"Once you have that framework in mind, it is actually pretty easy to start framing everything else in a way that respects the rights of residents," says NIA Director of Health Policy Research, Dr. Samir Sinha.
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You should still get a booster even if you’ve just had COVID, according to Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research. Dr. Sinha recommends getting a booster – or even a fourth shot if eligible.
“We don’t know how strong your level of natural immunity will be in response to a recent infection with COVID. And we don’t necessarily know how long it will last,” Sinha tells Global News.
How can you bring up peri- or menopausal issues with a manager who you don’t think will be supportive?
"When deciding how to approach this with your employer, it’s important to first consider what kind of workplace you are in. Some organizations have fostered cultures where you can have all kinds of open conversations. Other organizations don’t have that type of open culture, so when you encounter an issue – whether it’s menopause or another wellness-related health issue – those conversations can become really difficult," said Lisa Taylor, NIA Associate Fellow and Founder and President at Challenge Factory.
NIA Director of Health Policy Research, Dr. Samir Sinha, says there was already a shortage of staff in long-term care homes across the province. "Right now, two years into the pandemic, we just don't have the resilience in our system in terms of the adequate amount of staff and supports that we can actually provide in a crisis."
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"Sometimes children of elderly parents bully them into giving up driving," says Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research. Rather than having a family member shut down driving, he recommends a thorough conversation with the person who is driving to determine their driving fitness and views around driving.
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“This is the highest number we have ever had, and we haven’t even reached the peak,” Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, said in an interview. “It’s the ultimate letdown to have one of the government’s smartest ministers put in charge of tackling this file resign on a day when Ontario has never seen so many long-term care homes in a COVID-19 outbreak.”
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If Toronto succeeds with its plans to transform all city-operated nursing homes, it will become a North American municipal leader in long-term care, said Dr. Samir Sinha, co-chair of Toronto’s seniors’ accountability group and NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
Sinha said the city has a seniors strategy that elevated community support for older adults and focused on long-term care. Still, he said, the possibility of extra staff in nursing homes does not immediately mean Toronto will succeed with high-quality emotion-centred care.
"What we've seen across the country — and in Alberta as well — is just an explosive growth in the number of continuing care environments that are actually experiencing outbreaks just because Omicron is that contagious," said Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
"And as it spreads widely in the community, it's only a matter of time before it gets into the home via people coming into the home, like workers or potentially visitors as well."
Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, told CTV News that it seems long-term care homes are following the right steps from a public health standpoint in having close contacts isolate.
“We don't know even which of the double or triple vaccinated people might get seriously ill and might end up dying,” he said.
"The protocols that have been approved in this home will and have certainly greatly improved the quality of life of the home’s residents," said Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
But Dr. Sinha cautions that with increased activity, there may be a higher risk of COVID-19 transmission among residents and staff, since Omicron can still infect those who are fully vaccinated.
Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, said while a fourth shot may provide benefit in certain vulnerable populations who are at risk of waning immunity, it still remains to be seen if a mass rollout among the general population is needed going forward.
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“Side effects often tell us that our immune systems are actually working and are responding as they should to the vaccine,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
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“When it comes to financial planning, people really can’t think long-term,” says Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, who researches financial security issues at the National Institute on Ageing, a think tank associated with Ryerson University. “We are hard wired to be optimistic and to react to short-term problems."
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Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, said he will “tear a strip off” medical students who use the “poor historian” reference when speaking of older adults. “It ties into the notion of ageism,” he said.
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The province has not mandated vaccinations for personal care home staff, and has not released vaccine uptake information for the sector. That was a mistake, says Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
New care home outbreaks could have been prevented with mandatory vaccination for staff and better investments in retaining and recruiting workers, he said Friday.
Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, told CTV News that it seems long-term care homes are following the right steps from a public health standpoint in having close contacts isolate.
“We don't know even which of the double or triple vaccinated people might get seriously ill and might end up dying,” he said.
A recent survey by the National Institute on Ageing found that almost 100 per cent of Canadians aged 65 and older planned to live in their own home for as long as possible. Yet Canada spends 87 per cent of long-term care dollars on institutionalizing people in nursing homes rather than at-home assistance. Moreover, few options exist for older Canadians between the home alone and institutional care ends of the housing continuum.
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“The biggest concern is, are we going to have enough beds available even to provide basic levels of care for COVID patients coming in that don’t necessarily require an ICU bed, but require a bed nonetheless? The worry is that we might not have enough of those,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.
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NIA Director of Health Policy Research Dr. Samir Sinha described allowing health-care workers to return five days after a positive result as a bet the majority will not be infectious.
"You are going to have people who are infectious, who are back at work, who are tired, who are exhausted and in a low-staffed environment," Sinha said. "And this is exactly how the virus can prey, it’s how it’s preyed in long-term care settings, and it can explode like wildfire."
The new buildings would incorporate aspects of the so-called Green House model, doing away with large, institutional-type facilities.
Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, said that besides appropriate staffing, smaller living quarters need adequate government funding, beyond the traditional formula for the current, higher number of residents per unit.