York Region's medical officer of health is taking a further step to control a COVID-19 outbreak at Villa Leonardo Gambin Long-term Care in Vaughan.
Dr. Karim Kurji issued a section 29.2 (1) class order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act on New Year's Eve to Sienna Senior Living, operators of the Villa Leonardo Gambin, where the 43-day outbreak has seen 44 residents and 23 health-care workers confirmed positive with COVID-19.
The outbreak, the fourth of the pandemic for the 164-resident facility, was declared Nov. 20 on one floor, then multiple floors became impacted, Dr. Kurji said.
The order instructs Sienna Senior Living to take a series of actions to ensure the health and safety of their residents and staff.
Sienna must ensure Villa Leonardo Gambin has the equipment, supplies, services and tools required to monitor and control the virus, the order states.
As well, Villa Leonardo Gambin must have sufficient staffing to respond to the outbreak, including the supervisors required to enforce infection prevention and control (IPAC) measures, as well as train staff and essential visitors on point-of-care risk assessment and use of personal protective equipment.
Failure to comply could result in a fine of up to $5,000 for every day or part of each day on which the offence occurs or continues.
The order states that inspections by York Region Public Health have found inadequate supervisory staffing presence to ensure appropriate adherence to IPAC measures, and that the facility has insufficient IPAC knowledge and processes to protect residents, and requires assistance from public health, Mackenzie Health, Public Health Ontario and the Local Health Integration Network to contain and stop the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Central LHIN and Mackenzie Health, a Richmond Hill hospital, have already been involved in attempting to control the outbreak, Kurji added.
"Our team is working tirelessly and doing a tremendous job in managing the COVID-19 situation," according to a statement on the Villa Leonardo Gambin website. "They are skilled in infection control practices and are working closely with public health to implement and go above and beyond various government directives."
In the first Villa Leonardo Gambin outbreak, which lasted 80 days from April 1 to June 20, 12 residents died, 43 were infected, and 35 health-care workers were also confirmed positive. The second outbreak was declared July 21 with one health-care worker case and did not spread further. The third outbreak, which was contained to two health-care workers, lasted 12 days, from Oct. 8 to 20.
The Sienna Senior Living facility is one of several long-term care homes in Vaughan battling severe COVID-19 outbreaks. An outbreak declared Oct. 18 at Chartwell Pine Grove has seen 72 of 109 residents infected, nine have died, and 43 health-care workers are also confirmed positive.
Kurji issued a class order to Sienna on Nov. 5 regarding the outbreak at Villa Da Vinci Retirement Residence, where five residents have died in the second outbreak there. Since the outbreak was declared Oct. 23, 75 of 108 residents and 41 health-care workers have been confirmed with COVID-19.
On Nov. 22, Kurji issued a similar order to Sienna's Langstaff Square Care Community in Richmond Hill, where the 44-day outbreak has affected eight residents and 10 health-care workers.
Last June, the province appointed William Osler Health System to temporarily manage the severe COVID-19 outbreak at Sienna's Woodbridge Vista Care Community, where 30 residents died, and 106 residents and 44 health-care workers were infected. The facility's third outbreak, affecting eight health-care workers to date, was declared Nov. 20.
