Ottawa Hospital taking over resident care at 2 nursing homes
West End Villa, Laurier Manor in midst of serious COVID-19 outbreaks
The Ottawa Hospital will take over care of residents at two Ottawa long-term care homes with serious COVID-19 outbreaks, the province announced Friday.
The Ministry of Long-term Care said the "voluntary arrangements" between the hospital and Extendicare, which operates West End Villa and Laurier Manor, will help the homes address and contain COVID-19 within those facilities.
West End Villa is experiencing the most severe outbreak seen in a facility in the city in recent months, with 87 cases and 11 deaths, according to the latest Ottawa Public Health (OPH) numbers.
Laurier Manor, which had an outbreak earlier this spring that saw 103 cases and 25 deaths among its residents, is experiencing another outbreak with 19 cases of COVID-19 this September, according to OPH. No deaths have been reported there so far.
The new agreement means that The Ottawa Hospital will take over managing resident care in both homes.
"I am confident that the dedicated staff at The Ottawa Hospital will work together with [the facilities] ... and contain these COVID-19 outbreaks," said Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton in the news release.
Extendicare 'grateful' for help
"We deeply appreciate their support," wrote Extendicare regional director Cory Nezan in an email to CBC News.
Nezan said similar partnerships were "extremely" helpful for other Extendicare facilities during the first wave. The company runs long-term care homes in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
"We are grateful for any and all help that can be provided to keep our people safe and help us make sure our residents receive the quality of care that they and their families expect," wrote Nezan.
This type of management contract is one of the measures the province says it's implementing on behalf of residents and staff at long-term care homes. Other measures include staffing support, more testing and emergency funding.
The ministry says it will continue to make decisions on which facilities will need more support through such contracts with hospitals on a case-by-case basis.
