While one new COVID-19 staff case was reported at Simcoe Manor on Monday night, Simcoe County council voted on Tuesday morning to recommend the hiring of eight new infection prevention and control (IPAC) staff at all four of its long-term care facilities to make sure resources are in place as soon as possible.
During council’s committee of the whole meeting, councillors were presented with a report prepared by Jane Sinclair, general manager of health and emergency services, on the prospect of hiring four IPAC leads and four IPAC educators (two staff per home), as per the recommendations coming out of the provincial interim commission report into long-term care.
The approximate cost of the new staff will be about $700,000 annually; the money to pay for them would be taken from reserves for the time being.
“While the provincial commitments to long-term care are very welcome, the problem is that critical resources such as dedicated IPAC resources are needed immediately in our long-term care homes,” Sinclair noted in her report.
While the province has pledged $2.8 billion in funding as part of its 2021 budget for health, long-term care and education, Sinclair said the county has not yet been informed how much of that funding will be coming to Simcoe County, and time is of the essence.
An IPAC lead would be responsible for developing, enhancing, upholding and auditing IPAC standards and best practices in the homes. IPAC educators are dedicated staff who work directly on the floor training and educating staff about best practices on a continuous basis.
“It is anticipated that these will be fully funded in future as part of our long-term care funding envelopes, but staff will report back with further recommendations if there is an ongoing impact on future budgets or the levy relating specifically to these resources,” wrote Sinclair.
The County of Simcoe runs four long-term care homes: Trillium Manor in Orillia, Sunset Manor in Collingwood, Georgian Manor in Penetanguishene, and Simcoe Manor in Beeton.
Two of the homes, Simcoe Manor and Sunset Manor, are currently in outbreak according to the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
Simcoe Manor has seen 75 cases of COVID-19 in the facility since Oct. 2 when the outbreak was declared; 43 residents and 32 staff. Ten residents have died from the virus.
Sunset Manor is currently dealing with one case in a staff member, who is currently recovering at home.
“Our experience throughout the pandemic has identified that our long-term care homes are not funded or equipped with IPAC expertise to ensure all of the protocols and procedures are in place to fight viruses that are as lethal as COVID-19,” said Sinclair.
During the meeting, Barrie Deputy Mayor Barry Ward asked whether staff anticipate difficulty in finding job seekers with the skill level needed to fill the positions.
“We are looking at a number of resources to determine where we might find this expertise. There are a number of colleges that have expertise in this area,” said Sinclair.
Council voted to recommend approving the recruitment for the eight new positions, and funding the new positions from reserves for the time being.
The decision will need to be ratified at the next meeting of council on Nov. 24.
