As COVID-19 swept through Montreal's long-term care homes, this one was able to keep it at bay
Judith Morlese, a nurse-manager at the Pavillon Camille-Lefebvre, believes the facility's success in keeping out COVID-19 was about more than just luck.
The centre began developing a pandemic plan in January, before the first case in the province was declared, and made the decision early on to ban visitors and require staff members returning from overseas to stay home until testing showed they were not infected.Staff members were brought on board early and subjected to a thorough screening process every day before work. They were told to stay home and get tested at the first appearance of symptoms.
Morlese says much of the home's success came from diligently following the simple health directives regarding sanitizing equipment, hand-washing and wearing of protective equipment. France Nadon, an infection-control consultant at the home, said part-time workers with multiple jobs were asked not to work elsewhere if they wanted to keep working at the Pavillon.
Between 10 and 15 employees acquired COVID-19 outside of work, but none of them passed it on to patients -- which Nadon says is a tribute to the vigilance they showed when it came to handwashing, disinfecting, and physical distancing.Henry Siu, a McMaster University associate professor who has studied long-term care preparedness, says researchers are still studying what factors translate into success in fighting the virus.
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