Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care finds ongoing non-compliance with resident care requirements, protecting residents from abuse, failing to follow plans of care and not following reporting obligations.

THUNDER BAY – The day-to-day management of the 543-bed Hogarth Riverview Manor has been turned over to a third party, with the provincial health ministry finding “reasonable grounds to believe that (St. Joseph’s Care Group) cannot properly manage the long-term care home.”

A Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care issued a mandatory management order to St. Joseph’s Care Group in October on the grounds of “ongoing non-compliance with resident care requirements, protecting residents from abuse, not following plans of care and not meeting reporting obligations to the director (of the long-term care inspections branch).”

Tracy Buckler, the president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph’s Care Group, said the organization worked with the ministry to select Extendicare Assist to come in and collaborate with the existing management and staff to make the necessary changes to achieve compliance.

“It came as a bit of a shock, to be honest, but we’re at the point where we can say that we’ll make the best of this,” Buckler said on Friday, adding St. Joseph’s Care Group’s goal is to meet the standards to have the ministry rescind the order within the next year.

“We’re absolutely going to come out of it at the end a better home that’s being operated at a very high level, quality manner. Our residents and families deserve this.”

The expanded Hogarth Riverview Manor opened in January 2016, adding 320 beds to its existing 96-bed facility to bring its licenced capacity to 416 beds. The capacity was further increased to the current 543 this past May, though there are 64 permanent funded beds that are not filled due to staffing shortages.

Buckler noted the “dramatic” increase in residents over a less than two-year span but said the relocation of 300 beds from the city-operated Dawson Court and Grandview Lodge former homes for the aged largely necessitated moving quickly to get the facility operational.

“I don’t think we could have extended those timelines. I think there is always opportunity to do things different if you had the chance, to make some more plans, to be able to really get all the education and training, get everything done ahead of time if possible,” Buckler said.

“I’m not sure it was possible and I think our team did absolutely the best they could with the situation and the circumstance.”

Key areas of non-compliance identified by the ministry through 18 inspections since the January 2016 expansion included reporting matters to the director, following plans of care, ensuring policies of zero tolerance of abuse and neglect to residents was being adhered, developing 24-hour admission care plans and protecting residents from abuse.

The ministry highlighted management instability, where there have been numerous changes to the home’s leadership since 2015, as a particular issue. One example raised was during a three-month period this year, the person who held the responsibilities of St. Joseph’s Care Group’s vice president seniors’ health and home administrator had no prior long-term care home experience.

As well, of the home’s five clinical managers, only two had been in that role prior to 2017 and only a pair had previous long-term care home experience.

“There aren’t enough people out there with long-term care home experience,” Buckler said. “We believe there are certain people that can do the job without the long-term care home experience, as long as they have the other skills and qualifications to be able to do the work. You get experience pretty quickly when you’re on the job.”

A cease of admissions had been placed on the facility from Nov. 7, 2016 to Jan. 18, 2017 by the ministry “of the belief that there was a risk of harm to the health or well-being of residents or persons who might be admitted as residents to the home” over many of the same compliance issues that were cited nearly a year later in the management order.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro said the well-being of seniors is of the utmost concern for the province.

“It’s my hope – and I’m sure it will be the case – that (St. Joseph’s Care Group) work their way through it and this situation will be resolved in relatively short order,” Mauro said. “The point from our perspective is ensuring we have long-term care in our community that meets the needs of our seniors and increasing the long-term care capacity.”