Panel to review performance of long-term care homes during COVID-19 pandemic
CBC News | Posted: June 10, 2022 6:22 PM | Last Updated: June 10, 2022
Panel will make recommendations to government
An external panel of experts and community leaders has been tasked with studying the performance of Prince Edward Island's public and private long-term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Items to be considered by P.E.I.'s long-term care COVID-19 panel, according to a news release, include:
- Impact on staff, residents, essential caregivers and leadership.
- Infection prevention and control and outbreak characteristics.
- Health human resources (retention, additional resources, training).
- Infrastructure, including renovations and outbreak readiness and site-level characteristics.
The panel will engage with diverse stakeholders including residents, families and caregivers, long-term care staff, health professionals, unions and geriatricians from across the province to gain a deeper understanding of the widespread impacts of COVID-19 on the long-term care sector.
The release said it is expected that the panel will identify best practices, review the current state of long-term care against the proposed national standards, and deliver recommendations and solutions to ensure the system can meet these standards.
An internal long-term care review conducted during the pandemic revealed aspects of the long-term care sector (public and private homes) which require additional planning, policy, program and service reforms in order to respond to emerging challenges and reduce inequities. These issues include:
- Health human resources.
- Infection prevention and control activities.
- Access to personal protective equipment.
- Adverse event reporting.
- Quality assessment.
- Resident health outcomes.
Long-term care COVID-19 panel members include Michele Dorsey, a certified mediator and a retired lawyer, Cynthia Bryanton, a registered nurse, Blair Corkum, a chartered professional accountant, Janice Keefe, a professor and director of the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging at Mount Saint Vincent University, and Carole Estabrooks of the University of Alberta.