Our retirement home client needs to prepare a contingency plan to be ready for future pandemic situation (such as COVID 19) and how best to manage and mitigate risk to residents due to staff shortages. It is important to note that homes in a COVID-19 outbreak have seen between a 20-50% reduction in staff, and in some cases even higher. There are many factors contributing to this staff reduction including withdrawal of external care providers, illness, fear and refusal to work. Whether your home is in outbreak or not, it is essential that every one develop a staff contingency plan to prepare for the potential impact of a COVID-19 outbreak/pandemic.

We have a number of other resources/policies & procedures available related to COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness that also focus on a contingency plan for staffing shortages that can be utilized to create the staffing contingency plan.

· Pandemic Preparedness and Response to ensure COVID-19 has been incorporated into the emergency management planning and templates to identify essential service response/staffing allocations

· Business Continuity Plan – addresses how the home will continue to function during or after a pandemic and provides a sample template of a Nursing Department, showing how, due to staff shortages, operators can make adjustments to provide essential services while ensuring safety.

· COVID-19 Policy and COVID-19 Response Guide – covers all aspects of operating the home during the pandemic and encompasses key directives from Ministry of Health, etc.

Using these resources, we would like a detailed and researched staffing contingency plan to ensure appropriate staffing is maintained as it is essential to providing a safe work environment for staff, and safe resident care.