An open letter from Pinecrest Nursing Home's leader

Pinecrest Nursing Home is deeply saddened by the death of four residents yesterday. The families of the residents have been made aware and the loss leaves a lasting mark on our residents and our care team.

The health and safety of our residents and our front-line staff is our number one priority and we continue to take every step necessary to prevent further spread of the infection.

In the last week, we have implemented the following changes in our home:

• We have increased our staffing levels to ensure our residents get the high-quality care they need including more personal support workers and more house cleaning staff.
• We have brought in additional cleaning equipment and have enhanced our cleaning techniques.
• We have a steady supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for our front-line staff to ensure that all staff and residents are safe from further spread of the virus.
• We have partnered with Compass, a meal service company, who will provide three nutritious meals a day for all our residents. This will help to relieve pressures on our dietary staff to focus solely on our residents’ care.
• We have moved all residents who are ill to one section of the home to distance them from healthy residents and mitigate any potential spread of the virus.
• We continue to work closely with Public Health and the Ministry of Health to ensure all correct protocols are being followed and that all necessary steps are being taken to manage the current outbreak.

We are grateful for the immense support from the community as we work to put residents and their families first. We are actively connecting front-line staff and families to mental health supports through Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in Lindsay and will continue to prioritize their health and well-being.

I particularly want to thank our front-line staff for working so hard in service of our residents. We could not do any of this without their dedication and diligence to our residents’ care.

For information on the number of cases in our home and in the community please contact Public Health. They are charged with releasing that information daily.

Mary Carr, administrator