Sienna Senior Living launches company-wide review and steps to ensure better resident care

Sienna Senior Living says it's making sweeping changes to improve the lives of its long-term care and retirement residents, following reports by the Canadian military about horrendous conditions in which it found some Ontario seniors living.

In Ottawa, the company owns Madonna Care Community long-term care, as well as Red Oak Retirement Residence and Bearbrook Retirement Residence.

Madonna Care has been hit particularily hard by COVID-19, with 98 resident cases of the virus, 44 of which have been fatal. There have been 61 staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19 at the long-term care home since the start of the pandemic and two of them have died.

“It is no secret that the challenges long-term care residences have been facing in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic have been extraordinary and have brought to light the many short-comings that exist in our sector,” says Sienna.

The company is taking the following steps to improve care at its homes:

• It's hired Paul Boniferro, former Deputy Attorney General of Ontario, to conduct an immediate, company-wide review into the policies, practices and culture at Sienna. 
• It has begun a search to hire a senior health and long-term care expert to act as senior advisor to our management and Board of Directors and to provide additional executive capacity to push forward with these new initiatives and address current challenges.
• It says it is immediately introducing enhanced frontline education protocols, focused on quality and safety, to ensure all team members understand and provide the quality of care our residents deserve. While Sienna residences have ample access to personal protective equipment (PPE), this will include re-education sessions focused on PPE.
• Sienna says it's reinforcing our zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behaviour and conducting sensitivity training with frontline staff that will include a special lens to address the extenuating circumstances our residences are facing.
• It plans to increasing communications with residents and their families, including having already started holding videoconference town hall meetings across our network of residences that will continue so that we can hear directly from residents and their loved ones. We are also prioritizing regular virtual visits between residents and their loved ones.
• While hiring and recruiting has been a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sienna says it is accelerating aggressive recruitment efforts. .

Sienna has established a special committee that is overseeing all the initiatives listed above.