Another Winnipeg nursing home struggling to contain the COVID-19 outbreak



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WINNIPEG – Another Winnipeg nursing home is struggling to cope with a COVID-19 outbreak.

More than half of all residents tested positive for the virus at the Golden Links Lodge in St. Vital.

Jordan Hanna is worried about her grandmother, who lives at the Golden Links Lodge.

“The thought of losing someone so close who was my mother for nearly two decades after losing my mother this year,” she said. “The thought of killing two parents in the same year is devastating.”

A COVID-19 outbreak was declared at the nursing home on November 11.

An update from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority Thursday night outlined that 42 of the 81 residents at Golden Links Lodge have contracted the virus.

The province has sent a rapid response team to assist the nursing home, which is already facing a staff shortage.

“They have had a noticeable staff reduction due to COVID transmission,” said Lanette Siragusa, head of nursing at Shared Health. “The ERS team and the paramedics are there right now and will remain there over the next few days to help stabilize the situation.”

In an email and on social media, the administration of the Golden Links Lodge asked family members or primary caregivers to come in and monitor residents.

Siragusa said the caregivers at the nursing home are not meant to replace the healthcare staff, they are there to support their loved ones. He also said additional health support will be sent to the nursing home over the next few days and weeks until the situation has stabilized.

“In terms of providing immediate support and even just relieving some of the stress for family caregivers, it would also be helpful,” said Michelle Porter, director of the Center on Aging at the University of Manitoba.

Porter warns that the current community transmission rate in Winnipeg is likely to lead to outbreaks in other personal care homes.

It’s a concern shared by Hanna.

“If you have a pre-existing condition, you’re vulnerable, and that’s the scary part of it. Everyone has to have a hand in that; otherwise, we’re all going to sink,” he said.

Marcy Lynn-Larner, CEO of Golden Links Lodge, told CTV News that the nursing home team is directing all its energy to ensure the safety of residents and will provide any updates as they arrive.

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