The province is no longer allowing an individual to work at more than one personal care home. 

Lanette Siragusa of Shared Health says a significant portion of COVID-19 deaths in this country is related to residents of long-term care facilities. She says more than 70 per cent of deaths in Ontario are of residents in long-term care facilities, while in Quebec it is closer to 80 per cent.

“While Manitoba is at an earlier stage of our fight against the virus, we have taken significant steps to protect this population as we’ve watched other jurisdictions struggle with the severe impact that this virus can have on personal care home residents,” notes Siragusa.

with the recommendations that have come out through the Public Health Agency of Canada, which has infection prevention and control guidelines for within long-term care facilities.

Siragusa explains they have been working collaboratively with service delivery organizations, personal care home operators, unions and staff to ensure that this change is implemented without interrupting services while minimizing the impact on staff.

s that they will work with staff to determine where their primary location is. She points out this does not mean that is for sure where they will be assigned to, but notes they want to provide that option for staff. According to Siragusa, multiple employees work at two, three or even more sites and they do not want to impact these individuals in a negative way.

“Looking at their total amount of work and making sure that those hours are available to them at one site, is our goal,” says Siragusa.

She notes as a nurse and administrator, the disruption of work location and changing shifts are significant.

“We want to be as considerate as we can but also appreciating that there is a time pressure to get this done,” says Siragusa.