Ministry shining spotlight on Elderly Homes nationwide in COVID-19 fight

May 18, 2020 News

The Ministry of Public Health has put the microscope on elderly homes throughout the country to help stave off any outbreak of the contagious and deadly corona virus, said Dr. Melissa DeHaarte.
DeHaarte, who is the MOPH Coordinator of Elderly Health, said the COVID-19 Mobile Unit of the Ministry, is undertaking the national exercise and so far the team has completed nine of the 18 homes officially documented in the Ministry’s registry in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica).

Dr. Melissa DeHaarte

The Mobile Unit team is expected to complete the current exercise in the most populated of the 10 Administrative Regions shortly, DeHaarte said.
She said that as part of the team’s duties, they will “interview workers, caregivers and occupants and take detailed history of their travels and contacts,” to determine who will be tested for corona virus if perchance someone might have been in contact with any COVID-19 positive patient.
The Palms Geriatric Home on Brickdam, in Georgetown, under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Protection (MOSP), is the only one of the 21 Elderly Homes supported by the MOPH that has residents who have tested positive for COVID-19.
In a press statement last Thursday, the MOSP said five residents – four males and one female – and a Patient Care Assistant (PCA) “have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus at the Palms Elderly Care Facility.”
“Regrettably, one male resident has died,” the MOSP statement said noting that its nine-point plan has managed to thwart a “possible threat of an outbreak,” at the government-managed facility.
“The Ministry of Social Protection assures the general public that (it) continues to be guided by the protocols established by the Ministry of Public Health and will continue to take steps necessary for the protection of residents, care personnel and staff at the Palms Elderly Care Facility,” the government statement assured.
DeHaarte said she has received “no messages stating positive test results so far,” from the other 20 Elderly Care institutions.
The gerontology specialist said the inspection team will scrutinise the remaining homes, all located in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), when they have completed examining the facilities in the capital and its environs.
DeHaarte is appealing to all administrators of existing elderly homes, not in the government’s official records, to ensure their institution is regularised to benefit from existing support packages. She said the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) is backing the 21 homes, which continues every month with support packages to help fight the corona virus.
Recently, the CDC donated some 2,000 masks to the elderly institutions in their ongoing quest.
“We are doubling our efforts to visit, demonstrate and provide explanation about the use of personal protective equipment (PPEs) including gloves and masks; how to sanitise surfaces and surrounding environment correctly,” and how to treat unclean clothing to prevent their likely contamination spreading in the home, DeHaarte said.
The Public Health Ministry has also teamed up with Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the fight against corona virus overwhelming the vulnerable residents of these institutions.
Kaieteur News had reported in its Sunday edition that a male resident of the Palms is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for respiratory complications, which he developed as a result of COVID-19.
He was among the batch of residents who recently tested positive for the virus.
The staffer noted that at present, “the Palms has a separate dorm in which the other COVID-19 cases are being accommodated.”
“Those residents have been isolated in a separate ward from the rest of persons living here. Most of them are in stable condition and they have a special set of staff that looks after them. There are also doctors who conduct regular checks with them.”
The staffer told this newspaper that caregivers attached to the elderly home are taking special precaution with the residents.
“We are concerned not only for the residents but for our own safety and so we have been trying our best to be extra careful so that the virus doesn’t spread.

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