Three Edmonton care amenities had outbreaks for six months or extra: 10 longest outbreaks recognized
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A woman enters the Good Samaritan Society’s Southgate Care Center, 4225 107 St., in Edmonton on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Several deaths have now been linked to a COVID-19 outbreak in the nursing home. Photo by David Bloom Photo by David Bloom David Bloom /David Bloom / Postmedia
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Residents of 36 of Edmonton’s long-term and nursing homes severely affected by COVID-19 outbreaks spent at least a quarter of last year under tightened restrictions – three for more than six months.
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Post-media analysis of archived website data identified the facilities that had spent the longest time on the province’s outbreak list, many with multiple outbreaks over that period and hundreds of cases. Being on Alberta’s outbreak list meant a ban on visitors, increased isolation and the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for the seniors living there.
The 10 Edmonton care centers listed longest with outbreak status were three that were six months or longer: Extendicare Eaux Claires for six and a half months or 26 weeks, Good Samaritan Southgate Care Center for 6.25 months or 25 weeks, and Shepherd’s Kensington Village for six months or 24 weeks.
Other care sites on the top 10 list weren’t far behind.
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Lifestyle Options Terra Losa had the fourth longest stay on the list at 5.75 months or 23 weeks, followed by three facilities that broke out for five and a half months or 22 weeks each: Jasper Place Continuing Care Center, Miller Crossing Care Center, and CapitalCare Norwood and St Joseph’s, Covenant Health.
Finally, Millwoods Shepherd’s Care was on the outbreak for 4.75 months or 19 weeks, with the Hardisty Care Center listed for four and a half months or 18 weeks.
Long outbreaks weren’t always fatal, but some were
Edmonton’s longest-running eruptions did not always coincide with the deadliest or the highest, but sometimes they did.
The second longest time on the list, Good Samaritan Southgate Care Center also had the second deadliest outbreak of any care facility in the Edmonton Zone.
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In total, there were 230 cases and 50 deaths in the site’s three outbreaks last year, according to Alberta Health.
The plant was checked several times in 2020 and is the subject of a class action. CEO Katherine Chubb told Postmedia in January that the audits showed that health orders were being followed.
“We have maintained above-average staffing levels for the number of residents we care for to ensure that our residents receive the care they need.”
But Susan Slade, vice president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, also said the breakout rules were not being followed at the time. She said COVID-19 positive patients would be moved to different parts of the building and staff would switch between units.
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“The staff is being relocated all over the building when they shouldn’t,” she said.
The Miller Crossing Care Center, tied at the fifth-longest time of the outbreak, was the third deadliest outbreak in the Edmonton Zone, killing 47 people. The Revera-operated facility had six outbreaks, the last one from December 6 to March 5, 2021.
“We are working closely with Alberta Health Services officials to maintain logs for pandemic outbreaks and infection control practices,” Revera’s chief medical officer Rhonda Collins wrote in a February 17 letter to residents.
Ten people died in three outbreaks in Extendicare Eaux Claires, which has been on the province’s longest list.
With 19 deaths, the Hardisty Care Center was the eighth deadliest in the region. Sixteen people died at Lifestyle Options Terra Lossa while 16 were killed at Millwoods Shepherd’s Care.
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Ownership model irrelevant
Whether a facility was public, private, or non-profit didn’t seem to affect whether or not there were prolonged outbreaks.
Two longest-running outbreaks have occurred in public facilities: Capital Care Norwood (Alberta Health Services) and Covenant Health St. Joseph’s.
Four locations were private: Extendicare Eaux Claires, Jasper Place Continuing Care Center, Miller Crossing Care Center, and Hardisty Care Center. The remaining four were either charitable or non-profit.
All websites have been accredited, with the exception of Lifestyle Options Terra Losa.
– With files from Dylan Short
@laurby
The 10 Longest Edmonton Zone Outbreaks in Nursing Homes
Postmedia used the internet archives of Alberta Health’s COVID-19 outbreak website to find out which facilities in the Edmonton Zone had been on the outbreak list the longest. Here are the top 10.
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1. Extendicare Eaux Claires: 26 weeks / 6.5 months
- Three outbreaks, 84 cases, 10 deaths
- Private, Extendicare (Canada) Inc.
- 204 private suites
- Long term care
- Accredited, year of construction 2011
2. Good Samaritan Southgate Care Center: 25 weeks / 6.25 months
- Three outbreaks, 230 cases, 50 deaths
- Non-Profit, The Good Samaritan Society
- 226 private or semi-private rooms
- Long term care, dementia care
- Registered, built in 1965
3. Shepherd’s Care Kensington Village: 24 weeks / 6 months
- Four outbreaks, 68 cases, five deaths
- Not for Profit, Shepherd’s Care Foundation, accredited
- 156 private or semi-private rooms
- Long-term care, designated supportive housing, dementia care
- Approved, year of construction 1997
4. Terra Losa lifestyle options: 23 weeks / 5.75 months
- One outbreak, 180 cases, 16 deaths
- Nonprofit Lifestyle Options and the Alberta Care Housing Foundation
- 202 one and two bedroom units
- Contains 77 supportive and assisted living spaces, some for dementia care
- Not accredited, built in 2001
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5. Jasper Place Continuing Care Center: 22 weeks / 5.5 months
- One outbreak, 69 cases, nine deaths
- Private, Revera and AXR Operating (National LP)
- 100 semi-private units
- Long term care
- Registered, built in 1965
6. Miller Crossing Care Center: 22 weeks / 5.5 months
- Six outbreaks, 238 cases, 47 deaths
- Private, Revera and AXR Operating (National LP)
- 155 one-room or semi-private units
- Long-term care, safe dementia ward
- Approved, year of construction 2004
7. CapitalCare Norwood: 22 weeks / 5.5 months
- Three outbreaks, 47 cases, seven deaths
- Public, CapitalCare Group Inc., and Alberta Health Services
- 205 units
- Long-term care, palliative care, complex medical needs, seniors
- Registered, built in 1964
8. St. Joseph’s, Covenant Health: 22 weeks / 5.5 months
- Two outbreaks, 57 cases, six deaths
- Public and Nonprofit Organizations, Covenant Health
- 188 units with one bedroom or semi-private units
- Long term care
- Registered, year of construction 1993
9. Millwoods Shepherd’s Care: 19 weeks / 4.75 months
- Two outbreaks, 124 cases, 13 deaths
- Nonprofit / Nonprofit, Shepherd’s Care Foundation
- 147 studio or 1-room units
- Long term care
- Approved, year of construction 2001
10. Hardisty Care Center: 18 weeks / 4.5 months
- Two outbreaks, 147 cases, 19 deaths
- Private, Hardisty Care Center partnership with Park Place Seniors Living Inc.
- 172 units with one bedroom or semi-private units
- Long term care
- Registered, built in 1967
Source: Wayback Machine Archives of Alberta Health Outbreak Lists for the Edmonton Zone, Alberta Health case data
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