by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — The son of a resident who was evacuated from Country Haven Retirement Home in Beahcburg isn’t happy with how his 100-year-old father was treated once he arrived at Caressant Care Nursing Home in Cobden, where he stayed overnight.
Eight residents from Country Haven were taken to Caressant Care, while the other residents were taken to Carefor Mackay House in Pembroke.
“All eight of the residents who went to Carressant Care were shoved into this little library-like room and put on pull out chairs and a pull-out couch,” the son said. “My father was on a mattress on the floor.”
The 57 residents were evacuated from their home Friday evening due to the sprinkler system going off, causing much water damage to the centre of the building on all three floors. While there was no smoke or fire, the reason the sprinkler system went off has not yet been determined, said Annil Verma, general manager/owner of Country Haven.
The son said the evacuation from Country Haven went well, it’s what happened afterwards. He wants to remain anonymous because he wants this to be taken as constructive criticism.
The son was notified at 11 p.m. Friday of what was happening and that his father would be taken to Caressant Care. He felt comfortable with his father going there.
“When I walked into Caressant Care at 6 o’clock Saturday morning, I was shocked to see my father on the floor,” he said. “My dad is 100 years old. It’s not something you want to see – your father sleeping on the floor.
“You don’t treat a 100-year-old person who has dementia that way.
“I was terribly upset,” the son said, adding, “There was no logic used.”
While the son said staff at Country Haven acted “exceptional” during the event, Caressant Care didn’t. If there were no beds available at Caressant Care, that should have been said prior to the residents going there.
He questions why those eight residents, who were the “most fragile,” were not taken to Mackay House in Pembroke where the other residents of the home were taken.
“This is definitely a concern,” he said, adding, “It was not a pretty sight.
“I was highly disappointed.”
He believes better logic should be used in the future, especially with frail people.
“My heart just dropped,” he said. “No one likes to see their 100-year-old father sleeping on the floor.
“I have a huge concern about this.”
Annil Verma, genera manager / owner of Country Haven Retirement Home, said he was not aware of the situation of the residents taken to Caressant Care until notified on Saturday. The residents sent to Caressant Care needed extra attention and those who made the decision felt that was best place for them, he said.
“I’m not sure who made the decision to send them there,” he said. “There were so many people involved in this event.”
Whitewater Region Fire Chief Wayne Heubner said Caressant Care became aware of the evacuation and phoned to say there were beds available.
Thinking the situation would be similar to Mutual Aid with fire departments, wherein if help is needed, other departments can be called in, Chief Heubner said, “I phoned and someone came over from Caressant Care,” he said.
The concern was for saving lives, the chief said.
“Everyone did a hell of a job,” he added.
Lee Griffi, manager of corporate communications at Caressant Care said the home was asked to temporarily lodge eight residents from Country Haven. By midnight, the residents were delivered safely to Cobden and welcomed into the home, he added.
“I have nothing but positive things to say about our staff at Caressant Care Cobden Nursing Home and how they reacted to this emergency situation,” he said. “We received eight very heavy-care residents from Country Haven and our staff made sure they were safe and warm. We called in extra staff knowing these seniors would require a lot of care.”
When the eight residents arrived, they were given blankets, food and drink along with a bed or mattress to sleep on in the auditorium as there was no available occupancy in the nursing home.
“It’s unfortunate we had no available rooms at the time of this crisis, but time was of the essence in finding somewhere warm and safe,” Mr. Griffi said, adding, “Emergency situations involving the evacuation of frail and elderly residents are difficult at best.”
Mr. Griffi, Mr. Verma and Chief Heubner all noted while the evacuation went very well, there are issues to be addressed. Once things have calmed down and there has been a chance to reflect and review, they will review the event as a group.
“We are more than willing to sit down with officials from the Whitewater Region, as well as other nursing and retirement homes, to have a positive discussion going forward to assist with any future emergency planning,” Mr. Griffi said.
