Fraser Health adding 'leadership support' at 2 Abbotsford care homes with large COVID-19 outbreaks

The exterior of Tabor Home, a long-term care facility in Abbotsford, B.C., is seen in an undated Google Maps image.

Vancouver — Fraser Health has provided "additional leadership support" to a pair of privately operated care homes with large COVID-19 outbreaks, the health authority said Friday.

The move is similar to what Fraser Health did earlier in the year during the deadly outbreak at Langley Lodge, when it appointed a director of pandemic response at the facility.

The new assistance will be in place at Tabor Home and Menno Home, a pair of private facilities in Abbotsford.

Both facilities have large, ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19. On Friday, Tabor Home sent a written update to families saying it's still dealing with 90 active cases of the coronavirus, 70 of them care home residents. So far, 21 people have died in the Tabor Home outbreak.

Menno Home has seen at least 32 cases of the virus at its facility, according to CEO Karen Biggs, who spoke to CTV News Vancouver on Tuesday about staffing shortages at the home.

Fraser Health said Friday that it has been working "very closely" with the operators of both care homes since their outbreaks began.

"This decision was made collaboratively to further support each facility’s leadership and staff," the health authority said in a statement. "Fraser Health continues to support each site’s staffing deficits with the deployment of additional nurses and care staff to ensure resident care needs continue to be met."