From: Ian Pitfield

Sent: May-26-20 9:44 AM

To: Dr. Bonnie Henry; Hon Adrian Dix
Subject: Covid-19 and Long-Term Care

Dear Dr. Henry and Minister Dix,

I write to urge a change in the Covid-19 protocol applicable to long term care facilities. I offer
two suggestions that I believe are reasonable and will improve the situation for residents, their
families, and care providers.

Any resident in any long-term care facility who contracts the virus should be removed from
their place of residence to a hospital where they can recover without the risk of infecting
another resident. This is a first step in the better management of issues affecting long-term
care facilities.

A recovered resident in particular, and any other asymptomatic resident in general, should
be afforded the opportunity to leave the residence in the company of an acceptable
individual for a walk, or just some plain old fresh air. Your offices have continually
expounded the value of exercise and fresh air as a means of preventing the adverse physical
effects associated with the pandemic from leading to equally adverse mental health
consequences. Allowing residents to venture outside their residences on a restricted and
limited basis will help.

As background, my wife, Ebie, is a resident at South Granville Park Lodge. I last saw her on
March 14, the day before the Lodge decided, of its own accord, that it should be closed to
visitors. My wife was diagnosed with Covid-19 on April 10. She was quarantined in her room
until May 21 when health authorities declared her recovered. Why her quarantine was fixed at 40
days, I do not know. I was unable to visit before her recovery, and remain unable to visit now
that she has recovered.

Five residents at South Granville remain affected by Covid-19. They reside on the fourth floor
and are afflicted with varying degrees of dementia that make it extremely difficult to manage and
control their movements. There are no cases on the ground floor, second floor, or third floor
where my wife resides.

The last person infected on the fourth floor was a staff member diagnosed on May 15. She likely
contracted the virus from a fourth-floor resident who was diagnosed on May 8, but who has since
died. I have been told that Vancouver Coastal Health has told the Lodge that the earliest it could
be declared cleared as a whole is June 15.One can only assume that date would be moved
forward should another staff member or resident test positive in the interim.

Indeed, the all-clear date could roll forward continuously should new cases arise, thereby
extending indefinitely, or at least until the fall, the period of time during which contact between
residents and their families will be denied. By the fall, the second wave will be upon us. Without
being alarmist, it is possible that my wife might never emerge from the Lodge to the light of day
and outside air even though she has survived the virus and is presumptively immune.

It is obvious that keeping infected residents under lockdown or in quarantine in their care facility
has had deleterious effects. There is no reason to perpetuate the problem. Minister Dix
announced on a daily basis throughout the pandemic how many beds, more than 4,000, were
available to manage Covid-19 patients, and how few were occupied – the figure of less than 400
comes to my mind. In the meantime, infected residents were required to reside in quarantine
where they were notwithstanding the risk or the reality that they would infect others in their
residence. In the meantime, available hospital beds went unused. The unfortunate situation in
long-term care facilities could be ameliorated by acting on my first recommendation.

The management of recovered Covid-19 residents is equally of concern. There is no reason why
a resident who has recovered from the virus should be denied the opportunity to see, face to face,
a family member, be it one or a few. While it may be undesirable to permit a family member to
visit within the residence, there is no obvious reason why the resident should not be able to
commingle with a family member outside the residence for a walk or fresh air.

It may be late in the first round to fix all of the problems, but visiting rules and opportunities
should be amenable to a fix. The broader issues of long-term care resident management must be
addressed and resolved before the onset of the second wave that you anticipate in the fall.

I urge you to ensure these issues are addressed and resolved for the benefit of all concerned.

Respectfully,

Hon. Ian H. Pitfield