Riverview Manor set up to take COVID-19 patients if needed

The former Riverview Manor in Montague, P.E.I., can be used as an option for anyone in a long-term care facility who tests positive for COVID-19, says P.E.I.'s chief of nursing Marion Dowling.

The manor has been cleaned and is being re-established to provide comfortable, suitable space, she said.

"This unit would only be used for residents of long-term care who do not require or wish to go to hospital," she said in an email to CBC.

Dowling said she expects the manor to be operational soon. There are 25 beds currently available, but the building has the potential to accommodate up to 49 residents.

In the interim, she said anyone at a long-term care facility who tests positive for COVID-19 would be moved to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Units in PE Home, SummersetManor

The province is also creating separate COVID-19 units in the Prince Edward Home and Summerset Manor by moving residents out of the area into beds in another section of the home as spaces become available.

"If we do have a long-term care outbreak (which in long-term care is identified as one case) we would speed up this system by moving residents out of the designated areas immediately to another area within their home," Dowling said.

"Unfortunately, in this scenario, we may have to require residents to share rooms for a short time."

Dowling said letters have been sent to residents and their families informing them of the plans.

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