Feature photo: Care staff at Lynn Valley Care Centre seen cheering now they are “COVID-19 free”
COVID-19 has struck parts of our country hard, and long-term care has been especially impacted in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec where the Canadian military have been mobilized to support care homes. In B.C., the populations within long-term care and assisted living residences were especially vulnerable. Sites already feeling the strain of staff shortages did everything they could to halt the outbreaks. The very first such site affected by COVID-19 was Lynn Valley Care Centre, which has now been taken off the list of sites with the coronavirus having gone through a 28-day “double quarantine” period free of any positive cases.
The staff of the care home deserve our praise for bringing stability into the care home, as do the supportive intervention by Vancouver Coastal Health’s COVID-19 quick response team. There were many families who have been impacted by the loss of loved ones living in the care home, as well as those who are unable to have any in-person connection. Restrictions for non-essential visitors established back in March remain in place for the safety of staff and residents during the pandemic.
Vancouver Sun reporter Lori Culbert has done an exemplary report on Lynn Valley getting cleared by B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, who in her daily update said this was “really great news” to see Lynn Valley off the list of care homes with active outbreaks. Culbert’s story features an interview with Betty Wills, Lynn Valley’s director of care. See some of that interview in a video report by Postmedia below.
We would like to acknowledge the staff of our member site Lynn Valley Care Centre for their passion and dedication over these past 2 very difficult months, as well as all others working in long-term care, assisted and independent living, as well as home health providers in our province. All of British Columbia are feeling more optimistic seeing that we have not only flattened the curve when it comes to new infections, but we are bending it down like very few other jurisdictions around the world.
