On October 18, Manitoba’s provincial government brought in a vaccine mandate for frontline workers. Public employees in education, licensed daycares, hospitals, and other workplaces are now required to be fully vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 testing.

In our corner of the rural southeast, the Heritage Life Personal Care Home and nearby school divisions are so far reporting minimal disruptions to frontlines services.

Wes Hildebrand, CEO of Finance and Human Resources at Heritage Life, says that the PCH’s staffing situation has been largely unaffected and communication surrounding the vaccine mandate has gone smoothly.

“I would definitely say, for the most part, that communication for all levels has been good,” says Hildebrand. “I’ve been very thankful for the leadership in Southern Health for guiding us through some of the wording of the different public health orders that have been rapidly changing at times throughout all of this. So they have been able to convey what they saw coming and what they needed to be changed. On campus, we have a COVID committee made up of different leaders from all the areas of the campus, so we’ve been able to communicate to staff all around the campus and been able to disseminate what needs to be done. There were a few questions we heard, not about what needed to be done really, but about what it all meant when it came into effect.”

Hildebrand says that the staff is prepared to continue serving effectively as Manitoba continues to face the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“On Monday or Tuesday, there was some information presented that it was believed we were only at the beginning of this fourth wave, and it might only be burgeoning, based on the numbers we’re seeing on a daily basis in Manitoba,” says Hildebrand.

The PCH saw one outbreak in January 2021, but Hildebrand says the staff members are the ones to thank for keeping the centre safe.

“Other than the outbreak at the beginning of the year, we’ve had no reflection to date as to the virus impacting any of our residents since then. I think we’ve done well,” says Hildebrand. “I have an incredibly awesome staff. I know I’m not the one in the rooms on a daily basis, and I am only one person, so I know they are the ones keeping everyone safe.”

One employee who works at the PCH agreed with Hildebrand, saying there are very few staff members who have refused vaccination and the staff is all working hard to prevent any incidents of COVID transmission.

“We are short-staffed, but that happens in cycles so I don’t feel it is related to [the vaccination mandate],” says the staff person, who requested to remain anonymous. “No one is being fired and there are only a handful of employees that aren’t vaccinated. We’ve always been encouraged to get the shot, even the flu shot, but we’ve never been forced or talked down to by management. Most staff here have had firsthand experience with COVID when we had our outbreak, so we know how awful it is and want to do what we can to prevent it.”

Staffing Impact in Schools

The low vaccination rate in the Hanover health district has left many to wonder if the vaccine mandate coming into effect would impact staffing numbers in the Hanover School Division.

While the vaccination rate for eligible Manitobans is around 52 percent in the Hanover health district, the Hanover School Division says that about 85 percent are fully vaccinated and more than 90 percent of teachers in particular are vaccinated.

“Eighty-five percent of our regular staff are fully vaccinated,” confirms Shelley Amos, interim superintendent for the HSD. “The percentage reported is based upon a total of 1,100 staff.”

Amos has also confirmed that the flow of communication with staff has been timely and clear as to information about the vaccine mandate and regular testing options for staff who aren’t vaccinated.

“HSD remains committed to keeping our employees updated and informed with any new information as soon as it becomes available,” adds Amos. “Internal communications are detailed, transparent, and ongoing. As always, the Hanover School Division will continue to follow the public health orders and Manitoba Education guidance to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and school communities. Working together, we can keep the risk of transmission low in our schools which will help keep our schools open for in-class learning.”

The pandemic has impacted Manitoba education dramatically for about 20 months and Amos says the staff environment is hopeful as our province faces a fourth wave.

“Our staff are committed to providing the best education possible and have worked diligently to adapt their work/teaching environment to meet the needs of our students and their families,” she says. “I continue to articulate pride in the HSD team. The work is both challenging and fulfilling. The pandemic has impacted all areas of our work and personal lives. We hope for brighter days in the months ahead.”

In the Seine River School Division, the one area experiencing a staffing challenge right now is transportation. Specifically in the Lorette and La Broquerie areas, many bus routes have been cancelled due to a lack of bus drivers.

Parents were left scrambling after receiving an alert from the division on October 18 saying that many bus routes would be cancelled beginning the following day due to driver shortages.

Formal communication with parents did not give a reason for the bus driver shortage and the division stated that many other divisions have been struggling to staff enough bus drivers.

However, co-superintendent Simon Laplante confirmed that they did have some bus drivers go on leave due to the vaccine mandate.

“We’re trying to be open with our parents,” says Laplante. “Bus transportation is an issue with just about every division right now. Bus drivers are retiring, getting new jobs, different jobs, moving on. People will say it’s because of the testing, but it’s not just that. The [required COVID] testing does have an impact, and some don’t want to be tested, so it is an issue, too. Yes, we have had bus drivers go on leave.”

Regardless of the impacts of the province’s vaccine mandate, Laplante says it seems to be more and more difficult to get applicants to fill vacancies in the transportation department. He says that the school division is actively seeking bus drivers and will provide the training and driving test fees required.

Laplante also wants to thank parents for their understanding during this transportation challenge.

“The parents have been responsive and amazing,” he says. “They are organizing themselves to do carpooling, which is appreciated. We appreciate their support immensely.”

While transportation has been disrupted, Laplante says that frontline teaching and other staff positions have not experienced the same challenges.

“There has been very little classroom disruption,” Laplante adds. “I won’t talk about teacher vaccination rate specifically, but we are at 93 percent for staff-wide vaccination. What’s happening in the school is we are keeping our children safe and prioritizing their education and our staff is doing their best to ensure that happens.”