Only a fraction of long-term-care residents killed by COVID-19 were taken to hospital. A Mount Sinai doctor says the system ‘shut them out’ with beds available
By: Kenyon Wallace
Only a fraction of long-term-care residents killed by COVID-19 were taken to hospital. A news study by Associate Fellow at the NIA, Nathan Stall says the system ‘shut them out’ with beds available.
Long-term care commission urges Ontario to improve inspections, enforcement
By: Laura Stone
Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA a geriatrician who has testified twice at the commission, said the members are committed to understanding the systemic issues plaguing long-term care homes and called on the government to act on their recommendations quickly.
“Currently our inspections process is broken,” he said. “I definitely would invest in the system to make sure that it actually has the capacity ... to make sure that every home is receiving a comprehensive annual inspection.”
Long-term care industry waiting for advice on COVID-19 vaccine rollout
By: Kelly Grant and Karen Howlett
“Time saves lives,” said Samir Sinha, director of health policy research at the NIA . If Health Canada authorizes the first COVID-19 vaccine this month, as the regulator has signalled it will, and doses languish in freezers for even a short time, “there’ll be more cases of COVID and more deaths,” Dr. Sinha said. “And that will just be an absolute shame.”
Doctors concerned about rise in dangerous medications in long-term care homes during pandemic
By: Kaleigh Alkenbrack
Faced with staff shortages and lockdowns that restrict caregiver visits, nursing homes increasingly fall back on medications to regulate behaviour and manage mental health concerns, says Toronto geriatrician Dr. Nathan Stall.
Protecting Seniors from COVID At What Cost
The restrictions intended to protect seniors against COVID-19 have created other unintended consequences. Is the sacrifice many families are making - to stay apart for the greater good - really the best approach for seniors' health? Geriatrician and NIA Associate Fellow Dr. Nathan Stall and psychiatrist-in-chief Dr. Lesley Wiesenfeld at Sinai Health weigh in, as does journalist Christina Frangou.
How COVID-19 has changed the way families think about long-term care in Ontario
By Daina Goldfinger
“I think what we’ve really seen is that the public’s confidence in our long-term care system has been greatly shaken,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, health policy research director at Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing, one of the organizations behind the survey.
'I’ll put on a Hazmat suit just to sit down and talk to her': Prince Albert man hopes long term care home COVID-19 restrictions eased by Christmas
By: Francois Biber
A doctor with the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) said families and caregivers should be allowed to visit loved ones in long term care homes - if they are treated like care-home staff.
Dr. Samir Sinha, director of health policy research for NIA and director of geriatrics with the Sinai Health System in Toronto, said the effects of isolating family members far outweighs the risk of spreading the virus in a care home.
Ask Me Anything: Dr. Samir Sinha on long-term care
Long-term care homes across the country are once again facing a wave of COVID-19 outbreaks. Dr. Samir Sinha is the director of geriatrics at Sinai Health System and University Health Network Hospitals in Toronto and answers caller questions.
How Ontario's second wave of COVID-19 is hitting long-term care
"The greatest predictor of whether a home is going to experience an outbreak is community transmission," said Dr. Nathan Stall, a geriatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. "Where you have more community transmission, you have a worse number of outbreaks."
Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the National Institute on Ageing joins CTV News Channel to discuss the myCOVID19VisitRisk Decision Aid.
Read MoreFord asks Trudeau for details of vaccine types, quantities, and timing
By Iain Sherriff-Scott
The requirement for Pfizer’s vaccine could throw a logistical wrench into its widespread distribution, Dr. Samir Sinha told iPolitics in an interview.
My COVID Risk Decision Tool
Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the National Institute on Ageing in Toronto joined Ismaila Alfa on CBC Metro Morning to discuss the new expert-informed #myCOVID19VisitRisk Decision Aid to help anyone better appreciate the potential risks of visiting with others during this pandemic.
Rapid tests are a game changer, Doug Ford says. Public Health Ontario’s head of microbiology has a very different view
By: Kate Allen
False negatives — missing a positive case — could have obviously devastating consequences in long-term care, where residents are acutely vulnerable to severe disease and where almost two-thirds of Ontario’s COVID deaths have occurred. But false positives — inaccurately flagging a positive case — can also have dire consequences, says Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the National Institute on Ageing, another expert who provided advice.
Ontario in 'precarious situation,' health officials say, as new modelling shows slower COVID-19 growth
COVID-19 growth rates are slowing in Ontario, new provincial modelling shows — but health officials warn the province is not yet seeing the decline in cases that would be needed before any restrictions are loosened. Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the National Institute on Ageing, speaks to CBC News.
COVID-19 Rapid Testing
Are the new rapid COVID-19 tests rolling out to long term care homes the "game-changer" the province is billing them as? Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the National Institute on Ageing joined CBC Metro morning and says they are not "a silver bullet."
Coronavirus: Isolation taking a toll on mental health of Sask. seniors, some experts say
By Katelyn Wilson
“While we are so busy trying to protect (seniors) from COVID, they might end up dying of isolation and loneliness and we have started hearing cases from people saying, ‘I want to die,'” said Dr. Samir Sinha, the director of Health Policy Research for the National Institute on Ageing, and the director of geriatrics for the Sinai Health System. The National Institute on Ageing has been tracking COVID-19 across the country and the toll it’s taken on retirement homes.
Fighting a Second Wave in Long-Term Care Homes
Long-term care homes have been some of the hardest hit places by COVID-19 in this province. Considering the lessons from the first wave, why is that still happening? The Agenda discusses the current state of virus control in long-term care homes with Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the National Institute on Ageing.
Pattie Lovett-Reid: Worried about outliving your money? Time to rethink CPP
I was recently hosting the FPCanada Symposium and had the privilege of listening to Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Director of Financial Security Research, National Institute on Ageing. She fundamentally believes most Canadians who can afford to defer their CPP/QPP benefits should do so. By delaying your benefits you are essentially purchasing an inexpensive, inflation-indexed and very secure defined benefit pension.
Rethinking your Canada Pension Plan
CTV's Pattie Lovett-Reid discusses upcoming NIA research by Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Director of Financial Security Research, National Institute on Ageing on why more Canadians should consider delaying their #CPP Benefits. It’s the best way to boost inflation protected retirement income for life.
Read MoreA look at what has gone wrong in Ontario long-term care amid the coronavirus pandemic
By Ryan Rocca
Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA has spent much of the year studying how eight out of 10 COVID-19 deaths in Canada’s first coronavirus wave were in long-term care.
