Families demand Island Health take over seniors care home

Families of residents describe the standard of care at the Comox Valley Senior Village in Courtenay, B.C., as inadequate and say Island Health should step in and take it over.

The facility is owned by Retirement Concepts but was acquired by Cedar Tree in 2017, part of the Angbang Insurance Group, whose founder was convicted of fraud in China in May 2018.

Cedar Tree contracted The Pacific Reach Seniors Housing Management leadership team to manage day-to-day operations.

Island Health is the body that oversees and licenses seniors facilities in the district.

Delores Broten's husband lives in the private care facility. She says the facility is short staffed and unable to provide good dementia care to residents.

"I think it's gone so far downhill and there's so much work to do to bring it back up to snuff," Broten told host Robyn Burns on CBC's All Points West. 

"We'd really like Island Health to take over that facility."

Broten, who says she has written letters about the conditions to Island Health along with other family members, says she is worried staff are unable to keep up.

"They're working really fast, and dementia care doesn't do well if you're in a hurry, because you have to sort of centre into the person's space and then kind of bring them with you to do the care," she said.

She says she is also concerned cleaning at the facility is below standards, citing a recent, serious outbreak of norovirus.

Concerns being investigated

Pacific Reach Seniors Housing Management, which manages the facility, says it understand the concerns raised by the families of affected residents.

"We are working with licensing, the families and Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) to address all concerns. We have seen several contraventions addressed and approved by licensing," they wrote to CBC in a statement.

"The health, safety and care of our residents is our number one priority."

Island Health says it investigates all complaints at every licensed facility.

"Following both routine and multiple complaint-based inspections at Comox Valley Seniors Village, and after careful consideration by a medical health officer, wide-ranging and stringent conditions were placed on this facility's licence on June 10, 2019 in order to ensure safe, quality care is being provided to residents and to better support staff," a statement from the health authority read.  

It added there has been increased monitoring by licensing officers to ensure compliance. 

Broten says she'll continue to advocate for her husband until conditions have improved.

"We do that kind of thing and just advocate all the time," she said. "For the people who do not have family members, who's there to check?"