MONTREAL -- Help arrived on Friday at a Town of Mount-Royal seniors' home where almost two-thirds of residents have tested positive for COVID-19.
Dozens of healthcare providers from the Montreal Heart Institute arrived at the Vigi Mont-Royal Home, including two physicians and a team of 35 medical professionals such as nurses and orderlies.
“Our first priority is to make sure everybody has adequate care, is being monitored and is receiving their medication and being fed, washed and so on,” said Heart Institute Chief of Medicine and Cardiology Peter Guerra.
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A cold zone area where staff can safely change and take breaks is also being set up, while all staff and patients will be tested for the virus.
Family members said conditions in the home have become dire, with little communication from management.
“I feel scared. I mean, the level of care, the medication, are they being fed?” said Elektra Lekatis, whose 83-year-old father and 80-year-old mother are both residents and have both tested positive for COVID-19. “If they're short-staffed, that means they can't get around to doing everything they have to do, even just the basics.”
Randall Dagenais, whose mother Monique Giroux has also tested positive, said he's had difficulty getting in touch with his mother as she gets moved from room to room.
“I called my mother 41 times last Friday,” he said. “I called the residence 26 times without being able to get through to somebody. When I finally did, it's only the doctor on the unit whose time I don't want to abuse because I'm sure she's very busy.”
Dagenais he worries the set-up of the private home will make getting the spread of the virus under control more difficult.
“Two people in a room and one bathroom shared for two rooms, so potentially four people using the same bathroom,” he said. “It's unavoidable.”
Guerra said the layout does present an issue.
“When a virus gets into a place like this, the spread is much more rapid,” he said.
He promised that setting up communication with families is a priority.
“We're even trying to bring in a donation from Telus, some iPads to maybe set up videoconferencing with families and their loved ones,” he said.
On Friday, Premier Francois Legault said he was considering have the provincial government take over all of Quebec's seniors' homes.
“I don't excluse that, so I'm looking at this scenario to bring all CHSLDs into the public sector,” he said.
