Page 17 - Demo

LASER
When my 2IC Sgt Thompson and I arrived on the 28th of April to recce CHSLD Valeo, our personnel were still yet to complete their final in-person training with the MSSS. We found that the medical personnel had the situation in hand but were still understaffed and needing personnel to take over the general duties like cleaning; helping change residents; stocking carts and closets; cleaning and disinfecting rooms; preparing, distributing, and in most cases, administering meals; and helping residents with mobility issues, in order to allow their medically trained personnel to focus on tasks involving more direct care.
When the training was complete, we retrieved our kit and headed over to the first of two hotels, and after a quick staff coord, we were ready to enter the facility the morning of the 30th.
The training had been, to say the least, different. You cannot, after all, approach a retirement home the way you would a fighting patrol, though it did not take long to see that the troops would have no difficulty with it. When we finally got on the ground it was clear that they would take to it as they would take to any task given them.
What the medical staff remarked upon to me the most was their surprise that infanteers were so attentive, caring, gentle, and supportive of the struggles of people who were understandably confused, frightened, sullen, and upset, and who in many cases had been neglected due to the fact that so many of their normal avenues of care were eroded. They were used to having volunteers, family members, members of the religious and spiritual community, and well-wishers helping out. Since the COVID-19 restrictions had prevented that, and since so many of the CHSLD staff had been isolated due to infection, they had to a certain degree been left to their own needs. In some cases, these were critical; many of the residents required assistance to perform even the most private and intimate of tasks, and these needs had not always been met.
Gift of appreciation for Head Nurse Claudette Surprise at St. Andrew’s seniors’ home in Montreal during COVID-19 op
Nevertheless, the troops of 2 Platoon took it upon themselves to make CHSLD Valeo their home, treating its residents as they would their own families, and indeed they were since there was a Black Watch veteran on the third floor who exchanged stories.
Through the combined efforts of our Black Watch personnel and the two Health Services care teams, CHSLD Valeo came alive once again. When we arrived, a resident in the halls was a rare sight, the mood was sullen, and all-hands-on-deck were required. As we finally reduced staff and prepared to leave, the facility had come alive again, and residents could be seen taking the air and enjoying themselves, having conversations, and the civilian personnel, either returned from isolation or new hires, had returned to their previous levels and taken over their former duties.
Through the dedication of the troops and their principled adherence to the directives of their training, including the diligent use of personal protective equipment, including masks, gloves, and gowns, I am proud to report that no member of 2 Platoon was among those CAF members who became infected with COVID-19, even though CHSLD Valeo had among the highest rates of infection when we arrived.
At the departure ceremony on the 21st of May, we presented a plaque and a Black Watch Camp flag signed by the members of both 2 Platoon and the two Health Services care teams. It is our hope that we will be able to return to CHSLD Valeo in happier times.
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CONTINUED ON PG 19