Grace Villa and Shalom Village say Red Cross help ‘not required’
Hamilton’s biggest long-term-care outbreaks are not showing signs of letting up, while the homes say they don’t need further help
Cases at Hamilton’s long-term-care homes in outbreak remained steady on Wednesday, with no sign of the homes seeking further government help to control the situation.
No new cases or deaths were reported by the city at the biggest long-term-care outbreak in Hamilton. Grace Villa has 85 active cases, according to provincial numbers as of Dec. 30 at
10:30 a.m. That includes 76 resident and nine staff cases. The home has seen a total of 224 cases since the outbreak began.
In total, 37 residents have died at the Lockton Crescent home in 36 days. With 184 beds in the facility, the number of deaths is roughly
20 per cent of the home’s total occupancy. The CEO of APANS Health Services previously told The Spectator that Grace Villa was not at full occupancy before the outbreak.
Meanwhile, Shalom Village reported five new cases in an update late Dec. 29, for a total of 162. Of those, there are active
Sixteen people have died in the 127-bed home, roughly
13 per cent of its (Shalom Village’s) total occupancy
cases in 22 staff, 56 residents, three caregivers and five “individuals” who are in hospital, according to the home.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Shalom Village said one individual had died after being considered “resolved” from COVID-19. “She is still listed in both recovered and deaths, as per (public health),” said Laurie Pringle, communications director for Shalom Village Foundation.
Sixteen people have died in the 127-bed home, which is roughly 13 per cent of its total occupancy. No new deaths were reported on Dec. 29.
The outbreak has affected long-term-care residents in both of the facility’s buildings on Macklin Street. There are also cases in the seniors’ and assisted living apartments in the facility’s original building.
In a town hall Tuesday, family members of Shalom Village residents asked questions about the frequency of testing.
While staff said all of the home’s workers are tested weekly, the residents in the seniors’ and assisted living apartments in the second building had not been tested for two weeks.
Interim CEO Larry Levin said testing protocols are dictated by public health based on COVID-19 statistics in a home.
“Public health tells you how many swabs you will have and who’s going to be swabbed, and the frequency that they’re going to be swabbed,” Levin said.
While the province announced last week that the Canadian Red Cross is expected to support 20 additional longterm-care and retirement homes in Ontario with federal funding, there is no indication yet that any of those homes will be in Hamilton.
The Ministry of Long-Term Care did not have information on which homes would be receiving support when reached Wednesday. A spokesperson previously said homes can seek help if they have a large number of cases, an ongoing outbreak, “significant staffing issues” or for help with infection prevention and control.
Neither Grace Villa nor Shalom Village have sought that help so far.
“Our clinical staffing levels are stable and additional support from other sources, such as Red Cross, are not required at this time,” said Hamilton Health Sciences spokesperson Wendy Stewart in an email. The hospital has taken temporary management control over Grace Villa.
Shalom Village had a similar response.
“Our partners feel that, together, we are managing the outbreak appropriately and additional resources from the Red Cross are not required at this point,” said Pringle in an email.