Long-term Care Summary Document (Apr 29)
COVID-19 Support for Long-Term Care Facilities
Discussion Forum – April 29, 2021
In an effort to support long-term care (LTC) facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the East Toronto Family Practice Network (EasT-FPN), in collaboration with the Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), hosts a bi-weekly virtual LTC discussion forum. The forum is intended to connect care leaders with MGH specialists, the Nurse Led Outreach Team (NLOT), Ontario Health Home and Community Care and Toronto Public Health (TPH), by providing clinical & practice recommendations, information and resources. Join us monthly. Get additional clinical & practice support and help strengthen East Toronto, by becoming a member of the EasT-FPN.
Key Updates & Summary of Apr 29 /2021 Discussion
There have been changes in LTC in that Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients are being taken on by those LTC facilities that have the capacity to do so.
As unimmunized essential caregivers and staff are still testing positive, it is imperative to continue making vaccines more easily accessible in LTC facilities and providing education to address vaccine hesitancy. Peer-to-peer discussions are encouraged to continue.
From the week of May 3rd, 2021, staff at LTC facilities will have to be booked by clinics as NLOT may not be vaccinating staff for now - they will only vaccinate residents at this time. However, TPH will be providing vaccines to LTC staff as long as requests for vaccines are made with a minimum of 6 individuals at hand.
Sinai Health has created a risk assessment tool that allows LTC facilities to assess whether they have the capacity to resume specific activities for the seniors - click here for the tool.
Question and Answer:
Q: If a resident is fully immunized, is it mandatory for them to be swabbed as soon as they arrive at the LTC facility?
A: The directive states that residents must be swabbed upon transfer and isolated until they receive the results of their COVID-19 test.
Q: Is there a push to vaccinate individuals before their transfer?
A: Everyone that meets the eligibility criteria is being vaccinated in the hospital.
Q: How well do the current vaccines work against other variants?
A: The vaccines still protect against the UK variant and are cautiously optimistic on the South African variant. Overall, the protection against variants is not as good as they were with the original wild strain and further studies must be done to get a definite answer for its effectiveness against the new variants.
Q: Are LTC facilities resuming normal activities?
A: Many facilities are resuming activities while ensuring activities are done in small groups with social distancing. Please see the risk assessment tool to see if your facility can resume activities as well.
Q: Has the screening for LTC facilities changed?
A: Screening is not congruent across all LTC facilities. Many facilities are doing rapid antigen testing 3x a week while others are doing it everyday. With regards to temperature checks and PCR testing, some facilities are continuing temperature checks and PCR testing while others are not.