Hospital taking over care at COVID-19-ravaged Pickering LTC home

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“I love you, mom,” she said, their hands separated by a pane of glass.

Diane Colangelo wept Wednesday as she visited her 86-year-old mother Patricia through a window at Orchard Villa Long-Term Care Home in Pickering — among the province’s hardest-hit facilities in the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

“I feel helpless because my mom is in there and we can’t do anything to help her,” she said, her voice shaking. “We just love her so much, and we just can’t help because she’s in there and we’re out here.”

Thirty-one Orchard Villa residents have died since the beginning of the outbreak, prompting the region on Wednesday to order Lakeridge Health — Durham Region’s hospital network — to take charge of the facility’s COVID-19 response.

“We recognize that this is a very tragic, difficult and stressful time for residents and their families,” said Durham’s chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Kyle, in a statement.

“The Health Department and Lakeridge Health will work very closely with Orchard Villa to provide the necessary supports to help decrease or eliminate the risks to health associated with the current COVID-19 outbreak.”

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Clinicians and infection patrol teams experienced in coronavirus infections arrived at the home Wednesday, which has seen more than 100 residents and staff fall ill with COVID-19.

There, they will develop a plan to combat the outbreak and provide care to residents, as well as conduct screening and infection surveillance of residents, staff and essential visitors, specimen collection, and overseeing all aspects of clinical care.

Ontario’s long-term care homes have borne a tragic brunt of the outbreak.

Across the province, 127 long-term care facilities recorded outbreaks by Wednesday, resulting in 448 deaths.

Ontario’s hardest hit home, Eatonville Care Home in Etobicoke, has seen 36 deaths.

Three-hundred and sixty-seven new cases were reported over the past 24 hours in Ontario’s nursing homes, with 1,985 residents and 957 staff testing positive.

Family members of Orchard Villa hope the new measures will improve communications with administration, which they claim has been less than satisfactory.

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Colangelo said she and her sister have tried to get the results of their mother’s COVID-19 test results, with no success.

“It’s been over five days since she was tested,” she said Wednesday.

“There’s no words.”

Sandy Brown, whose 91-year-old mother, Doreen, tested positive, said problems were exacerbated by a chronic lack of workers.

“Nursing homes are notoriously understaffed, and a crisis like this puts everything right over the brink,” she said.

“People here are suffering, and all of the staff are suffering.”

— With files from Veronica Henri

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume