Thought of the Day - October 22 2021 - We Still Don't Care About Our Care Homes

It was almost a year ago when I wrote that Belgium had the worst Care Home death levels in the world ( Thought of the Day - November 27 - Human Rights in Belgium ). Specifically, the high percentage of COVID-19 deaths in the country that occurred in Senior Residence populations. Amnesty International called out in 2020 that the basic human rights of elderly people in Care Homes in Belgium had been violated during the coronavirus pandemic. I was concerned that Canada was not far behind.

Well, guess what has happened since? Canada is now the worst in the world. While exact figures are, purposely, hard to come by, it still looks like over 70% of Canada's COVID-19 deaths are Care Home patrons.

BC led off with the tragic case of the Lynn Valley Care Centre in the spring of 2020. At that time COVID was still novel and so you could say we were caught by surprise. But this month's Burnaby Willingdon Care Home travesty (highlighted in last Sunday's entry Thought of the Day - October 17 2021 - By the Numbers ) cannot be blamed on ignorance. It is negligence pure and simple. If any other organization was even indirectly responsible for 15% of their customers dying it would be criminal negligence.

People wake up! The rhetoric that "these people would have died in the next few years anyway" is wearing pretty thin.

I do not work in the industry and yet a year ago it was obvious what needed to be done (forget vaccination, all of the people who have died so far in Willingdon were breakthrough cases):

1. Staff need to be fitted with proper PPE: The N95 masking testing in Care Homes is a joke. An acquaintance, who sports a manly beard, went for fitting by a professional for N95 as per regulation. Not surprisingly the test failed. The Care Home ticked the Worksafe box and moved on - fitting just has to be carried out, it does not have to be successful after all.

2. The viral load needs to be diluted with fresh air (a.k.a. open a window): Aerosolization of COVID, particularly now the Delta variant is predominant, is a major issue, yet has still not featured in any of Bonnie's public addresses (the provincial Care home guidelines only mention droplets). I am sure that loved ones would be more than happy to pay the extra carbon tax for any additional heating/cooling required.

3. Patrons need to be given preventive supplements: Vitamin C, D, Zinc - not to mention the "other" prophylactic therapeutics successfully deployed in other countries.

4. Care Home Workers should be tested daily: We do it for areas of the film industry, why not for our front-line workers and the most vulnerable.

5. Care Home Workers should be constrained to one location: Bet you thought this was being done right. Wrong! It never really got implemented here in BC and now it has been lifted. Moreover, all along Care Home workers could still make additional at-home visits. Quebec called in the military last year - with 19 current outbreaks in BC maybe we need to do the same.

6. Routine audits must take place: We need a third party to highlight any health and procedural violations, and keep facilities up to date.

If you have someone in one of these institutions, you need to speak up. If you know someone who does, please pass on this article. If you don't, this will continue to happen - and you will only have yourself to blame.

Cliff (like last year, no cheers today)