Hastings County is already preparing for multiple enquiries into Long Term Care Homes in connection with COVID-19.
Meanwhile the county is ready to share its success stories.
CAO Jim Pine told the Long Term Care Committee on Wednesday there are three enquiries coming and if the county is not summoned it should ask to be included.
The enquiries are: the Provincial Ombsman, the Patient Advocate and the commission that the provincial government will set up.
Pine says the industry could learn from the success story of Hastings Manor and Centennial Manor in dealing with the virus.
Pine pointed to what he called “important steps” that were taken.
“So we’re starting to catalogue those things to get ready for the enquiries and for us to learn ourselves. I think it’s really important for us to figure out what’s right, what we could have done differently, maybe, and be ready for the next time. For instance you (the county) have already supported what we think are some important improvements.”
Belleville Councillor Pat Culhane said she hoped that Long Term Care Homes owned by people she called “deficiently criminal” would be turned over to the province.
Pine answered that that was the kind of thing with which the enquiries would deal.
The County has supported a letter to the province from Lanark County saying “Don’t fill up our homes with hospital patients since empty beds are needed to isolate people as they did during COVID-19.”
Director of Finance Sue Horwood told the committee it was too early to tell what amount of COVID-19 money would be available from the province, but $200,000 had been received so far.
