AHS discretion used to determine which seniors’ facilities to ramp up testing at
By GILLIAN SLADE on April 23, 2020.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade After the chief medical officer of health announced last Friday that testing for COVID-19 would expand to asymptomatic residents and staff in continuing care facilities, it has emerged that this is not taking place at all facilities. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health for Alberta, was questioned during Tuesday’s daily briefing about seniors’ facilities where widespread testing is not taking place. Hinshaw said the test was not comfortable and she was relying on AHS to use discretion about when to test residents. Other than meat processing facilities, seniors’ residences have accounted for a high number of cases and deaths in the province. The News asked whether all seniors’ facilities in Medicine Hat were testing residents. “We are not releasing specific numbers on individual sites or communities,” said Tom McMillan, spokesperson for Hinshaw. “Our policy is clear: Any facility experiencing an outbreak in Medicine Hat or elsewhere is eligible to test asymptomatic residents. This is facilitated by AHS, who works to determine when this is appropriate for the facility. We do not want to test where it is not needed but want everyone who needs a test to get one.” McMillan points out that public health officials in each community, are in the best position to determine when testing is appropriate. In response to a request for a telephone interview, Drew Barnes, MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat, emailed a statement. “More testing and appropriate responses to the results of the tests is crucial to protecting our most vulnerable and returning to normal life.” Alberta Health is posting the names of seniors’ facilities where there are outbreaks of COVID-19 by zone. The north zone currently has two facilities listed, Edmonton one, Central zone none, Calgary zone 24 plus an acute care facility – Foothills Medical Centre – and in the south zone there is one facility listed: Sunrise Gardens, which is a supportive living facility in Brooks. Although the website does not specify how many cases there are at each of the facilities listed, the website states that locations are reported when there are two or more cases. “This indicates a transmission has likely happened at the location.” An AHS spokesperson said AHS is working with continuing care operators to get all residents tested, as quickly as possible, at sites where a COVID-19 outbreak has been declared. “We understand that residents and their families are anxious to get tested and we are doing everything we can to get them tested as quickly as we can,” said the spokesperson in an emailed statement. 15-14
