Aging in the City Speaker Series Archives - 91��ɫU Centre for Aging Research & Education (YU-CARE)

Health ministry slows down routine care home inspections during pandemic

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 14:56:14 +0000

Arthur White-Crummey&�Բ��;&�Բ��;•&�Բ��;&�Բ��;Regina Leader-Post

There are also 250 privately operated personal care homes with 4,600 beds in Saskatchewan. PATRICK LANDMANN / Getty Images

Saskatchewan’s health ministry has pulled back on routine inspections of private personal care homes as it looks at “virtual options,” partly due to concerns that inspectors could spread COVID-19 to vulnerable residents.But experts wonder whether a trust-based approach will be enough to protect Saskatchewan from the kind of devastating outbreaks killing Canadian seniors in other provinces.

The news comes just as Quebec steps up its own inspections amid a tragedy at a private care home west of Montreal, where 31 people died. Nearly half of Canada’s deaths from COVID-19 have occurred at seniors homes, though Saskatchewan has so far been spared a similar outbreak.

Starting this week, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) implemented new masking rules for its own facilities, . But there are also 250 privately operated personal care homes with 4,600 beds in Saskatchewan. They provide varying levels of care and are regulated under a licensing regime with routine annual inspections.

The Ministry of Health conducted six non-complaint-based inspections at those facilities over the entire month of March, when the threat of COVID-19 became palpable in the province.Brad Havervold, executive director of the ministry’s community care branch, said the low number stems in part from infection control measures.“When COVID came on stream, we’re very mindful that, when we’re putting in visitor restrictions, our staff going in there would be a visitor to that home,” said Havervold. “So we want to make sure that we’re doing that safely.”The branch is considering using video technology for inspections as a result.

“Things were evolving so quickly that we wanted to make sure that we weren’t introducing an additional risk,” said Havervold. “But it also allows us some time in that period to look at virtual options.”Havervold saidinspectors still visit facilities based on complaints to respond to pressing concerns. He was not able to say how many times that has happened over recent months, and the ministry could not provide a number within 25 hours of a request from the Leader-Post.Experts in seniors care and public health had trouble understanding the ministry’s reasons for holding back on routine inspections. Dr. Anne Huang, , said inspectors could be fitted with surgical face masks and subjected to temperature checks.

“I don’t think that’s a good reason for not having the inspectors enter these facilities,” she said.If anything, she suggested, the number of inspections should be increased.Tamara Daly, director of the Centre for Aging Research and Education at 91��ɫ in Toronto, does not believe virtual inspections would be sufficient for facilities that provide significant care to seniors.“It’s more than just looking at books,” she said. “It’s observation and conversation that is required in order to properly inspect.They need to be inspected.”There are currently four full-time and two part time inspectors on hand to do routine inspections. Daly said that does not seem like a “robust workforce,” given the number of homes in the system.

She acknowledged that there is a “balance of risk,” but argued that oversight is indispensable to ensure care homes are following the rules.The ministry has issued directives forcing personal care homes to ban visitors, screen staff, ensure two metres of social distancing and limit gatherings to 10. There are also longstanding regulations related to infection control, including around staff training and sanitation of surfaces.“If a home is not compliant with these things, it could actually, in fact, make infection more likely,” said Daly.Havervold argued that personal care home operators are “very honourable people” whose number-once concern is protecting residents. He said the ministry’s priority has been making sure they have accurate information to do precisely that.

“We’ve really ramped up our support for personal care homes,” he said. “So we’ve implemented a toll free line where personal care home operators and staff can phone in, 24 hours a day, and get a recorded message that provides the latest updates on information applicable to personal care homes.”That includes information on enhanced cleaning procedures, proper use of personal protective equipment and the clinical signs of COVID-19, according to the ministry.Care home operators appreciate that support. Colleen Nixon, manager of Gladstone Seniors Residence in 91��ɫton, said the ministry has been “really on top of it.”

She said Gladstone complied with directions, including by shutting the home down to visitors. It’s also done more. The home already had a pandemic plan in place and a stockpile of masks. Workers are wearing masks and gloves whenever they enter resident rooms, she said, and they are restricted from working at any other facilities.That goes beyond what the ministry is requiring. Continuous masking is still only under consideration for personal care homes.Huang said there is no good reason for a different approach depending on whether a home is run by the SHA or a private company. She said both should be subject to similar standards.

“I think that’s only fair to the residents or their families,” she said.Daly said there is no reason to wait to limit workers to just a single home, as British Columbia has already done for both private and public facilities.“I think that that should have been something that happened almost immediately, as soon as governments understood that COVID was a risk,” she said.“We know from SARS that health care workers can bring this from facility to facility. We already learned that lesson. We don’t want to learn that lesson again the hard way.”Huang was also concerned to hear that the ministry is not requiring personal care homes to submit specific plans for COVID-19 prevention. As part of their regular licensing renewals, homes are required to submit a plan about how they would control an influenza outbreak.

“We’ve not specifically gone out to the 250 homes and said, ‘What are you doing today?’ ” Havervold explained. “They are required to do that as part of their standard business.”Again, he said, the focus is on getting out the information.But Huang said that leaves the ministry with little information about whether the homes are really prepared. She called it “a huge gap.”“That means that we have no way of knowing if these necessary measures have been implemented, and that’s going to become a significant risk should a case develop there,” she said.“I don’t think it’s acceptable for the relevant government branch to just say … we expect them to do what they need to do, because it’s an unprecedented risk to the health of the residents.”awhite-crummey@postmedia.com

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Moving Forward: Health and Function in Later Life - Event Re-cap

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 14:00:43 +0000

Dr. Joe Baker (left) and Dr. Jaclyn Hurley (right) standing before the presentations.

Thank you to everyone who made it out on cold and rainy Monday evening to the beautiful and spacious Vaughan Civic Centre Resource Library!

The event featured fascinating presentations about muscle functioning and lifelong health by Professor Joe Baker and Assistant Professor Jaclyn Hurley from the School of Kinesiology and Health Science.

Learn more about our speakers:

Professor Baker’s research focuses on the varying influences on optimal human development and the barriers and facilitators of successful aging. Professor Baker delivered a thought-provoking presentation about how studies of older athletes help us to understand health and function in later life. To read more about his work, follow this link to his .

Professor Hurley studies strategies for chronic musculoskeletal conditions that commonly accompany age, such as osteoarthritis and rotator cuff pathologies. She presented some of her very interesting work about using research to guide the design of exercise for older adults with chronic joint pain. For more information on her studies, please check out her most recent publications on the .

Thank you to our wonderful speakers, and many more thanks to our audience for coming out! We look forward to seeing you all in the new year for our next events.

The post Moving Forward: Health and Function in Later Life - Event Re-cap appeared first on 91��ɫU Centre for Aging Research & Education (YU-CARE).

SAVE THE DATE! Aging in the City Series Speakers Series - November 18th at Vaughan Civic Resource Library

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 20:45:25 +0000

Join us for an exciting discussion on
November 18 at 6pm at the
Civic Centre Resource Library for
Moving Forward: Health and Function in Later Life
as part of the Aging in the City Speakers Series hosted by the 91��ɫ Centre for Aging Research & Education (YU-CARE).

You are invited to a public talk "Aging in the City: Moving Forward - Health and Function in Later Life" on November 18^th at Vaughan Civic Centre Resource Library.

We are excited about this session's discussion by the School of Kinesiology and YU-CARE faculty members Dr. Joe Baker and Jaclyn Hurley, who will be speaking to their fascinating works about exercise as a key to health in later life. Specifically, speakers will be presenting on:

Using research to guide the design of exercise for older adults with joint pain
How studies of older athletes help us understand health and function in later life

Light refreshments and snacks will be served.

Space is limited. Please register soon on or by emailing the YU-CARE Coordinator at yu_care@yorku.ca to secure your spot.

Please share widely and invite colleagues and constituents of your organization to join our discussion.

Dr. Joe Baker:

Dr. Joe Baker is Professor and head of the Lifespan Health and Performance Laboratory in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science, at 91��ɫ, Canada. He has also held visiting researcher/professor positions in the Carnegie Research Institute at Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom, Victoria University and the Australian Institute of Sport in Australia, and the Institute of Sport Science at Westflische Wilhelms-Universit Münster in Germany. His research considers the varying influences on optimal human development, ranging from issues affecting athlete development and skill acquisition to barriers and facilitators of successful aging. Joe is the author/editor of 8 books and hundreds of peer reviewed articles and book chapters. More information on Joe's work can be found at yorku.ca/bakerj and @bakerjyorku on Twitter.

Dr. Jaclyn Hurley:

Dr. Jaclyn Hurley is an Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at 91��ɫ. Her area of expertise is musculoskeletal biomechanics where her research interests include investigating mechanisms of musculoskeletal injury and developing effective exercise rehabilitation strategies for chronic musculoskeletal conditions that commonly accompany age, including osteoarthritis and rotator cuff pathologies.

Event Details:

Event title: Moving Forward: Health and Function in Later Life (part of the YU-CARE Aging in the City Speakers Series)

Event date and time: November 18^th, 2019 from 6:00pm-8:30pm

Event location: Vaughan Civic Centre Resource Library

Event address: 2191 Major MacKenzie Dr W, Vaughan, ON L6A 4W2

Please on Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/36ixDo7

The post SAVE THE DATE! Aging in the City Series Speakers Series - November 18th at Vaughan Civic Resource Library appeared first on 91��ɫU Centre for Aging Research & Education (YU-CARE).