August 2021

The Village of Humber Heights

Long Term Care Family Council Meeting

Tuesday August 3, 2021, 7 p.m.

Present: Heinz Belzer (Chair), Kathryn Bennett (Secretary), Jill Burnie, Roswita Busskamp, Domenica Hoyes, Shyami Jayasundera, Teresa LaFave (Vice Chair), Marcia McGovern, Sabine Moore, Leslie Morrell

Also, Constance Williams

Guest: Pauline Del Osso, General Manager, Long Term Care

Regrets: Pat Valenti, Sandra Scheverie

The meeting was brought to order at 7:03 p.m. by the Chair. He welcomed all attendees and introduced Pauline Del Osso. Pauline will introduce Eric Jaffary, Director of Recreation at the September meeting.

Pauline was asked to provide an update on the current situation at VHH. She reported that they are doing pretty well but not letting their guard down. They are nervous as things are opening up again. She commented on the outbreak at the Village of Tansley Wood (VTW), in which four fully vaccinated residents died. Since VTW did not have an outbreak in the first round they were not seen as high risk by Public Health and had trouble getting vaccine support for clinics as VHH has been able to do. This did not help them in dealing with some staff hesitancy about being vaccinated. She expressed gratitude for the partnership VHH has established with Humber River Regional Hospital (HRRH) which has made it possible for them to make more specialized arrangements. HRRH was named as one of four vaccination supersites and were responsible for helping 15 different long term care homes get vaccinated. VHH has themselves vaccinated over 1000 people with their help. Vaccinations are continuing to be done every 28 days.

Out of 490 staff, VHH has 30 employees who are not intending to get vaccinated. They are continuing to do daily rapid testing and weekly PCR testing. Those vaccinated shouldn’t really get sick but the residents are vulnerable. They have provided lanyards for essential caregivers to show the level of vaccination they have received. If they are fully vaccinated, they are permitted in the dining room and do not need to wear face shields. Those who are not can only go to the resident’s room. Employees who have not been vaccinated must wear a mask and face shield. Hand washing precautions are being maintained and they do audits of this about fifty times per day. They are allowed to do entertainment again and to get the residents out for it but are still trying to keep the Retirement and LTC sides separate.

Visits are being handled somewhat differently this year. They now have less room in the courtyards as they are using them for residents and caregivers. Up to ten are allowed to meet in a group and often the Hobby Shop or Community Centre are being used for these as they have a kitchen and allow residents to be sheltered from the weather.

Of the 30 unvaccinated employees, approximately half are dietary staff and very few are PSWs on neighbourhoods. A couple are RPNs. Some of those who have not been vaccinated have declined for medical reasons. Staff on LTC are 85 percent vaccinated.

It was questioned whether there are unvaccinated caregivers coming into VHH and the answer is yes. They cannot legally discriminate about them coming in based on whether they are vaccinated or not but unvaccinated caregivers are held to a higher standard and must wear face shields as previously noted. The nurses’ association,

the medical association and the Ontario Long Term Care Association are lobbying for mandatory vaccination of staff. Continuing efforts are being made to persuade those reluctant to be vaccinated. It helps too that community spread is down.

Friends of residents wanting to visit are allowed if fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated visitors must visit outdoors. There seemed to be some confusion about this as a member had been told they could enter the building. This is allowed if the resident is unable to go out. They cannot deny access as residents are allowed to have visitors. VHH enforces the minimum standard and families can insist on more for their residents. Visits are considered good for residents if they can be done safely.

It was questioned whether rapid testing will still be done in September. IPAC funding ends then but it has not yet been communicated whether government funding for rapid tests will stop then.

It was questioned whether there is anything the Family Council could do to help. Pauline asked that we remember that the rules re precautions are for the minimum and said everyone is encouraged to be more careful than the rules require where ever we go and not just at VHH. It is important to be mindful of what we do outside of VHH because the spread comes in from the community. It was suggested as well that the FC could write a piece explaining how important it is to us that the staff who care for our loved ones be vaccinated. Advocating to Premier Ford is also a possibility. Fear and conspiracy theories are generally at the root of vaccine resistance.

Pauline undertook to look at their mapping and will study who is unvaccinated and consider the underlying conditions of the residents they care for. They are currently moving staff around a bit and this could be another reason to do so.

A member commented that she had recently sensed a lighter mood and improved staff morale, which positively impacts residents. As well better weather is helping. Pauline commented that they have been working with staff on having friendlier welcomes.

In reply to a question about antibody testing it was noted that VHH is part of a Covid spit test study which looks at antibodies and immunity. This study is open to both residents and family members in the Fireside Lounge and will run until March. There is also talk about the possibility of booster shots for seniors in the fall, and this may tie in with flu shots, but this is just talk so far.

Other questions were also addressed, which lead to some discussion about critical incident reports, which are generated by VHH according to established criteria, as well as the mix of ages in LTC. There are a variety of conditions that may result in younger persons coming into LTC and this adds complexity as the staff are trained mostly in care for seniors.

It was noted that the Ministry records online don’t indicate the presence of a Family Council. Pauline will ask them to update this.

Activities and exercise continue in both LTC and Retirement and have never stopped during Covid. They are kept separate. These should appear on the calendars that are provided. They are looking to do more bus outings and drives in the near future but not yet shopping.

Some additional questions were identified after Pauline left the meeting. It had been observed that staff arriving for work were getting held up in a long line up of family members being tested and were concerned about being late for their shift. As well it would be helpful to know what the requirements re for hiring a private PSW. A list of what needs to be done and communicated would be useful. A member agreed to draft a message to other family members to learn more about their experiences.

Approval of Minutes

Draft minutes of the previous meeting held July 6, 2021 had been previously circulated. It was moved and seconded that they be approved. The motion passed with all in favour.

Business Arising from the Minutes

It was agreed that further discussion about a music program would be deferred to the next meeting when Eric would be present.

At the previous meeting there had been a discussion about different organizations that provide help to caregivers. A member had discovered that St. John’s Ambulance (Halton) has been running a free four-part program for several years and is willing to attend a Zoom meeting with us in October to tell us about it. This will be arranged.

New Business

The possibility of an in-person meeting for October was raised for discussion and after some discussion it was agreed that meetings would continue to be held by Zoom for the foreseeable future. Annual Care Conferences are now done remotely as well and VHH plans to continue this way.

The topic of succession for the positions of Chairman and Secretary was raised and will be discussed further at the September meeting. Options for a less structured Family Council were mentioned. Some interest was also expressed in having some dialogue with the Residents’ Council.

Other Business

There being no other business the meeting ended at 8:55 p.m.

Date of next Meeting: Tues. September 7, 2021, 7 p.m.

We encourage you to visit our website: https://sites.google.com/view/vhhfamilycouncil/home or

contact us by email: VHHfamilycouncil@gmail.com, or join us as we meet on the first Tuesday of each month through Zoom from 7-9 p.m. Link available if you contact us by email.