and admirable job of caring for residents in the face of a virus that has killed more than 15,000 Canadians, with more than 70 per cent of those deaths among those older than 80.
"It's heart-breaking to watch residents that we've been caring for in our family for 47 years have to confront this very horrible situation," he said. "We ask for families to understand that we are under a lot of stress and pressure right now.
"We're doing everything we can given the situation ... this is not an Ontario problem. This is a war against an invisible virus around the world and everybody is trying to deal with it as best they can."
Gatt said he hopes his grandmother and others in Maple Manor can avoid infection long enough for his grandmother and the people who care for her to be vaccinated.
"Getting the vaccines into these homes should be the No. 1 priority," said Gatt. "Otherwise people are going to die."
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