Published: Mar 02, 2021
MONTREAL, March 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Long-term care facilities have been disproportionately burdened by COVID-19, accounting for about 60% of COVID-19 deaths nationwide, 70% if retirement homes are included. Not only are residents of these facilities particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 given their advanced age, reduced immune system capacity and multiple underlying health conditions, but staff also face an increased risk of infection. The Government of Canada, through its COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), is providing a total of $8.5 million to support two studies investigating various aspects of immunity and people’s response to vaccines within long-term care facilities. These studies are recruiting participants in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
UCalgary research for geriatric mental health receives funding
A University of Calgary project focusing on detecting and managing mental health symptoms from neurodegenerative diseases in older adults received approximately $129,000 in funding.
Principal investigator Dr. Zahra Goodarzi, MD, and Goodarzi’s mentor and the project’s co-principal investigator Dr. Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, MD, are both members of the O’Brien Institute for Public Health and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine. They were one of the 14 Implementation Science Teams of researchers from across Canada to receive a portion of the $1.8 million in funding announced by minister of health Patty Hajdu and minister of seniors Deb Schulte in early December.
WINNIPEG Acute care facilities in Manitoba will soon allow patients to identify one essential caregiver to accompany patients under new changes to hospital visitation rules. Lanette Siragusa, the chief nursing officer with shared Health, made the announcement during the province’s COVID-19 briefing on Monday. “Last month, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute shared with us a national policy guideline, where it looked at the role of essential caregivers, and we have used this guideline to update our visitor guidelines in acute care to ensure that our quality is always the best it can possibly be,” she said. Under the new guidance, patients can identify one “essential care partner” to provide in-person physical, psychological, and emotional support for them, Siragusa said.