Village at St. Clair long-term care facility, July 2014. (Photo by Maureen Revait)Village at St. Clair long-term care facility, July 2014. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
Windsor

HDGH winds down presence at Village at St. Clair after outbreak

Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare plans to start scaling back its presence at a Windsor long-term care home that suffered a massive outbreak of COVID-19.

The Village at St. Clair said 20 team members who had previously tested positive for the virus will be welcomed back, helping to alleviate a staffing crunch. Mass testing at the facility has so far returned 68 negative results.

The Windsor Essex County Health Unit conducted an audit of personal protective equipment and concluded it has enough to manage the outbreak going forward.

Unifor Local 2458, which represents workers at the Village at St. Clair, expressed concerns about the lack of PPE last month.

"The relationship we have nurtured with the team at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and our other partners has certainly been a hopeful outcome in what has been a devastating time for our Village community," said Joanne Potts, the Vice President of Operations at Schlegel Villages.

"I can confidently say we have turned the corner here in controlling this tragic outbreak," added HDGH CEO Janice Kaffer.

At its height, more than 100 staff and residents at the home had tested positive for COVID-19. The outbreak also claimed 34 lives.

The home expects to receive its first shipment of the Moderna vaccine on Sunday, and eligible residents will be vaccinated soon after.

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