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Relatives of long-term care residents advocate for change, rapid testing on site

Last Updated Nov 25, 2020 at 5:49 pm MDT

WINNPEG – A group of Winnipeg women is fighting to enact real change inside Manitoba’s long-term care homes.

COVID-19 has ripped through several long-term care homes in Manitoba and across the country, with the virus proving to be deadly for many of the people living in them.

Leesa Streifler is one of seven women with parents living in care homes who have formed an advocacy group to help draw attention to the matter.

“Personal care homes have been ignored for a long time and now the spotlight has been shed and all the skeletons are out of the closet,” said Streifler, whose 90-year-old mother lives at the Simkin Centre in Winnipeg.

Streifler is speaking out about staff shortages, outbreaks, and improper testing protocols for staff working with elderly people living in the home.

She says she has noticed her mother declining physically and emotionally since the pandemic began, and the staffing shortages are being felt most by those isolated and most in need of care.

“It’s heartbreaking to see people sitting in their room alone for hours ringing the call bell and no one comes.”

Though she acknowledges that Simkin’s staff is doing its best to manage the pandemic, Streifler says more needs to be done.

“Right now, our main issue is on rapid on-site testing, because we have realized that this virus is being spread in personal care homes by staff,” she said.

Laurie Cerqueti, CEO of the Simkin Centre, says rapid testing of asymptomatic staff would be incredibly helpful in slowing COVID-19 spread, adding that staff are currently willing to do the testing if given the ability.

Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford announced Tuesday his government has started deploying rapid COVID-19 tests to long-term care homes capable of giving a test result in minutes instead of days.

When asked whether rapid testing is on the way to Manitoba, the province’s top doctor said they are working on a similar strategy.

“Rapid test availability is just emerging now, and so we are working on a plan that would involve testing in long-term care facilities,” said Dr. Brent Roussin. “So, we don’t have a finalized plan, but there will be more to come on that.”