ST. PAUL, Alta. – In response to the St. Paul Extendicare long-term facility COVID-19 outbreak, Extendicare stated via a Sept. 1 email to Lakeland Today that the company is working closely with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Public Health, following all outbreak protocols.
According to Extendicare, as of Sept. 1 there were 45 active cases of COVID-19 among the residents and nine staff who tested positive. They said residents who tested positive have either experienced mild influenza-like symptoms or were asymptomatic. No residents required hospitalization or have died during the outbreak.
Extendicare said staffing levels remain stable with additional staff and support from the Alberta Health Services and Public Health.
During a press conference held in Edmonton Sept. 1, prior to Extendicare's emailed update to Lakeland Today, Alberta’s NDP Caucus asked Alberta Minister of Health Jason Copping to hold Extendicare accountable for the situation.
“This is a national company, they’ve had a profitable year and they have done quite well,” said NDP Health Critic David Shepherd, explaining that a company as large as Extendicare should be able to ensure they had adequate staffing in their facilities. “They knew what was coming. They knew what the potential was. They should have had plans in place to maintain staffing levels.”
Marie Sharpe, daughter of Germaine Champagne, a 103-year-old resident at St. Paul Extendicare, said her mother has been living at the facility for over a year. She said her mother had to stay in a room with someone who tested positive for COVID due to the lack of rooms and a shortage of staff.
Sharpe’s mother then tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 31.
“Losing that many staff members in a small building means a lot less help for people who live there – my mother has only been able to have one bath a week for the last three weeks,” said Sharpe.
She commended the staff who work very hard, adding, “There’s just not enough of them to keep up with this workload.”
