History of 'non-compliance' at Fergus Caressant Care home

Family of residents living at Caressant Care long term care home in Fergus are concerned about the well-being of their loved ones after the Ministry of Health ordered the home to cease admissions.

On Tuesday, the ministry sent a letter to Bruce Lauckner, CEO of the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network, directing him to stop authorizing admissions to Caressant Care until further notice.

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The letter states that the ministry believes "there is a risk of harm to the health or well-being of residents of the home or persons who might be admitted as residents."

"It makes me feel pretty uneasy, actually," said Leonard Holm, who drove down from Manitoba to visit his cousin, who lives at Caressant Care with his wife.

"There's nothing I can do, not from my distance, and his sister lives on the far side of Saskatchewan. So, therefore, it's even tougher for her. It's horrible."

Holm and his wife Cynthia hadn't heard about the ministry's order until they arrived at the home Thursday morning. What troubled him the most was the wording of the letter.

"This order is quite ambiguous," he said. "I don't run around, jump up and down, yelling the sky is falling unless I know the facts."

History of non-compliance

The facts are laid out in a 47 page report dated Sept. 13, 2017, prepared by two inspectors who work for the ministry's Long-Term Care Inspections Branch.

According to the report, the home failed to meet a number of provincial standards, including:

• That furnishings and equipment be kept clean and sanitary.
• That furnishings and equipment be maintained in safe condition and good state of repair.
• That residents not be neglected by staff.
• That staff develop positive treatment plans for residents who demonstrate responsive behaviours, such as aggression.
• That there be procedures in place to protect residents and staff from potentially harmful interactions.

Caressant Care has until Oct. 31 to comply with the order and meet the listed standards; however, the report repeatedly mentions that the home has "a history of non-compliance."

Impact on health system

"This is serious, but we want to give the home time to focus and to improve the quality," said Blair Philippi, manager of performance with Waterloo Wellington LHIN, who remains hopeful. "This space in terms of not admitting new residents gives them that time to do that."

The ministry has felt that, though there is a serious concern, the home is in operation and it is still a safe place to live.- Blair Philippi

Still, Philippi said that until the home complies with the order, the ban on admissions will remain in place. That means the LHIN doesn't have access to 87 long term care beds.

"We're working with clients that have chosen Fergus Caressant Care as the home they wish to go to," he said. "Since there are 35 other long term care homes in our area that do have openings, when they become available we simply bypass Fergus Caressant Care and they get the next available bed closest to their place of choice."

Although the order prevents Caressant Care from admitting new residents, it does not require existing residents to leave.

Despite the wording of the order, which says there is a "risk of harm," Philippi said "the ministry has felt that, though there is a serious concern, the home is in operation and it is still a safe place to live."

If residents or family members have concerns, they can speak with an inspector by calling the ministry's long term care action line.