P.E.I. Seniors Homes on hiring kick ahead of potential fall case spike

The CEO of the P.E.I. Seniors Homes says they are looking to hire a variety of positions ahead of the fall and the resumption of schools. 

P.E.I. Seniors Homes runs three private long-term care facilities: Whisperwood Villa and Garden Home in Charlottetown and Ladyslipper Villa in O'Leary. Whisperwood Villa had a positive case of COVID-19 among their staff last month. 

All staff and residents were tested twice and no other positive cases were found.

"We've gone through one COVID-19 scare in one of our nursing homes and we certainly don't want to repeat it," CEO Jason Lee told CBC Radio: Island Morning's Mitch Cormier.

"We continue to do all of the work to do everything we can to keep the virus out of the homes."

'The workforce is not there'

In anticipation of the fall, Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam has flagged a potential surge in cases several times worse than what has been seen so far in Canada.

P.E.I. has had 41 cases of COVID-19, all linked to travel, and no indications of community transmission. 

Lee said they're continuing to prepare but are facing some challenges.

"I'm sure every nursing home and community care home is looking to the fall and wanting to maybe boost their numbers or make sure that they're fully staffed and the workforce is not there to fill all those jobs, I don't believe, today."

P.E.I. Seniors Homes hired a number of students from the UPEI nursing program back in April. The pandemic meant their in-person work was cut short and many were available for work.

"September is coming and they're looking at going back to school," Lee said. "Some of them will stay on as casuals as sort of part time jobs while they're going back to the nursing school. We need to find new staff to help fill some of those shifts."

Lee said they are also thinking about employees who are parents of children returning to the public school system. On Monday, Public Schools Brand acting director Norbert Carpenter said they expect to see a rise in health-related absences in the fall.

Parents will be expected to screen their children for possible COVID-19 symptoms daily before sending them to school at their discretion.

"They're going to pick up the common cold and maybe even an early flu season, things that are not COVID-19 but will probably keep kids home," said Lee. 

"Parents of young children will want to stay home with their kids and we'll want them to stay home too if they are living with somebody that's showing those type of symptoms.

"We just have to be really careful to make sure that our staff are not bringing anything into our home that we don't want to spread or shared with the residents."

The CEO said the company will be asking parents to stay home and have a clear test result before returning to work. 

Adjusting since March

COVID-19 has also changed some of the hiring and training practices at P.E.I. Seniors Homes.

Interviews are mostly being conducted virtually and training that is usually done at one common location for all staff regardless of location of employment is instead being done in their individual workplaces. 

Lee said these adjustments began when the pandemic first arrived in March.

"It's almost the norm now to expect things to change," he said. 

"We've had that experience of having a case with a staff member and gone through all of the testing and protocols required to get to the point where you know it has not spread." 

The COVID-positive employee at Whisperwood was linked to a cluster of cases after an international student travelled within the United States before attempting to enter P.E.I.

"We learned a lot. And if it does happen again, we will be just that much more prepared for it."

Lee said his facilities are currently hiring for caregivers and resident care workers, personal support workers and people to work with the residents and nursing team.

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