Manitoba

Grant Park personal care home resident among Manitobans whose deaths were related to COVID-19

A resident of Poseidon Care Centre in Winnipeg died earlier this month after testing postive for COVID-19 and another resident is currently in isolation, says Revera, the Canadian company that runs the long-term care home.

Poseidon Care Centre is one of at least 2 Revera facilities in Winnipeg that have had COVID-19 cases

A sign outside a care home reads 'Poseidon Long Term Care by Revera.'
A resident from the Poseidon Care Centre died earlier this month after getting sick with the coronavirus. (Walther Bernal/CBC)

A resident of Poseidon Care Centre in Winnipeg died earlier this month after testing postive for COVID-19 and another resident is currently in isolation, says Revera, the Canadian company that runs the long-term care home.

The Ontario-based company, which owns nursing homes across Canada, said in an April 11 news release that a resident living in the care centre on Poseidon Bay, in the Grant Park neighbourhood, had died after testing positive for COVID-19.

This information wasn't reported publicly but is available on the company's website. The company previously announced on April 3 a resident had tested positive for COVID-19 and was in hospital.

Manitoba has had six deaths related to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

On April 10, Manitoba's chief public health officer announced the province's fourth death, a man in his 70s who was at a personal care home before hospitalization.

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority spokesperson Paul Turenne wouldn't confirm Sunday if that man was the resident at Poseidon Care Centre who died.

The company said in a news release that on April 6 it received confirmation a second resident in the home had tested positive for COVID-19. One resident remains in isolation in the home this weekend.

The Grant Park nursing home is one of at least two Revera-owned facilities in Winnipeg that have had confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Earlier this month, an employee at the Parkview Place long-term care facility on Edmonton Street, in the Central Park area, tested positive for COVID-19.

Outbreak at downtown nursing home over

The company said as of April 17, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority declared the COVID-19 outbreak at the facility to be over.

Revera has had COVID-19 cases in care homes in many cities, including Calgary, West Vancouver, Toronto, Kitchener, Stratford, Picton, Windsor and Carleton Place, Ont.

Many patients in Revera homes have died after getting sick with the coronavirus.

At its McKenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre in Calgary, there were at least 21 deaths reported as of last Wednesday.

The company said it is working closely with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and is following pandemic outbreak protocols. All residents are monitored for symptoms and all staff are required to wear a surgical mask and are screened at the beginning and end of their shift.

Revera said it is doing enhanced cleaning at the Poseidon Care Centre, disinfecting high-touch surfaces like handrails and doors, resident rooms, common areas and staff rooms more frequently. It's also adjusted meal times and recreational activities to promote physical distancing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

​Austin Grabish is a reporter for CBC News in Winnipeg. Since joining CBC in 2016, he's covered several major stories. Some of his career highlights have been documenting the plight of asylum seekers leaving America in the dead of winter for Canada and the 2019 manhunt for two teenage murder suspects. In 2021, he won an RTDNA Canada award for his investigative reporting on the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which triggered change. Have a story idea? Email: austin.grabish@cbc.ca