By: Mike Anderson
Despite assistance from Southlake Regional Health Centre, River Glen Haven continues to face staffing shortages, as administrative staff are now being asked to provide care to residents, according to several RGH staff members who wish to remain anonymous.
PSWs working 12-hour shifts at the nursing home are also being asked to work overtime hours, in some cases, as much as four hours after their shift ends.
According to one source, several PSWs are on the verge of collapse from exhaustion and stress.
Some staff members have also declined to report to work due to fears of contracting the virus, although the exact number is not known.
Sixteen front-line staff at RGH are now infected, as 38 residents have tested positive with four COVID-19 deaths reported.
While Southlake has tested residents and staff and is assisting with infection prevention, education and PPE training, it’s not clear how many actual hospital staff are in the facility on a daily basis.
For instance, Southlake has not yet deployed nursing staff to the home, according to the ministry of health.
RGH is currently relying on its agency staff and Central LHIN volunteers to support resident care, said Hayley Chazan, a senior spokesperson with the ministry of health in an email to The Post.
“Southlake is conducting a review of the home’s staffing needs to better understand its current status, needs and patterns,” she said.
“A high-level work-plan will be shared this week and could include the possible deployment of hospital staff to River Glen, based on the outcome of this review.”
Ms. Chazan also said there are no plans to move residents to Southlake Regional Health Centre or another offsite location.
The Post has attempted to contact Karen Ryan, the administrator at RGH, and the home’s owner, Jordan Kannampuzha, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ATK Care Group Ltd, to comment on the staffing shortage, but, as of posting, no response has been received.
The Post has also asked Mr. Kannampuzha to comment on his decision to repair the nursing home’s parking lot during the outbreak, as the construction has forced EMS vehicles to use the rear entrance.
However, again, as of posting, no response has been forthcoming.
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Posted on Fb a couple of days ago
CALLING ALL NOISE MAKERS, SQEAKY WHEELS AND CAGE RATTLERS.
Hello fellow Georginians.
I rarely post. But I’m concerned about some of our not forgotten Heroes, but Heroes in desperate need.
I guess I’m looking for brainstorming as well. Maybe triggering something in somebody that can do something.
I’m talking about the staff at River Glen nursing home. All Georgina nursing homes really.
This town has been amazing sending food and flowers and messages of Hope and thanks.
They need physical help at the homes.
It must be feel Mash unit without the comedy.
Vulnerable Elders are dying alone and in pain because the staff are working twice as hard without help. Doing a half as productive of a job because of understaffing. And the staff are getting sick too.
How long do we think the staff can do this?
They’re all going to break at some point.
So what can we do as a society or as a Township or as caring Neighbors to help? I know they’ll take volunteers that have no training. They won’t have direct contact with patients but they can do other things it will free up some of the time of the trained staff.
I see the problem with that request. It would be risky for people. And even more so to have compromised immune systems, or live with elderly people in the home.
I feel helpless. As I’m sure many of us do. There’s just got to be something we can do. How do we go about even maybe making enough noise so that trained proper help is given.
I heard the Army’s working in some places why not up here.? How do we get physical bodies in there to help carry the load?
Can you imagine even when this gets calmed down in the nursing homes how wrecked the staff is going to be physically and mentally. We need to help them.
I don’t know what the answer is. I’m hoping by postingI about this maybe, with crowdsourcing we can come up with solutions.
TIA