UPDATE FROM PINECREST - April 7, 2020

From Mary Carr, Administrator, Pinecrest Nursing Home

One resident at Pinecrest Nursing Home passed away overnight. The total number of COVID-19 related deaths in our home now stands at 27.

Pinecrest plans for and prioritizes infection control – whether it is the flu or the common cold. Unfortunately, the severity of COVID-19 has presented unique challenges for our staff and our facility. At the beginning of this outbreak, we followed existing outbreak management plans, including the isolation of symptomatic residents. However, due to the size of our home and limited front-line capacity, we have been faced with unprecedented circumstances.

Since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in our home, we have worked closely with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit and the Ministry of Health to ensure all necessary steps have been implemented to manage the spread of infection.

We’re aware that our local Public Health officials have been sharing our experience and findings with the Chief Medical Officer and other public health authorities to inform process and procedure for other homes in the province. Many of the new and ongoing care directives issued from the province over the past few weeks have been informed by the situation at Pinecrest Nursing Home. Protocols and directives have been changing regularly – which makes sense, because infectious diseases experts have been learning new things each day.

We continue to have daily discussions with public health authorities and are focused on providing the highest quality care to our residents during this time.

Again, I want to thank our front-line staff for their hard work and dedication. Their commitment to putting the care and comfort of our residents first reflects how important the Pinecrest family is to our entire community.