Our third nominee in our Long Term Care Leadership Recognition series is the Union Villa Long-Term Care Director of Care, Eli Vega. As a Director of Care, Eli is front and centre during this pandemic when it comes to protecting her staff and the residents they care for. She shares with us how Union Villa is managing the COVID-19 crisis:

Eli Vega
Union Villa Long-Term Care

“We’ve had to rapidly alter care delivery while simultaneously acknowledging the crucial unknowns of how these changes may affect clinical outcomes. At a time when terms such as social distancing and flattening the curve have become a part of our daily living, the management team began making sure that staff understood the implemented measures to protect themselves and the residents.

It has been crucial that we educate our staff on the virus and its symptoms. Although they may not be at high risk for complications from COVID-19, their close relationship with a resident could put the resident at risk.

In an effort to maintain family/stakeholders/physician support during resident visits and treatments, telephone and/or video communication with them has been accommodated.

The front-line healthcare workers have been deemed a high-risk population for COVID-19. The optimal approach to protecting this vital population in the face of a worldwide shortage of PPE has been addressed by various public health agencies. In addition to PPE use, other measures have been implemented to protect healthcare workers, including the early adoption of travel restrictions, arranging meetings over teleconferences, and establishing clear guidelines on when to stay at home and when to return to work. Further, healthcare workers with any concerning symptoms or history of exposure should self-isolate and not report to work.

The primary focus overall is keeping all of the healthcare team members, caregivers, and residents informed during the rapidly evolving situation that is COVID-19. Developing and distributing regular content will not only help inform those in the field but will also provide residents and their families with a sense of ease.” – Eli Vega

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