'Very lonely' and in chronic pain, but senior told too healthy for spot in a home

Sitting alone in her apartment in Grand Falls-Windsor while politicians of all stripes are out and about rallying votes, Irene Anthony cries as she talks about wanting to move into a personal care home.

Her husband died earlier this month, after moving into a home more than a year before when Anthony could no longer care for him.

"I had something to look forward to, I used to visit with him every day, but I haven't got that now," she says.

"And it's very lonely, living alone. Fifty seven years, we were married," she said.

"I thought if I get in a home, I would just have company with the other ladies. Do things together, have a little laugh," said the woman, who's in her 70s.

Anthony thinks she could help some of the other ladies in worse shape than she is.

"Seniors likes to be around with people."

More seniors refusedspaces

Anthony is one of a growing number of seniors denied space in personal care homes because they are deemed too physically wellwithout considering their mental health, according to the Quality Living Alliance for Seniors.

In a report released last week, the alliance said an access to information request indicated 40 seniors were refused admission to homes from September to December 2018, compared to nine or fewer in the same period the year before.

It said the change came after a directivethe government sent to the province's regional health authorities in August, shared with CBC News.

The directive states that although social isolation and loneliness are "significant concerns, these issues alone do not fall within the mandate" of homes.

• 1 in 4 N.L. seniors has a mental health issue, providers struggle to cope

"A person must have a personal care need or require assistance with instrumental activities," it continues.

When asked about the issueon the campaign trail Tuesday, Liberal leader Dwight Ball said there has been no change in the assessment.

"The authorities are telling us that they assess people with mental illness, or that are suffering from mental illness or with chronic diseases, or physical health, is done the same way," he said.

Crying from pain, hoping for company

Irene Anthony said she has chronic pain from fibromyalgia along with macular degeneration, and that she has fallen down a few times while out running errands.

But she was told she's "too healthy to go in the home."

"And if I wanted to get in, I would have to not be able to put my shoes on or take my shoes off, or sit myself, or stand by myself," she said.

• How these 'Golden Girls' beat the odds of loneliness

"I'm aching from my head to my toes all the time. And there's only so much [house]work I can do, like mopping ... then I got to sit down and cry for a while, because I have so much pain."

Her daughter lives nearby, "but I don't want to tie my daughter down like I had to do when there's plenty of homes to go in," Anthony said.

The senior spent her life looking after her children, her foster parents until they died, and then her husband.

"I thought, if I get in a home, it would be good company for me," she said.

Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador