Westmeath Residence and Nursing Home.

HAMILTON, Bermuda – The island’s largest aged care home is in serious financial trouble due to strict COVID-19 coronavirus regulations, the Royal Gazette has revealed.

Westmeath Residential and Nursing Home, a private facility on Pitts Bay Road, has 50 elderly residents and the island would have a long-term care ‘crisis’ if it closed, according to a source familiar with the matter. Westmeath is not the only private home for the elderly in financial difficulty – the source claimed they all have ‘very, very serious problems’ – but it has the most residents with complex nursing needs and it has had to difficult to pay its operating costs.
He is said to have nearly exhausted his reserves of over a million dollars and would struggle to pay staff and maintain the building. The source, who did not want to be named, said: “It took a loss of $610,000 in 2020.” The source said places could be found for around 20 of the residents of other care homes if Westmeath closed, but the rest had nursing needs that could not be met at any other private facility.
“Can the hospital handle this?” asked the source. The government confirmed on Sunday that it was aware of the crisis and how it stemmed from the pandemic, but refrained from pledging specific aid. Health department guidelines mean care homes with COVID-19 cases can only be declared outbreak-free when there have been no positive tests for 28 days after the last test was received. positive. The guidelines would have changed very recently to 14 days.
No new residents can be admitted during an outbreak, so when beds become free they go unfilled, resulting in a monthly loss of tens of thousands of dollars in revenue in Westmeath’s case. His daycare program, which brought in more than $100,000 in revenue a year, has also been unable to operate since early 2020 due to the pandemic.
At the same time, many permanent employees have been unable to work due to COVID-19 or close contact, so relief staff must be brought in and paid. Recently, two members of staff had to serve on the jury simultaneously, so Westmeath also had to pay to cover them.
Westmeath’s resident population is nearly 100% vaccinated, but the number of staff who have been vaccinated is not known. The home has repeatedly been deemed by health officials to be in “outbreak” mode and now has nine empty beds.
It was finally deemed outbreak-free a few days ago, which will allow it to begin admitting new residents. The source said that would help. “There are people who want to come to Westmeath,” they said. “But it will take time to admit these people – it doesn’t happen overnight.”
The Royal Gazette understands the board discussed the situation with Social Development and Seniors Minister Tinée Furbert. In a statement on Sunday, Furbert told The Royal Gazette: “The government is fully considering the financial situation of nursing homes which have expressed financial difficulties throughout COVID-19. Some nursing homes have expressed the need for relief, and we have had discussions with them to do all we can to help where we can to keep our nursing homes open. »
She added: “The lingering effects of the pandemic have compounded the financial difficulties of care homes. The limited ability of care homes to fundraise throughout COVID-19 has also affected their funding. Now, with the country easing restrictions, plans and fundraising efforts should also be part of improving nursing homes.
The government statement noted that most care homes are no longer in the category of epidemic restrictions, but stressed the need to balance the costs and challenges of restrictions with “the need to protect this group most at risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19”.
Furbert added: “There is work to be done to fully examine a sustainable future for long-term care that involves all of us, as we will all be old people, God willing. Our people need to prepare as much as possible to reduce the costs associated with living longer. We need to determine appropriate subsidy levels for seniors who are living longer and have complex health needs. We are committed to digging deeper into this fundamental issue over the next couple of months in order to make progress towards improvements.
“It is important to note that care homes around the world are experiencing difficulties and closures due to the pandemic. Family members choose to keep elderly people in their homes for many different reasons, and they have that choice too.
The news comes after Westmeath and three other homes received $50,000 each for medical supplies from the Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association (LCCA) due to the violence of the pandemic. An LCCA press release describes how “the lasting impact of this has resulted in significant revenue losses and increased expenses for” Westmeath, Packwood Home, Matilda Smith-Williams Seniors Residence and Lorraine Rest Home.
The donation was welcomed by Westmeath, which is itself a registered charity, but the source said it was funds for desperately needed operational costs. The government committed in the Bermuda Health Strategy in 2017 to “implement strategies to meet the long-term health care needs of older adults and people with chronic conditions and physical, cognitive and to better meet the needs of vulnerable populations and manage costs”.
A spokeswoman for the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) said the board was “mindful of the impact of the pandemic” and would “continue to work closely with all of our partners as we navigate the challenges”. She said: “Although we operate separately, we all recognize that we are part of the same system and what happens to each of us affects us all.” The spokeswoman said the loss of any nursing home placement would make it difficult not just for long-term care, but for the entire social and health care system.
“This impacts BHB’s ability to release older adults who are medically fit,” she added. “The lack of available beds in the community for those ready to be discharged is causing fewer beds available in the hospital, which is causing delays in the emergency room and impacting the beds available for surgeries.”
Westmeath executive director April Augustus declined to comment. ~The Royal Gazette~