Living three provinces and more than 3,000 kilometres away from her elderly parents is difficult enough for Marina Groome, but having to ensure their health and safety from that distance during a global pandemic is something she never thought she’d have to do.
Groome, who lives in Alberta, serves as power of attorney for her 98-year-old father, Edward, and 96-year-old mother, Trudy, who live at Heritage Place, an IOOF supportive housing living complex in Barrie. She recently learned the Brooks Street facility doesn’t qualify under Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit guidelines for on-site COVID-19 vaccinations.
Heritage Place includes 80 affordable, accessible apartments, and currently houses 94 residents. In addition to rental income, funding for Heritage Place is provided through the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care via the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
“It does not qualify as a nursing home, therefore the public health unit will not send a team in to vaccinate the people who live there,” Groome told BarrieToday, adding she’s had to hire someone to accompany her parents on the Barrie Accessible Community Transportation Service (BACTS) bus to get their first dose at the Holly Community Centre.
“I think it’s pretty pathetic that you have to subject two seriously physically compromised elderly people to go out for a vaccination when they live in an institution like this. We are looking at a very fragile population and they’re being left to their own devices to make arrangements," she added.
"I just think it’s horrendous, that we can’t take care of these old people," Groome said. "I understand you can’t go door-to-door to vaccinate everyone living at home, but this is an institution (and) I don’t see the difference. It’s a seniors' building. These people are there because of medical reasons.”
Heritage Place is categorized as a “congregate setting” and not a retirement or long-term care home, which means it does not currently qualify under the guidelines to have on-site vaccinations for residents, said IOOF director of housing accommodation Mary MacDougall.
“I think a lot of the family members think Heritage Place is a retirement home, and it’s not. It’s considered a congregate setting, so it’s really how public health has grouped the congregate setting... so we are in with group homes and other congregate places like acquired brain injury, etc.,” she said.
“A retirement home is a licensed care home and has nurses there, whereas Heritage Place is supportive housing," MacDougall added. "They rent their own apartments and there are supports in the building, but there are no nurses. It’s not a medical model like a retirement home.”
Despite that, MacDougall, along with IOOF CEO Garry Hopkins, have been in communication with local health unit and LHIN in an attempt to get them to agree to bring a team in to vaccinate residents.
“We are still in discussion with public health and are hoping things will be reviewed,” she said. “It would be to the residents' benefit and be more convenient, for sure.”
Hopkins has been left scratching his head trying to figure out how Heritage Place — and other similar institutions — were not included on the list of facilities that qualify for on-site vaccinations for residents.
“We are the recipients of the bureaucratic decision making that’s going on in which we ultimately have zero control over. I couldn't even tell you why we would not be considered in a group with at least with the retirement homes," Hopkins said.
The average age of residents at Heritage House is 87.5 and Hopkins said most are worse off health-wise than individuals living in retirement homes.
“By nature the name of our unit tells you what they are… these people need assistance living there so how the heck do they get out to (get their vaccine)?”
Hopkins said if the residents who called Heritage Place home were instead in a hospital they would be deemed to be Alternative Level of Care (ALC) residents.
“Here they’re called supportive housing residents. We have them here to keep them out of the hospitals and keep them in the community and yet they’re being treated unfairly in my view. Why Ontario Health and public health has made the decision (not) to come in to do the shots, I don’t know,” he said.
“I’m very frustrated by it," Hopkins added. "How do you expect a loved one to take somebody who is wheelchair bound, or take public transit, and get them out to Sperling Drive and wait outside… it’s totally unrealistic and in my view very unfair to the frail, elderly seniors who call Heritage Place their home.”
During Tuesday's news briefing, local medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner said the plan is to set up pop-up clinics and mobile teams to provide immunization in group home and congregate settings where seniors are provided care.“We intend in the future, when we get a larger volume, to be able to do that kind of thing elsewhere in the community where you’re finding congregations of seniors to make it easier for them. I don’t have details on that, but that is our intention."
