SHA to take full control of Extendicare homes in Saskatchewan

Two months after temporarily taking over management of Extendicare homes in the province, the Saskatchewan Health Authority is set to take full control of the company’s five long-term care facilities.

On Thursday, the SHA and the provincial government announced the authority will be replacing Extendicare as the operator of the homes.

“We know from talking to Extendicare that they share our desire for a seamless transition process that puts patients’ safety and needs first,” SHA CEO Scott Livingstone said during a media conference.

There are three long-term Extendicare facilities in Regina (Elmview, Parkside and Sunset) and one each in Saskatoon (Preston) and Moose Jaw (Moose Jaw). Together, they can house 550 residents.

Livingstone said the SHA would take a “methodical, safe and co-ordinated approach” while making the transition.

“Extendicare has more than 50 years of experience in Canada working co-operatively with governments, health agencies and community partners to identify solutions to the challenges we face in the sector,” Dr. Michael Guerriere, Extendicare’s president and CEO, said in a news release.

“We are committed to working collaboratively with the SHA to support the transition process while remaining focused on the needs of residents, families and staff throughout.”

The change comes after Parkside Extendicare in Regina became the site of Saskatchewan’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak in a long-term care home. Forty-two residents died during the outbreak, 39 of them from the virus.

According to the provincial ombudsman’s report, nearly all of Parkside Extendicare’s 198 residents contracted COVID, as did 132 staff members.

“I apologize for not being able to do more to prevent such a tragic situation. We hope we can honour their memory by moving down a path that helps us strengthen the services and supports for people in need of long-term care in Saskatchewan,” Livingstone said Thursday.

On Aug. 5, the SHA took over the administration of the facilities for a 30-day period. When that expired, the SHA extended the arrangement for another month.

On Thursday, the SHA said it would be taking full control of the operation after a review of the Extendicare operation in the province.

“We have worked closely with Extendicare throughout this process and appreciate the co-operation we’ve received during the outbreak at Parkside and throughout the course of our recent co-management arrangement,” Livingstone said.

Everett Hindley, the province’s minister for seniors, said the outbreak was the largest factor in this decision, but he and Livingstone explained there were other things that went into it as well.

“In this instance, there were multiple review processes at play, including the ombudsman’s report and multiple layers of analysis. And while our assessments did show more issues at one of the Extendicare homes than others, our overall decision was informed by many other factors,” said Livingstone.

Livingstone pointed to things that were found during the critical incident review process and ongoing co-management discussions.

A timeline for the transition still has to be worked out, though Hindley said it would take months. There’s also no word on how much it might cost as the health authority needs to work out an agreement to take over the facilities and land from Extendicare.

Both Hindley and Livingstone made a point of emphasizing that nothing will change for residents and staff.

“The success of this transition will be measured by the residents, patients, families and staff in these facilities and our hopes are that the transition is as invisible as possible, and what they see is the care that they receive each and every day is high quality and safe, and they see the teams working collaboratively together to ensure that that happens,” said Livingstone.

Meili addresses province’s announcement

NDP Leader Ryan Meili responded to comments made during the media conference Thursday morning announcing Extendicare’s transfer of management and at a separate event with Health Minister Paul Merriman.

Meili took issue with Merriman’s statement that vaccination rates in the province aren’t fully accurate due to former residents receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations elsewhere.

Instead, Meili says the mismanagement of the economy by the Saskatchewan government and a lack of opportunities are behind people’s departures from the province and “to spin that failure into somehow a justification for the failure (of) his choices … it’s garbage.”

Those choices Meili highlighted included Premier Scott Moe’s failures with vaccines and an “inability” to incentivize or use mandates in a timely fashion in the province.

“He’s just making up any excuse that he can to try and get away from the fact that he let us down,” Meili said, noting his concerns with the leadership by the premier and health minister.

Meili also touched on a statement made about municipalities being able to set their own guidelines for things like gathering sizes, saying municipalities can’t and should not be required to set these limits.

“It’s provincial leadership that is needed,” he said.

While he said Moe and Merriman have not admitted to the crisis Saskatchewan is facing during COVID-19’s fourth wave, Meili said Livingstone, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s Marlo Pritchard and SHA chief medical officer Susan Shaw have all noted that help is needed in the province, and have recommended accessing federal resources.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Libby Giesbrecht