Fairfield Park Nursing Home in Wallaceburg has been ordered by the Ministry of Labour to send some of their masks for testing after an inspection was done on Monday.
A ministry inspector attended the home after an anonymous complaint and ordered Fairfield Park to get the "AIRE" brand mask, numbered 6973390520004, further examined to obtain professional and validated information about its performance criteria and use of the masks in the workplace. The inspector said there was no testing documentation available for the AIRE brand masks at the time of the field visit.
"There are no indicators on the test report that correspond with the brand/model of masks in question. Discrepancies noted on the test report include the brand as Alloves and the number 200047224," stated the report.
Workers were also observed to be wearing 3M N95 respirators in common (non-resident) areas and one worker was observed entering the workplace while wearing a 3M N95 respirator before being screened.
Fairfield said it is currently in the process of setting up personal protective equipment stations in each unit, which consist of masks, respirators, face shields, gloves and gowns. The inspector also pointed out that non-regulated health care personnel may request an N95 mask during an outbreak and they were available for use at this workplace.
The employer also stated that temporary staffing agencies are used at Fairfield Park due to a current COVID-19 outbreak among staff and that all temporary workers have received adequate and appropriate training. Currently, there are 55 active cases at Fairfield -- 31 workers and 24 residents.
Fairfield Park must comply with the orders by March 10.
The home said it was a mislabeling error and the masks have been pulled from use until the test results come back.
"We welcomed the Ministry of Labour into our home on Monday after our supplier of over 30 years delivered surgical masks in a box that was mislabeled. Despite assurances from the supplier that these masks were appropriate for staff in long-term care homes, the masks were immediately pulled from use when this mislabeling was brought to our attention," said Fairfield Park Administrator Tracey Maxim.
Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Colby said medical masks are not very protective to the wearer and their function is mainly to contain the dissemination of respiratory droplets from the wearer to others nearby. Colby said N95 masks do protect the wearer but they must be custom fitted and they are very restrictive to wear. The doctor added N95s are for protection from aerosols, which is not the usual way COVID-19 is transmitted and face shields protect the wearer from droplets impacting the mucous membranes.
"From a Public Health perspective, there is no reason to believe that the outbreak at Fairfield had anything to do with the grade of masks that were being used," he said.
The union representing the workers is outraged and said it has information that leads them to believe that the masks in question were distributed for medical use in this home for months, often repackaged out of its original container.
“Unifor’s position has always been that masks labeled ‘non-medical’ should not have been distributed to our members in this workplace. What is clear to us, and to the inspector, is that the verification report provided by the employer doesn’t correspond with the masks that were actually used and there is no evidence those were ever approved for medical use,” said Tullio DiPonti, President of Unifor Local 2458.
