An order by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) has placed Roberta Place Long Term Care Home in Barrie under the temporary leadership of Orillia Soldiers Memorial Hospital (OSMH.
It’s to help bring a current outbreak at Roberta Place under control. The order was issued Saturday.
“The residents and staff at Roberta Place have been hit very hard with this current COVID-19 outbreak and our thoughts are with them during this extremely difficult time,” says Dr. Charles Gardner, SMDHU’s medical officer of health. “In consultation with the facility, we have determined that the support of OSMH is essential. This outbreak, unfortunately, has spread very rapidly and affected a large number of residents and staff. The leadership of OSMH, together with a number of other agencies and organizations, is necessary to bring it under control.”
The outbreak was declared on January 8th when a resident tested positive for COVID-19. Since then it has spread rapidly, with 63 residents and 53 staff testing positive so far. To date, there have been nine deaths associated with the outbreak.
Under the order, OSMH provides leadership support at the facility, working with other organizations that have been providing assistance, including Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, the County of Simcoe, the Red Cross and Georgian College.
Some of that assistance includes ensuring that staffing, training, and equipment and supplies are in place so that the facility can continue to respond to and control the outbreak.
“The circumstances unfolding at Roberta Place are heartbreaking and our thoughts are with the families, patients and care providers directly impacted by this outbreak,” says Carmine Stumpo, president and CEO of OSMH. “We have been asked and are now providing a leadership role to support Roberta Place, in collaboration with the other organizations, and are committed to working together toward the best possible outcomes for all those involved.”
As of today, all residents and staff at the facility have been tested for COVID-19. Testing is also underway to determine if the UK variant strain is part of this outbreak.
A total of 71 residents who were not cases or ill and a number of the staff and eligible staff at Roberta Place were vaccinated against COVID-19 on-site on Saturday through the health unit’s mobile immunization unit. Staff and essential caregivers of all LTC homes in Simcoe Muskoka have been receiving their vaccination at the COVID-19 Immunization Clinic in Barrie, a partnership between SMDHU, RVH and the City of Barrie, since it opened December 22, 2020.
Recent weeks have seen significant and continually increasing cases of COVID-19 in Simcoe Muskoka. Seniors 80 years of age and older had the highest rate of infection so far in January, with 80 per cent of these cases associated with an institutional outbreak.
Over the weekend MOH Dr. Gardner issued an order under the HPPA that will support Roberta Place Long-Term Care Home in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. https://t.co/Zx8NEFOFRc pic.twitter.com/2Y751Kvt9u
— SMDHU (@SMDhealthunit) January 18, 2021