External Panel appointed to examine the performance of long-term care during COVID-19 on Prince Edward Island 

 An external panel of experts and community leaders will undertake a study of the performance of Prince Edward Island’s public and private long-term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our long-term care sector showed great effort and resilience in responding to COVID-19, but the stress on our care system also showed that there are areas where improvement and investment are needed. This independent external panel has been asked to report back to government with advice to guide future policy and spending in the long-term care system."

- Health and Wellness Minister Ernie Hudson

Items to be considered by PEI’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Expert Panel include:

• Impact on staff, residents, essential caregivers and leadership;
• Infection prevention and control and outbreak characteristics;
• Health human resources (retention, additional resources, training); and
• Infrastructure, including renovations and outbreak readiness and site-level characteristics.

The panel will engage with diverse stakeholders including residents, families and caregivers, long term care staff, health professionals, unions and geriatricians from across the province to gain a deeper understanding of the widespread impacts of COVID-19 on the LTC sector. It is expected that the panel will identify best practices, review the current state of long-term care against the proposed national standards, and deliver recommendations and solutions to ensure the system can meet these standards.

"We are fortunate to have the participation of strong leaders from this community. It is essential to hear the profound impact COVID-19 has had from those closest to the situation. I look forward to chairing the Panel and providing feedback to government,” said Dorsey.

An internal Long-term Care Review  conducted during the pandemic revealed aspects of the long-term care sector (public and private homes) which require additional planning, policy, program and service reforms in order to respond to emerging challenges and reduce inequities. These issues include:

• health human resources;
• infection prevention and control activities;
• access to personal protective equipment;
• adverse event reporting;
• quality assessment; and
• resident health outcomes.

The panel has been asked to return a report to Executive Council before the end of 2022.

Media Contact:
Ron Ryder
Senior Communications Officer
Health and Wellness
(902) 314-6367
rrryder@gov.pe.ca

Background:

Long-Term Care COVID-19 Expert Panel Members include:

Michele Dorsey, Q.C. (Chair)
Michele Dorsey is a certified mediator and a retired lawyer with a primary focus on negotiation and conflict resolution. She was appointed as the Children's Commissioner and Advocate January 2019 to May 2020.

Cynthia Bryanton 
Cynthia Bryanton is a Registered Nurse and holds a BSc Nursing from St. Francis Xavier University and Public Sector Leadership Development Program certificate from the University of Prince Edward Island. Cynthia has 35 years plus experience in various roles within the nursing profession having worked in acute care and long-term care.

Blair Corkum  
Blair Corkum is a self-employed Chartered Professional Accountant and a Registered Financial Planner who has worked for many years with near seniors and seniors in the areas of financial planning and tax.  Mr. Corkum has extensive experience as a community volunteer and caregiver.

Dr. Janice Keefe  
Dr. Janice Keefe is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Studies and Gerontology at Mount Saint Vincent University. She holds the Lena Isabel Jodrey Chair in Gerontology and is Director of the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging which has been based at Mount Saint Vincent University for more than 25 years.

Dr. Carole Estabrooks PhD (Nursing), MN, BN - Expert Advisor
Dr. Carole Estabrooks has been a member of the University of Alberta faculty and principal investigator of the Knowledge Utilization Studies Program since 1997 and the longitudinal, pan Canadian Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) research program since 2007.