Rest Haven head mulls mandatory vaccinations

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/08/2021 (1367 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many faith-based care homes want the province to mandate vaccinations for all staff and essential caregivers in Manitoba, but the head of a Steinbach personal care home isn’t so sure that’s the right path forward.

The looming threat of a fourth wave of the pandemic washing over Manitoba has the Interfaith Healthcare Association of Manitoba (IHAM) pressuring the government to take action.

One of the members of the IHAM board, HavenGroup CEO David Driedger, wants to step back from that push.

“Within our community, within our facility, what makes up the excellence of care we provide here is the variety of people with different convictions,” said Driedger.

“As a personal care home operator, we want to respectfully operate within this tension of different views.”

Driedger has been running HavenGroup’s Rest Haven Personal Care Home for 13 of the facility’s 75 years of existence.

Driedger said there are IHAM members like Rest Haven that are uncomfortable with mandatory vaccination requirements.

“We have a microcosm of society, and our workplace represents a larger community here and has a variety of perspectives on the same matter,” said Driedger.

“When we bring that microcosm of people together, we have to have the capacity to say, in this framework, we have certain expectations.”

Driedger said he wants to respect an individual’s choice, whatever their religious beliefs or conscientious objections are.

“As an operator, it’s always a matter of resident safety first, and when it relates to staff, we also want them to be safe.”

Rest Haven had their first outbreak of COVID-19 last November, but since December they have had no new cases.

Over the last year, Driedger said they practiced infection control, the proper wearing of personal protective equipment, and educated staff about vaccines.

Driedger said he worries about the “unintended” consequences of people leaving the health care system due to mandatory vaccinations.

“Care isn’t all about infection control, it’s also about having staff,” said Driedger.

“As an organization, we want to retain all of our existing staff. We have a no vacancy rate, and I think that sets ourselves well for this current pandemic.”

Rest Haven is currently going through a major expansion valued at over $37 million. When complete, the additional beds will require 150 new staff.

Driedger said around 90 percent of residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19. A significant number of staff have too, but some have not.

“We’re trying to put tools in their toolbox that allow for infection control protocols to be in place so they’re safe working with each other to take care of residents.”

Driedger said he wants to provide options for his staff to be able to have a choice on how they safely and comfortably do their job.

“Vaccine is not the only option to provide safe care,” said Driedger.

All care homes in Manitoba are still in code orange while Manitoba moved to yellow last Saturday, Aug. 7.

On Tuesday, the Manitoba Liberals issued a statement calling for mandatory vaccinations for health-care workers.

This story was first published in the Aug. 12, 2021 edition of The Carillon. Become a subscriber today.