Southern Health-Sante Sud continues to redeploy staff from other programs in the region in order to ensure ongoing care and services at sites experiencing shortages. This includes Eastview Place in Altona and Salem Home in Winkler.

According to Shared Health, as of the end of day Thursday, 105 direct-care workers in Southern Health-Sante Sud were placed on unpaid leave of absences related to compliance with public health orders.

While additional resources are being pulled from the COVID-19 casual pool, and a group of internationally educated nurse volunteers are being added to schedules, designated family caregivers are also continuing to visit and provide some support with feeding and visiting at some sites. Shared Health says contingency plans have been and continue to be in place, and the staffing impacts continue to be very closely monitored.

Additionally, some lower prioirty home care services in the Winkler area have been temporarily suspended, and Shared Health encourages clients and families to consider back-up plans. This includes services like meal prep for individuals whose family members are available to assist, household maintenance, etc. It may also include a decrease in frequency of some services, including in-home social respite. Clients and families with questions or concerns are encouraged to reach out to their local home care office.

Meantime, Southern Health-Sante Sud registered the highest number of direct-care workers placed on unpaid leave related to compliance with public health orders.

Statistics provided by Shared Health, show 105 staff on unpaid leave as of the end of the day Thursday. That's over 3.5 times more than Praire Mountain Health, which came in second-highest at 29. In total, Shared Health says 178 direct-care workers in Manitoba’s health system have been placed on unpaid leave.

The regional breakdown of these individuals is as follows:

CancerCare: 0
Interlake-Eastern: 16
Northern: 2
Prairie Mountain: 29
Shared Health: 5
Southern Health-Sante Sud: 105
WRHA: 21

Of the approximately 42,000 identified direct-care workers in the system, 35,642 have indicated they are fully vaccinated, and 1,831 require testing. In total, Shared Health says 94.6 per cent of staff have been validated as fully vaccinated.