Canada’s soldiers have provided a wake-up call for our long-term care system

By Samir Sinha and Michael Nicin

Canada’s armed forces have bravely endured and seen far worse things abroad than at home – or so we thought. A clear and utterly disturbing dispatch released by the military this week brought to light the horrific and unimaginable working and living conditions of staff and residents at five long-term care homes in Ontario. An additional report outlined gaps in care at some nursing homes in Quebec. While the military had been sent in to support the fight against COVID-19, armed forces personnel discovered damage far beyond what the virus had caused.

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Nationalizing care homes won’t necessarily improve the situation

By John Ibbitson

Michael Nicin, executive director of the National Institute on Ageing, says proof that one ownership model is better than another at keeping residents safe just isn’t there. “At the moment, we’re seeing ideological fervour more than we are reasonable discussion on available data,” he said.

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Canada’s pandemic record is good, but we failed when it came to protecting senior homes

By the Editorial Board

This disparity was made plain last week when the National Institute on Ageing (NIA), a Toronto-based think tank, said that 82 per cent of the COVID-19-related deaths in Canada involved residents of nursing homes and seniors residences.

Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, effectively confirmed that number when she said federal data put the figure at 81 per cent.

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Canadian Labour Congress calls for end to privately owned long-term care facilities after COVID-19 deaths

By Robert Fife

According to the National Institute of Ageing at Ryerson University in Toronto, 82 per cent of COVID-19 deaths in Canada were connected to long-term care homes. On Thursday, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam also said that about 81 per cent of deaths are linked to long-term care facilities.

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Nova Scotia struggles to contain coronavirus outbreak ravaging nursing home

By Greg Mercer and Kelly Grant

“The tragedy unfolding at Northwood is more proof that Canada is experiencing ‘a tale of two epidemics,’ Dr. Sinha said. At least 2,330 residents of Canadian seniors’ homes have died of COVID-19 as of Friday, according to Dr. Sinha and a team of researchers at the National Institute on Ageing, which has also been tracking deaths in nursing and retirement homes. That works out to about 70 per cent of Canada’s COVID-19 deaths.”

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Families face tough call over removing loved ones from long-term care

By Kelly Grant & Wendy Stueck

Removing a loved one from long-term care is not easy, said Samir Sinha. Some families may have the capacity to care for elderly parents and grandparents while they work from home during the pandemic, but not when they return to the office. Others may not have a choice because the medical needs of their relatives can’t be managed at home.

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If you can get your relatives out of seniors’ homes, try to do so as fast as you can

By Andre Picard

“If my mom was in long-term care, I would pull her out. Now.”

Dr. Samir Sinha, Canada’s foremost geriatrics expert, is blunt. The rapid spread of coronavirus in seniors’ residences is “very, very bad news” and, unless the response changes dramatically, families should seriously consider bringing their loved ones to relative safety.

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Why nursing homes are so vulnerable to COVID-19 catastrophe

By Nathan Stall and Samir Sinha

Bobcaygeon’s Pinecrest Nursing Home has suffered a catastrophic outbreak of coronavirus that has killed 14 residents and one visiting spouse, with at least 24 staff members infected. It’s a tragedy workers at the home have likened to a “war zone.” Sadly, it’s not likely over yet, nor is this a unique case. The first major Canadian outbreak occurred in the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver, and since then it has emerged in more than 600 care homes in Canada, and in more than 400 in the United States.

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‘It is a very dire situation’: Atleast 600 nursing, retirement homes in Canada have coronavirus cases

By Kelly Grant, Les Perreaux, and Jill Mahoney

One of the reasons COVID-19 outbreaks have been difficult to control in nursing homes is the way it sometimes presents itself in the old and sick.

The elderly tend to have weakened immune systems, meaning they don’t always spike a high fever when their bodies struggle to fight off an infection, said Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Sinai Health System and University Health Network in Toronto.

If they feel ill, he added, they aren’t necessarily capable of communicating it. He said 70 per cent of people in nursing homes have dementia. "The chances are they might not be able to recognize the symptoms they are having and be able to clearly articulate what they’re actually feeling,” Dr. Sinha said.

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