Every day, Carol Pearson waits by the phone to hear news of her 93-year-old mother, Margo.
She lives at the CHSLD Denis-Benjamin-Viger in Île-Bizard.
On Saturday, Pearson’s mother tested positive for the coronavirus.
“I feel kind of helpless,” Pearson said. “It’s been seven weeks since I’ve seen her. She has dementia, so she has no phone, so I can’t speak to her.
“It’s very hard but I’m just trying to keep it all together. There’s nothing I can do.”
There are 123 residents who live at the long-term care facility.
Last Thursday, there were two reported cases of COVID-19. As of Tuesday afternoon, that number had jumped to 21.
There are also six employees who have contracted the virus.
Pearson says the communication from the facility has gone downhill.
“I tried three or four times to call to get through to them yesterday — it just went straight to voicemail,” she said. “I did call last night around 11:30 p.m. and did get through, and managed to get a bit of an update.”
Pearson believes the residence is understaffed and the employees overworked.
An orderly who works at the home spoke to Global News on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing her job. She echoed those concerns.
“It’s understaffed and when we are fully staffed, our staff is taken away to other residences because they’re understaffed themselves,” she said.
On Friday, she tested positive for the virus and is now staying home.
While she never worked elsewhere, she says some of her colleagues did work at multiple facilities.
She believes the back and forth is how she contracted the virus.
“They don’t have a choice to say no. If they do, they can get sanctioned.”
The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), the union representing the employees, said it has denounced the practice time and time again
The union is calling for all staff to be routinely tested.
“I think people should be tested,” said union spokesperson Elizabeth Rich. “They might be carriers and that’s where it’s spreading at our centre — or every centre.”
In a statement to Global News, the local public health authority says the residence has created a containment zone and has ordered additional protective equipment for staff.
It added that it is also in contact with the provincial government to find solutions to the facility’s labour issues.
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