The United Counties of Prescott and Russell
(UCPR) is extremely pleased to report that there are no cases of
COVID-19 at the Prescott and Russell Residence, following 299 tests
performed on all residents and employees last Friday.
In total, 139 residents and 160 employees were tested as part of a
proactive screening procedure at the Prescott and Russell Residence.
Some employees were not tested, either because they are on sick leave or
are working from home.
It should be recalled that on April 21, the Province of Ontario
initiated proactive surveillance testing in all long-term care homes,
including asymptomatic individuals, to understand the current status of
COVID-19. In accordance with this directive, the community paramedics of
the Prescott and Russell Emergency Services began the active screening
of several long-term care homes.
“We are extremely pleased and relieved with this great result, and
grateful for the hard work of our employees, the attention paid to
safety procedures, inside and outside the Residence, as well as to our
infection control policies and procedures,” stated Alexandre Gorman,
Administrator of the Prescott and Russell Residence.
“We have placed several specific measures in place to achieve this
result, and I would like to acknowledge the excellent work of Ms. Paule
Juillet, our Director of Nursing and the employee in charge of infection
control, in order to mitigate the risks of any spread. Without her
work, we certainly wouldn’t be in this position,” added Mr. Gorman.
Other measures include:
- The implementation of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU)
restrictions as soon as the directive was received, as well as an
excellent communication with the EOHU;
- The excellent work of management in supporting its employees and maintaining good communication at all times;
- The refusal of transfers between hospitals and the Residence unless a negative result was received;
- The implementation of a new schedule to ensure active screening at all times;
- The creation of a new employee room, as well as new dining rooms for residents, in order to respect social distancing; and
- The mandatory wearing of masks at all times for employees.