COVID-19: Agency Information & Updates

Check out how we’re doing with this fun video we’ve created!

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the latest updates on the pandemic in Ontario.

Keeping you informed on the latest agency updates on COVID-19.

COVID-19 Update: March 11, 2021

Hi Everyone

Managers and front-line employees (Day Programs, Residential Homes, Respites, Community Supports, JOBWORX, and Making It Happen) who wanted to be vaccinated received their first shot. We continue to practise all of the preventative measures.

In February, the agency underwent a Quality Assurance Measures Compliance Review. Katie O’Leary from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services did seven site inspections, and she reviewed twenty-nine files of people who access services, fourteen employee files, Board Records, Board Minutes, Serious Occurrence Reports, Fire Safety Plans, Monthly Health & Safety Inspections, and Equipment Maintenance Records with a focus on COVID-19 Preparedness and Prevention. CLC-K did outstanding having no (zero) non-compliances. I extend a special thank-you to Sandy Morrow, Lisa Blonde, Brad Verfaillie, Managers, and Direct Support Professionals for all of their work.

An Abuse Education Video has been created by CLC-K. To Angel, Sue, Terri, Aaron, Justin, Donald, Tod, and Saaj, you were awesome.

CLC-K has partnered with the Chatham-Kent Sexual Assault Crisis Centre. People, who are vulnerable, will participate in Human Trafficking Educational sessions. Very valuable information will be provided in hopes of keeping them safe in today’s world.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Bring on Spring!

Ron Coristine

COVID-19 Update: February 8, 2021

The employee who tested positive for COVID-19 has recovered.

This person can return to work on February 8. Great news!

COVID-19 Update: February 5, 2021

When it’s your turn, #RollUpYourSleeve for the COIVD-19 vaccine.

COVID-19 Update: January 29, 2021

An employee of Community Living Chatham-Kent has tested positive for COVID-19.

We will be following direction provided by the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit.

The CLC-K family wishes this person the very best.

COVID-19 Update: January 22, 2021 – A Letter from our Executive Director to the Provincial Government

COVID-19 Vaccine Role Out Should be Based on Needs vs Location
By Ron Coristine, Executive Director, Community Living Chatham-Kent

The COVID-19 vaccine is a key tool in our fight to contain this global pandemic. With numbers continuing to rise in communities across Ontario, it is critical that the most vulnerable people, and the staff who support them, are at the front of the line to receive the vaccine.

Sadly, this is not happening.

Despite the fact that Community Living Chatham-Kent provides essential support to several people who are highly vulnerable, neither these people, nor our staff, are scheduled to get the COVID-19 vaccine in this first wave.

Why? Because the Ontario government is not allocating vaccines based on the needs of vulnerable populations but is making decisions based on institutional categories. This approach does not take into account the medical needs and risk factors of the persons supported by Community Living Chatham-Kent and other agencies.

For example, recent studies have shown that people who have Down Syndrome are at a greater risk of becoming severely ill if they contract COVID-19. They are ten times more likely to die and five times more likely to be hospitalized. You can see why it is so important they receive the vaccine in the first wave.

Yet despite the known risks for people who have Down Syndrome and people who have complex medical needs, unless they live in a long-term care home or hospital setting, they are not prioritized to receive the vaccine.

The consequences of not vaccinating these people in the first wave, and the staff who support them, could be unnecessary illness and even death for thousands of Ontarians, putting tremendous strain on the healthcare system. A strain that is easily avoided by providing early access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Priority population

Despite the fact that several people who receive support could suffer severe health complications if they contracted COVID-19, they are not on the radar of the Ontario government as being a priority population.

At Community Living Chatham-Kent, we have made a commitment to keep these people safe in their community. The best way we can keep this commitment is to have the people and staff vaccinated, therefore, protecting them against COVID-19.

We are asking the Ontario government to do the right thing – include people who are highly vulnerable as well as the staff who support them, in the first wave of vaccinations, regardless of the setting in which they live or work.

This means moving from prioritizing institutions to identifying high-risk sub groups when determining the vaccine rollout.

By doing so, the government will help protect these people who are vulnerable and ensure we can continue to support them in community versus in the hospital.

COVID-19 Update: January 14, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ontario Government Asked to Remove Secrecy and Release COVID-19 Critical Care Triage Protocol

Did you know your child, parent or neighbour could be denied critical care based on pre-existing conditions or assumptions healthcare professionals make regarding their quality of life versus ability to recover from COVID-19?

There remains much uncertainty about what level of healthcare Ontarians who have disabilities will receive if they contract COVID-19. Despite the Ontario Government having cancelled a controversial critical care triage protocol that disproportionately impacted individuals with disabilities, they have yet to publicly release the new triage protocol submitted by the Bioethics Table in September.

“It’s unacceptable that Ontarians still have not seen the triage protocol to be used by hospitals in the event resources are overwhelmed due to an influx of patients with COVID-19,” explains Brian Dunne, President and CEO of Participating Housing Supports and Services (PHSS). “This protocol could be used to determine who is refused the critical care they need.”

“While we know the previous triage document disproportionately impacted the 1.85 million Ontarians who have a disability, we are still waiting to see its replacement,” says Ron Coristine, Executive Director of Community Living Chatham-Kent. “This despite the fact the Ontario Human Rights Commission has called for its public release and stated it has concerns about human rights issues in the report.”

“As organizations that value and recognize the contributions of individuals who have disabilities, we are calling on the Ontario government to immediately make public the Bioethics Table’s report and recommendations,” says Roxanna Spruyt-Rocks, CEO of DeafBlind Ontario Services. “This is a human rights issue that impacts one in seven Ontarians. We cannot remain silent as life and death decisions are made that potentially discriminate against individuals who have disabilities.”

With COVID-19 cases rising rapidly, the lack of information regarding a potential new triage document continues to put individuals who have disabilities at risk as medical staff may determine who receives life-saving critical care based on stereotypes or assumptions about disabilities.

As organizations that value and recognize the contributions of individuals who have disabilities, we are calling on the Ontario government to take the following actions:

Immediately release the new Bioethics Table report and recommendations
Hold open, accessible and inclusive consultation on how critical care triage decisions should be made
Develop and make public any new directives or protocols related to critical care triage
Ensure the constitutional and human rights of all patients, including individuals who have disabilities, are respected

“We are asking residents to email or call their MPP, demanding the Ontario Government release the Bioethics Table’s critical care triage report,” says Dunne. “We all have a right to see how life and death decisions will be made that could impact our parents, friends and family members.”

COVID-19 Update: January 12, 2021

The person who receives support and had tested positive for COVID-19 has recovered.

We are very happy for this person.

Ron Coristine