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It is no exaggeration to say that Carolyn Della Foresta practically grew up at Almonte Country Haven. As a child, she spent almost every Christmas morning at the long-term care home, joining her mother who worked as a nurse, her father, who often dressed up as Santa Claus, and her four siblings, all of whom worked or volunteered there at some point. Her grandmother and great aunt lived there.

So when she was asked to take on the role of administrator beginning in 2016, she didn’t hesitate, even though it meant leaving a similar job at a larger, and newer, long-term care home in Ottawa.

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“I knew I needed to come back home. This is where my heart was.”

Today, 45-year-old Della Foresta oversees a home whose heart is broken.

Almonte Country Haven, where 19 elderly residents have died and 80 per cent have been infected, is the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak in the region.

And the crisis is not over.

“I am not 100 per cent sure what is still ahead of us,” she says warily. “But although this is very difficult, we remain prepared to manage what is ahead.”