COVID-19 Watch Declared on Montreal 5 at Providence Manor

Date: November 25, 2021

COVID-19 Watch Declared on Montreal 5 at Providence Manor

Providence Care has declared a COVID-19 watch on Montreal 5, a resident home area at Providence Manor, following confirmation of a staff member testing positive for COVID-19. A watch is a heightened form of COVID-19 surveillance.

“At this time we don’t meet the criteria for declaring an outbreak. However, a COVID-19 watch has all the same measures,” explained Heather Candon, Providence Care’s Infection Prevention and Control Director. “Residents with confirmed contact with the positive case are being tested for the virus and will be put on additional precautions or quarantined for 10 days. Care teams will also be testing the rest of the residents on Montreal 5 and closely monitoring them.”

There are 35 residents who reside on Montreal 5. At this time no residents are showing signs or symptoms of the virus.

“Given the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and community spread in the area, our Infection Prevention and Control, and Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness teams were prepared for this,” said Krystal Mack, Providence Manor Administrator. “All staff members working in the home are fully vaccinated, as are the vast majority of residents. We also have safety precautions in place, including wearing personal protective equipment, practicing physical distancing and good hand hygiene. We’ve also informed staff if they have any COVID-19 symptoms to get tested immediately. Because of these practices the risk of transmission to residents and other staff is considered low.”

Providence Care has alerted Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) about the positive case and is working closely with teams there. Providence Care has also reached out to all residents and their loved ones at the long-term care home to inform them about the positive case.

For confidentiality reasons Providence Care is not able to share any identifiable or additional information about the case.

“We haven’t let our guard down once during the pandemic and we’ll continue to implement every protective measure we can. The safety and wellbeing of our residents and staff will always be our top priority,” said Mack.

To help limit the spread of infection, the long-term care home has implemented several additional measures including:

• Montreal 5 is closed to admissions.
• General visitors are temporarily prohibited from the resident home area during the watch. Only essential visitors (those with a loved one nearing end-of-life), designated care partners and essential caregivers are permitted to visit Montreal 5. Also, only one person may visit at a time and they must wear appropriate personal protective equipment.
• Any staff that came in close contact with the confirmed case are being contacted and monitored for signs and symptoms over the next 10 days.
• All Providence Care staff members at all sites are actively screened daily for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. They must also wear appropriate personal protective equipment, practice physical distancing and good hand hygiene.
• Staff is closely monitoring all Providence Manor residents to identify potential cases early.
• Enhanced housekeeping measures are in place including extra cleaning of all high touch surfaces and common areas.
• As per a Ministry of Long-Term Care directive, staff must participate in randomized COVID-19 surveillance testing once a week.
• As per a Ministry of Long-Term Care directive, all general and essential visitors who are not fully vaccinated must participate in mandatory on-site COVID-19 surveillance testing

Quick Facts

• A COVID-19 watch/heightened surveillance has been instituted on Montreal 5, a resident home area at Providence Manor. At this time, Providence Manor does not meet the criteria to declare an outbreak.
• Residents with confirmed contact with the positive case are being tested for the virus and will be put on additional precautions for 10 days.
• Care teams are also testing the rest of the residents on Montreal 5 with close monitoring.
• There are 35 residents who reside on Montreal 5. At this time no residents are showing signs or symptoms of the virus.
• Providence Care has reached out to all residents and their loved ones at the long-term care home to inform them about the positive case and the watch being declared on Montreal 5.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

About Providence Care:
Providence Care is Southeastern Ontario’s leading provider of specialized care in aging, mental health and rehabilitation. The organization consists of Providence Care Hospital, Providence Transitional Care Centre, Providence Manor long-term care home, and more than 20 community based support and mental health services across the region. To find out more about Providence Care, visit ProvidenceCare.ca or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For more information, contact:
Nikki Jhutti
Communications Officer
Phone: 613-544-4900 ext. 53372
Email: jhuttin@providencecare.ca or info@providencecare.ca