Homeless

Picton Manor to close, residents moved

For some, Picton Manor has been their home for more than a decade; now they are being forced to move.

Bewildered residents and their families listened last week to officials from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOH), the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC), and Extendicare—a nursing home operator hired to manage the facility until all the patients have been relocated and the home closed.

Residents learned the licence for the home had been revoked and that the operator of the facility, Stephen Bordo, has been barred from the property. Mary Diamond of the Ministry of Health explained that plans were underway to relocate all 57 remaining residents to other long-term care homes in the South East LHIN—a region stretching from Trenton to Bancroft to Smiths Falls to Prescott.

“At this point the home has been deemed unsafe so residents must be moved out,” said Diamond. This process is expected to take several weeks and months. Until then staff at the facility will be retained.

ONE STORY
Margaret Vos feels helpless and confused. Her husband Hank lives at Picton Manor. Hank suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and she has rheumatoid arthritis. She looked after Hank as long as she could but eventually the demand became too great.

She says she has been lied to.

“They said they were going to build a new nursing home in Belleville—at Sydney Street and Bell Boulevard,” explained Margaret. “This morning I was told Picton Manor didn’t pass the fire code. Now it’s closing. It’s been one thing after another.”

Mrs. Vos was anxious about what the news meant for her and her husband.

“There is no way I can bring him back here.” Fortunately for Mrs. Vos and other anxious family members, no one will be moved from Picton Manor until a new home has been found and approved by the resident and family.

The Community Care Access Centre is meeting with residents and family members beginning this week to make these arrangements. This has been deemed a “crisis situation,” which means Picton Manor residents will get a higher priority in choosing the home that is appropriate for them. In the meantime remedial electrical repairs are being made to Picton Manor to ensure the facility is safe.

BUT HOW DID THINGS GET THIS WAY?
It seems Picton Manor has been under the microscope for at least a year. It turns out the facility had been operating on “D” licence—the lowest of the ministry’s licence ranking. This meant that the home was set to close in 2014. Paul Huras is CEO of the South East LHIN.

“We’ve been working with Picton Manor and its owner for over a year on their plans to rebuild the facility, their finances and the problems with the facility,” said Huras in an interview with the Times. “In the end there just weren’t good options available.

“The safest thing is to have them placed in an appropriate setting and for that facility to close down. Hopefully a home close by that meets their needs.”

In January the County’s fire department conducted an inspection at Picton Manor. The facility failed. Admissions were stopped and Bordo was ordered to make repairs. Last week electricians walked off the job. The ministry revoked Bordo’s licence and took control of the facility.

“It’s our responsibility to ensure that residents are safe and well cared for,” said the MOH manager Mary Diamond.

WHAT’S NEXT?
Is there enough room to relocate the residents close to home? QHC has been burdened with patients it says would be better and more cost effectively served in another setting. Can the long-term care facilities in the area serve the dislodged residents of Picton Manor?

Huras says yes.

“We are not underbedded for long-term care in the south east compared with the rest of the province. We have the right number and perhaps more than the right number of beds.

“We believe the system can respond to this.”

But Huras says this is just a temporary fix. He says his organization is working to keep the 78 beds allotted to Picton Manor—and the jobs—in the County.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure that these 78 beds are renewed in a different way and hopefully we will rebuild this capacity.”

Pressed for a timeframe, Huras suggested “probably two years.”

“It’s not great that the residents have to move, nor is it great for the employees. It’s a shame it got to this point. It just wasn’t financially or physically viable any longer. But we will keep those licences and expect to have those beds rebuilt in this community.”

Mayor Peter Mertens said he was concerned about the disruption to the lives of these residents and the employees of Picton Manor. He has asked MPP Todd Smith to convey his concerns to the Minister of Health.

“We’ve expressed in strong terms our desire to see the beds and jobs stay here,” said Mertens. “Our population is older and is continuing to age so it is critical that we maintain these beds. It is critical too that these 90 staff members have a place to work in the County.”