WATERLOO REGION — COVID-19 poses a clear threat at the Forest Heights nursing home, where the virus killed 51 elderly residents last year.
Yet one in seven people who work at the Kitchener home refused to get vaccinated by August, new data shows.
This gives the Revera-owned nursing home one of the region’s lowest employee vaccination rates at 85 per cent, which is near the bottom two-thirds among long-term care homes in Ontario.
The 240-bed home ended its fifth COVID outbreak last June. No one died but more employees were infected than residents.
Pointing to low vaccination at homes such as Forest Heights, Ontario moved Friday to require full vaccination or a valid medical exemption for all long-term care employees by Nov. 15.
“Vaccination rates of staff in many homes are not high enough in the face of the risk posed by the Delta variant, and this is putting vulnerable residents at risk,” the Progressive Conservative government said in mandating vaccinations.
Virtually all residents in long-term care are fully vaccinated. Many residents are now receiving third-dose booster shots.
The province points to 90-per-cent vaccination to fight the highly contagious Delta variant. New data released by Ontario shows 10 local nursing homes — 42 per cent of long-term care facilities in the region — fall below that threshold for employees.
The 97-bed Nithview Home in New Hamburg was among the province’s least-vaccinated with 71 per cent of employees fully dosed by August.
Nithview has not had a COVID outbreak. It has pushed its staff vaccination rate above 85 per cent since August.
The non-profit home praised the province for following its lead after it chose last month to mandate COVID vaccinations for its employees.
“That was a breath of fresh air for everybody because it helps to level the playing field for everyone. So it does help tremendously,” chief executive Steven Harrison said.
Harrison sees vaccination as a formidable tool to fight COVID, along with regular testing and other measures.
“I don’t think we have any true anti-vaxxers at all in our midst, to be honest with you. I think we just have concerned citizens,” he said.
Long-term care operators welcome the vaccination mandate but worry about staff shortages, Harrison said. Some Nithview employees have told him they may quit for jobs in education or health care where the province has not made vaccination mandatory.
“I think the entire sector is worried about staffing employment implications with a mandatory vaccination strategy,” he said.
More than 3,800 residents in long-term care including 124 in this region have died of COVID in Ontario. An analysis of employee vaccination data through August for 24 local nursing homes shows:
- Vaccination rates range from 71 per cent at Nithview to 97 per cent at Riverbend Place in Cambridge.
- Half of homes have a staff vaccination rate of 87 per cent or better. This is in line with the province.
- Four homes have staff vaccination rates in the bottom third of Ontario.
- Four homes where the most recent outbreaks happened have more unvaccinated staff than other homes. Six outbreaks since April at these four homes sickened 19 employees and 19 residents. Four people died.
The government pledged Monday to hire more staff in long-term care over four years to boost daily care provided to residents.
Jim Stewart and other critics responded by rallying in Waterloo’s Public Square, calling on the government to move faster and to ban for-profit nursing homes.
For-profit homes operate on a low-cost labour business model that drives underpaid personal support workers out of the homes, said Stewart, co-chair of a group calling itself the Waterloo Region Health Coalition.
“They’re relegated to a very low income, part-time only work, but no future of any kind of career advancement,” he said.
Staff vaccination falls short at 10 of 24 nursing homes in Waterloo Region, data shows - TheRecord.com
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