Willows overcomes
SARS scare
Friday April 4, 2003 Natalie Miller
AURORA Willows Estate employees are taking their gloves off.
The SARS scare is apparently over at OMNI’s only home in the
Greater Toronto Area. Staff members were still donning gowns, masks
and gloves Thursday but expected to discard them this morning following
news a resident doesn’t have the strain of pneumonia that has
killed seven people in Ontario.
“If we can handle this, we can handle anything,” says
Sue DuBeau, the new administrator at Willows.
The environment at the long-term care home in Aurora has been tumultuous
at times since a resident came down with symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome March 27. She exhibited a temperature higher than 38 C, a
sore throat, cough and nasal discharge 10 days after a visit to York
Central Hospital.
Hospitals across the province are restricting visitors
and screening patients. There are 129 cases of SARS in Ontario, many
of which are concentrated in the Greater Toronto Area.
Once the symptoms appeared, Sue says she immediately
contacted Willows’ medical
advisor, Dr. Mike Dawson. The resident was transferred to South Lake
Regional Hospital, where she still remains.
Meanwhile, back at Willows, staff was calling in sick
and residents were scared. “The residents were wondering why we were donning
face masks and gowns,” says Sue. “They were worried.”
Communication was kicked into high gear between home
office, the director of care, staff and residents’ families,
the medical advisor and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care,
which helped ease the fears,
Sue says. “Once they had a working knowledge of what they were
dealing with…once we nipped that in the bud, it simmered down.”
The roommate of the resident sent to hospital was
quarantined for a 10-day period which ended yesterday. Two registered
staff members
were also sent home into isolation because they had worked in York
Central Hospital. Their quarantine period also ended yesterday.
Willows is expecting to receive the
official word from Dr. Dawson today about removal of
the protective clothing.
Sue says staff members “were excellent” throughout
the ordeal and pulled together as a team.
At Willows and the other OMNI homes, visitor restrictions, staff screening
and delivery re-routing still remain in place indefinitely.
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