Health officials say they are taking steps to stem the outbreak of COVID-19 at Maimonides Geriatric Centre in Côte Saint-Luc, but residents and family members are skeptical.
Leo Grunstein’s parents — Rose, 90, and Joseph Grunstein, 97 both Holocaust survivors — live at the home. Leo says he’s worried.
“The lives of our loved ones are very, very much in danger,” he told Global News.
The CIUSSS West-Central Montreal that oversees the facility admitted that there is an outbreak of COVID-19 on the seventh floor. According to figures published by the Quebec Health Ministry, as of May 20th there were 56 confirmed infections and three deaths, but Grunstein suspects there are more than that.
He said he’s afraid that his mother, who was tested positive but is showing no symptoms, will get worse and that his father will catch the virus eventually.
“We know just by the fact of the number of people that are infected at Maimonides that they are not getting the proper care,” he said.
Grunstein doesn’t blame staff, whom he says is stressed out and overworked. “I think there’s a severe lack of staff and I can’t understand why,” he pointed out.
Beverly Spanier who lives at the residence doesn’t think enough is being done to keep her safe, either, and claims she isn’t getting enough information from administration about what’s going on.
“What care we get in the rooms, what are the staff ratios for the people that are there?” she wanted to know, wondering why infections have started to spike all of a sudden.
Administration sent a letter to family members Wednesday explaining some of the steps they are taking to address the outbreak.
“In addition, we are reviewing the staffing lists to increase the number of registered nurses, while bringing in additional paramedics from Donald Berman Jewish Eldercare Centre.”
Grunstein, however, is skeptical.
“We get letters and they end up doing something else,” he said.
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