A Port Coquitlam long-term care home that had snuffed out a coronavirus outbreak in the summer is once again under outbreak protocols after three residents tested positive for the contagion.
Located at 2240 Hawkins Street, Nicola Lodge had been COVID-19-free since an earlier outbreak was June 26.
But with the three new cases, it’s now joined Belevedere Care Centre and Lakeshore Care Centre as one of three Tri-Cities seniors homes actively battling a COVID-19 outbreak.
Under enhanced cleaning and infection control measures, residents are currently in self-isolation while Fraser Health contacts families and identifies anyone who may have been exposed to an infectious resident or staff member, according to a press release from the health authority.
Fraser Health has also restricted visitors throughout the facility and implemented twice-a-day screening of staff and residents.
Nicola Lodge is run by Sienna Living, a company that has come under fire and a multi-million dollar law class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of family members in Ontario after serious allegations of neglect, incompetence and abuse surfaced from whistleblowers and in a damning military report.
In June, Sienna Living launched a company-wide investigation as part of what it called a “sweeping set of initiatives” aimed at protecting residents.
The led to a series of recommendations in August, including improving staffing and labour relations policies; formalizing a complaints process; protecting whistleblowers; and reviewing and reinforcing a zero-tolerance approach to resident abuse.