The Proportion of COVID-19 deaths in long-term care was measured in 14 countries. Canada has the worst record.
By Patty Winsa
Independent analysis by the National Institute on Ageing’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Tracker Open Data Working Group suggests the number of deaths in the province’s long-term-care homes, retirement homes and assisted living facilities could be as high as 1,021, according to the report.
‘Where the tragedy really lies’: The crisis in Canada’s long-term care homes
By Ryan Flanagan
"Even the little community transmission we've had has been able to get in and spread around and spread between homes," Dr. Samir Sinha said. "That's where the tragedy really lies for Canada." Sinha's explanation for how COVID-19 could be so destructive in long-term care homes while the rest of the country has avoided such a severe hit echoes that of many others who have closely studied the issue. He said Canada's senior-care sector has long struggled with underfunding and neglect, leading to consequences that include workers being employed at multiple homes and frequently moving between them, making it easier to spread a virus from one facility to another.
Report: Canada has highest proportion of COVID-19 deaths at long-term care facilities
Now that we're here, what do we do about this? "Make sure we are restricting non-essential visitors from homes. Make sure homes are well staffed. Make sure staff know how to take on and off PPE,” said Dr. Samir Sinha.
Ontario inches closer to allowing more doctor support at long-term care home
By Charlie Pinkerton
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 18,310 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario. Out of all of the cases in the provinces, more than one-third – 6815 in total – were in patients at nursing homes, according to data collected by Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing.
More money for seniors during COVID-19
By Michael Riley
A greater tragedy in all this than financial, is the grim toll that COVID-19 has taken on seniors’ health and lives in Long Term Care facilities. Dr. Samir Sinha has compared LTC facilities to tinder boxes;
“You have a group of frail, older adults who are in close quarters with each other, with many of them being cared for by the same individual,” he says.
Grim COVID-19 numbers tell tragic story at Northwood
By Jim Vibert
Geriatrics expert Dr. Samir Sinha told The Herald’s Andrew Rankin that Nova Scotia was slow out of the gate in ensuring workers in LTC wore surgical masks, and in prohibiting nursing home workers from working at multiple facilities.
Whether those measures would have made much difference at Northwood is a question that will need to be answered later, when the crisis has passed.
Study paints grim picture of Canada’s care-home mortality rates
By Blair Crawford
But delays in reporting by Public Health Ontario mean that number, too, could be vastly higher. Canada’s National Institute on Ageing’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Tracker suggests Ontario has more than 6,300 cases and 1,021 deaths in long-term care settings — a 62 per cent mortality rate.
They said there was no playbook for dealing with COVID-19 outbreak at nursing homes. There were several.
By Alyshah Hasham and Jesse McLean
The directive also advised: Wherever possible, homes would work with staff to limit the number of facilities they work at “to minimize risk of patients to exposure to COVID-19.” This was only a recommendation, and would not become a mandatory policy until a month later. “This was one of the ways that SARS was getting between facilities,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, head of geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the University Health Network. “So what did the SARS Commission say back in 2004? We have to end that practice. But we never did — because it would mean we had to fund the system better.”
Union calls for public inquiry, criminal investigations into COVID-19 deaths at long-term care homes
By Lauren Pelley
"I don't think our focus should be on launching a public inquiry while we're in the middle of fighting the fire," said Dr. Samir Sinha. However, with 20 per cent of the province's care homes battling COVID-19 outbreaks, he stressed that people across Ontario — including residents' families and healthcare workers — are looking for answers. "We do need to understand why things happened the way they did, and if there are things we could have done to stem the level of death," Sinha said.
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.”
Long-term care outbreaks continue to rise
Dr. Samir Sinha joins CTV News Channel to talk about COVID-19 in long-term care facilities and says, “We are concerned about a 2nd or 3rd wave. If we reopen too quickly & are not careful enough we're going to start seeing more community transmission & then more risks of hospitalizations more risks of deaths in long-term care homes.”
Nova Scotia delayed implementing federal COVID-19 guideline for long-term care homes
By Andrew Rankin
Dr. Samir Sinha, the country’s foremost geriatrics expert, says Nova Scotia should have moved faster to implement federal COVID-19 guidelines for long-term facilities issued on April 8.”
Banned from nursing homes, families need to know if their loved ones are safe
By Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News
"Researchers in Canada, have developed a useful decision aid for families." The Decision Aids developed by the Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa University, Champlain LHIN and the NIA gets mentioned by CNN. Check out the article.
Coronavirus: Facts vs. Fears
Dr. Samir Sinha joins Dr. Marla Shapiro on CTV News to take questions from viewers and discuss plans some provinces are outlining on how they are going to begin re-opening.
A day with a geriatrician during the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the University Health Network Hospitals in Toronto, gives a glimpse of what his workday is like during the COVID-19 pandemic.
State of open smart communities in Canada
Municipal World writes about the National Institute on Ageing’s report, Improving Canada’s Retirement Income System: A Discussion Paper for Setting Priorities by Keith Ambachtsheer and Michael Nicin.
The Current with Matt Galloway
Dr. Samir Sinha talks to Matt Galloway about the mental health of frontline workers.
“Is there more I could have done?” - Dr. Samir Sinha asks himself that question at night, sometimes in tears after another day fighting
The trauma will change you forever. COVID-19 has exposed problem in long-term care. Will the response fix it?
Dr. Samir Sinha started counting retirement home deaths weeks ago, watching the numbers rise as he and researchers at the National Institute on Ageing tried to track COVID in both systems.
Long-Term Care: The COVID-19 Battleground
"These numbers unfortunately continue to be under estimates of the scale at which Ontario has actually been battling COVID-19 in care homes, said Dr. Samir Sinha. He joined Katey Goalie on CTV News to talk about the numbers released by the Ontario Government on outbreaks in long-term care.
COVID-19 devastating Ontario Care Homes
Dr. Samir Sinha joined CTV News to talk about the Ontario gov't temporary increase in wages for frontline staff. He says it is a step in the right direction & people are starting to realize that these workers deserve to have a living wage.
