Daisy Wai MPP : Long Term Care Action Plan April 15th News Release
To contain and prevent further spread of COVID-19 in our long-term care homes, the Ontario government is implementing a targeted action plan - The COVID-19 Action Plan for Protecting Long-Term Care Homes - and introducing a temporary emergency order for the safety of staff and residents. Long-term care homes in Ontario are facing an unprecedented situation. Long-term care homes have become the front-line of the fight against COVID-19 around the globe. Ontario is no different, and in our grief, we must fight back fiercely.
COVID19 Action Plan
The COVID-19 Action Plan for Protecting Long-Term Care Homes consolidates actions taken to date and adds aggressive new measures to prevent further outbreaks and deaths from COVID-19 in our long-term care homes. We have outlined five urgent prevention and containment measures that are being taken within 48 hours.
• Through this targeted action plan, our Government is ramping up:
o Aggressive testing, screening, and surveillance
o Outbreak management and the spread of disease
o Growing our heroic long-term care workforce, as fast as possible
•Every option is on the table and additional measures will be taken as we address this fast-changing pandemic.
The Emergency Order
Ontario is also issuing a third Emergency Order, which requires long-term care staff to work in only one long-term care home, and to not work for any other health service provider or retirement home The government has made funds directly available to help long-term care homes cover the incremental costs of increasing hours for part-time staff to help those staff to work in only one home. Employees who face financial hardship as a result of this order will be entitled to job-protected leaves of absence under the Employment Standards Act. The temporary emergency order will come into effect on April 22, 2020 in order to give long-term care homes enough time to be compliant with the order. It builds on previous emergency orders issued March 24 and March 28, 2020
Long Term Care Emergency Order:
To help stop the spread of COVID-19, the Ontario government will be directing long-term care employers to ensure staff only work in one long-term care home, retirement home, or other health care setting. These temporary changes will come into effect on 12:01am Wednesday, April 22, 2020 in order to give long-term care homes enough time to be compliant with the order. Long-term care workers who must temporarily give up a job in another care setting as a result of this order are protected from losing that job through an unpaid leave of absence they are entitled to.
To help long-term care workers make-up these lost wages, the Ontario government encourages long-term care employers to offer full-time hours to their part-time employees. Employers can cover this expense through the emergency funding provided to all long-term care homes. All employees and essential visitors continue to be subject to rigorous screening procedures already in place like temperature and symptom checks prior to entry, and must follow Personal Protection Equipment guidelines. To help long-term care homes find the qualified staff they need, our government has launched an online tool that helps match skilled frontline workers with employers. The new Health Workforce Matching Portal enables health care providers with a range of experience to join the province’s response to COVID-19.