The outbreak of COVID-19 at the Millrise Seniors Village in southwest Calgary is concerning to families with loved ones inside.
21 residents who have tested positive are all on the building’s third floor: eight in long-term care and 13 in supported living.
Eleven staff members have tested positive, and all are at home in isolation.
Kres Slattery’s 71-year-old mother, Angelika, lives at the Millrise Seniors Village.
“My mom brought me into this world and now it’s my job is to look after her and I can’t,” Slattery said.
Since an outbreak was confirmed at Millrise on April 15, 17 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed.
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Slattery says he wasn’t able to get in contact with his mom for days on end after the initial outbreak was confirmed.
“We reached out to my mom Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,” Slattery added. “We pressed every button on the phone and nobody picked up.”
That’s because she wasn’t at the home.
Angelika had been rushed to the nearby hospital as staff said her health was failing.
“She said your mom hasn’t eaten and I said ‘why?’ We don’t know, she hasn’t come out of her room and when they went in she was sick and unable to come out of her room,” Slattery recalled.
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On Tuesday, Alberta Health Services brought in its own onsite care manager to coordinate control of the outbreak and prevent further infections.
“More than 20 AHS RNs and other health care professionals have been working at the site on a daily basis,” AHS told Global News in a statement. “That number may increase as needed.”
AHS is also sending staff into other facilities across the province, including Sunrise Gardens and Orchard Manor in Brooks. Manoir Du Lac is the only home the province has formally taken over.
But for Kres Slattery, that’s not enough.
“This is what the Prime Minister called a war, then lets call the military in to save our families,” Slattery said.
“My mom served this country and I’m not going to leave her in there to die.
“She will not be coming back here. She will be staying at the hospital because of the fear of the spread and because of the way the treatment went in there.”
Other families say they’re putting their faith into front-line staff, just hoping it’s enough.
“We have to trust everything is going well,” Linda Laroche, whose mother also lives in Millrise Seniors Village, said. “AHS bringing in additional staff was a good idea. They were all hands on deck and everyone was working hard.
Laroche hasn’t been able to see her mom, Berta Quast, since she tested positive. Linda is at her residence in Mexico and hasn’t been able to fly out.
“I’m very concerned about her right now,” Laroche added. “I want her around for her 84th birthday and don’t want her to be one of the statistics.”
“I would feel awful – like I abandoned her.”
Retirement Concepts, the company that owns Millrise, admits there were significant impacts to front-line staff
“We are in a much better position today,” officials from Retirement Concepts said in a statement.
“Alberta Health Services has supplemented our staff and we are appreciative of their support. As well, our housekeeping and laundry staffing units are back to regular levels with contracted staff in the building – we will soon be opening our kitchen with existing staff and five newly hired staff.”
The company maintains all residents received care and attention during that time where they were short-staffed.
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