Virus hits home in Transcona

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This article was published 11/12/2020 (1777 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A long-term care home in Transcona is overrun with COVID-19, sparking concern from residents, their families, and others in the community.

A COVID-19 outbreak was declared at Park Manor Care Home (301 Redonda St.) on Nov. 5. Since then, over 80 per cent of Park Manor’s 82 residents and over 30 staff members have tested positive for the virus. At press time, 11 residents who tested positive had recovered, while 13 had died.

“Staffing continues to be a challenge but we are managing with support from the WRHA and staff that are working diligently to care for residents,” Abednigo Mandalupa, CEO of Park Manor, said in a statement that was sent to families of residents ahead of a Dec. 9 a virtual town hall that the home held. “We have staff who are able to come back and work as soon as they are recovered.”

Park Manor, which is the only long-term care facility in Transcona, is a non-profit facility owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. According to the WHRA, staff at Park Manor were not equipped with N-95 until Nov. 25 because priority was given to sites across Winnipeg that were experiencing more serious outbreaks. 

At press time, over 1,400 cases of COVID-19 were linked to outbreaks in personal care homes and assisted living centres in Manitoba.

Nello Altomare, MLA for Transcona, described the situation at Park Manor as “a slow moving train wreck.”

“We’ve seen this happen before, and now it’s here in Transcona,” Altomare said. “They’re stretched to the max. Why?”

One Transcona man whose mother is in Park Manor, told the Herald he is concerned not only for his mother, but also for the workers in the home.

“They’re risking their lives and health for my mom,” said the man, who wished to remain anonymous. “They need help. But they’re not getting any help.”

East Park Lodge is an independent seniors living centre located next door to Park Manor. Bernice Middlestead, president of the East Park Lodge residents association, said that residents are scared.

“It’s tough,” she said. “There is a lot of people aging here and quite a number who take home care.”

While health care workers in nursing homes are no longer allowed to work in more than once home, concerns have been raised that home care workers might inadvertently spread the virus as they travel between locations.

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“Everybody’s afraid,” Middlestead said.

On Dec. 9, the province announced $7.7 million for personal care homes in Manitoba to address costs related to COVID-19.

“Protecting our seniors and vulnerable residents has been a priority of government since the start of the pandemic,” health minister Cameron Friesen said.

However, the provincial NDP were quick to point out that the funding works out to approximately $50,000 per care home.

“Our long term care homes have paid a terrible price for the Pallister government’s failure to prepare for a second wave of this virus,” NDP leader Wab Kinew said. “This funding … is an indictment of just how little the PCs invested in care homes for staffing and PPE between March and September.”

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

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