Manitoba tabs $15M for care home infection control measures

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This article was published 05/04/2022 (898 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Stefanson government will inject millions into long-term care to stem the pervasive spread of COVID-19, as nursing home operators await further funding and staffing reform in the 2022 budget.

On Wednesday, Premier Heather Stefanson said $15 million would be set aside for infection prevention and control measures in personal care homes as part of the budget, scheduled to be released Tuesday.

“Our seniors have helped shape our beautiful province. They’ve worked hard, they’ve sacrificed for their families and given back to their communities, and they deserve our love, compassion and utmost care,” Stefanson said at a news conference at the Manitoba legislature.

The afternoon announcement had to be relocated to the seat of government following a COVID-19 outbreak at its original site, River Park Gardens personal care home.

The initial funding will have the province hire an infection prevention and control program manager, regional leads and 50 new dedicated staff; the addition of at least 200 full-time housekeeping positions and 44 full-time allied health positions; and improvements to the long-term care sector’s information and communication technology systems.

Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Scott Johnston said the budget commitment responds to some of the recommendations identified in the Stevenson report, an independent review into the devastating COVID-19 outbreak at Maples care home in Winnipeg.

“We have worked diligently to recognize the shortcomings that existed within the system,” Johnston said. “Our government is quite proud of taking a leadership role in ensuring the care of seniors is met by this initiative.”

The minister declined to offer an estimate of the cost to follow through on 17 recommendations put forward by Dr. Lynn Stevenson, a former B.C. associate deputy minister hired to investigate handling of the outbreak in 2020-21. Seventy-four staff and 157 residents were infected; 56 people died.

However, personal care home operators, residents and family members should expect more announcements, Johnston said, but did not go into specifics.

Meanwhile, care home operators welcomed the new provincial funding, expected to improve the health and safety of residents, but said a $15-million investment is not near enough to correct chronic weaknesses in the sector.

“The kind of investments we need in long-term and continuing care is mammoth compared to this first $15 million,” said Jan Legeros, executive director of the Long Term and Continuing Care Association of Manitoba, which represents operators responsible for about half of the care home beds in the province.

Legeros said operators continue to call for the government to increase the number of paid hours per resident  day to 4.1 from 3.6. The number of nurses, health-care aides, and allied health-care staff in the system also needs to be increased, the advocate said.

Inadequate funding of long-term care is a national problem with levels about 30 per cent below other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, Legeros added.

“It’s a total disregard for our seniors in care,” she said. “I am hoping we’re turning the corner on that.”

Julie Turenne-Maynard, executive director of Manitoba Association of Residential and Continuing Care Homes for the Elderly, said the government’s upcoming budget must include an increase to operational funding after a decade of stagnation.

She also echoed calls for increased staffing, more nursing hours per resident day, and a focus on training and recruitment to the sector.

“We’ve been addressing this and bringing it to government for so many years,” Turenne-Maynard said. “I know there’s only so much money in the government of Manitoba’s pockets, but they need to continue to invest in long-term care, and there aren’t any excuses.”

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said he has concerns about the Stevenson report’s recommendations, arguing it was deeply flawed “through no fault of the expert investigator.”

“The PC government never disclosed to the investigator that (Maples operator) Revera lied about the staffing situation during the tragedy,” he told reporters in a scrum Wednesday. “This flaw at the heart of the report means that everything that is built upon that is problematic.”

Stevenson found Ontario-based Revera Inc. made “significant efforts” to bring in staff to the home and made requests to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and the province’s redeployment team for help.

She also found critical staffing levels were not being communicated to the province’s incident command, who indicated it was not fully aware of the staffing crisis. Stevenson previously said the urgency of Revera’s requests may not have been fully appreciated by provincial and regional authorities.

“This government needs to address the fundamental truth about the tragedy that occurred at Maples — which is that it is deeply influenced by information that was concealed by Revera at the time,” Kinew said.

“All the hopes that we have to improve seniors care in Manitoba and to make personal care homes safer — that work would be advanced if we had a more honest, more truthful and not flawed investigation into what took place.”

Also Wednesday, the province announced $260,000 for quality and standards officers, Protection for Persons in Care Office capacity, and to establish a personal care home liaison.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca