Susan Farren is the new administrator of the Manitoulin Lodge Nursing Home in Gore Bay.
September 24, 2017
A personal support worker caught on video repeatedly punching an elderly man in the head apologized to the man’s family, saying he would accept whatever sentence the court decided. Jie Xiao pleaded guilty in July to one count of assault in connection with the attack four months earlier on 89-year-old Georges Karam. Xiao, speaking in Mandarin through a translator at his sentencing hearing Thursday, told Karam’s family he was “deeply sorry for what I did.” Xiao, a 44-year-old permanent resident, told the court he did not intend to hurt Karam, but that in that moment he failed to remember his duty to his client. “I have used the wrong way of doing things,” he said.
August 31, 2017
Two staffers at a central Alberta hospital have been charged in the assault of an 88-year-old woman in long-term care. Police began investigating after receiving a report of elder abuse at the Killam Health Centre. The woman was allegedly assaulted by two staff members in the long-term care unit on Aug. 20, police said. Killam RCMP investigated and arrested the two staff members on Aug. 22. A 53-year old woman from Killam is facing three counts of assault. A 39-year-old woman from Strome is charged with a single count of assault. Both have been released on their own recognizance under court conditions. They are due back in Killam provincial court Sept. 5.
August 31, 2017
Andrew Michael Douglas has been sentenced to two years in jail for sexually assaulting a man in the Saint John special care home where they both lived. Douglas, a previous offender, pleaded guilty to the charge earlier in August. Douglas was serving a conditional sentence for a 2016 sexual assault when he was placed in the home by the Department of Social Development.
August 24, 2017
A Moose Jaw nurse who previously ran as a provincial NDP candidate pleaded guilty to professional misconduct after mistreating a patient who had Crohn’s disease. Karen Purdy was ordered to pay $5,000 to the Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses (SALPN) during her Wednesday afternoon disciplinary hearing in Regina. The patient, who was referred to simply as P.R. during the hearing, was not present. Investigation committee lawyer Connor Clyde said the man described his five-day stay at Wigmore Regional Hospital in Moose Jaw as “pure hell,” in part due to Purdy’s conduct on Jan. 1, 2016. Purdy snapped her fingers at the man as an order to turn over so she could change his Attends adult diaper. She then left the soiled diaper and wipes on the floor of his hospital room, which Purdy’s lawyer Bob Hale said was a “pure oversight” on her part. She told the man in front of his family that he would end up in a nursing home, laying in bed and soiling himself, which caused mental distress to the man and his family. “To this day, he is reluctant to attend at hospitals,” said Clyde, who acknowledged the importance of being realistic with patients, but compassion should be shown as well. Unable to reach the toilet due to his intravenous hookup, the man defecated in a garbage can, at which point Purdy “scolded him and asked him if he did this at home,” said Clyde. That “made P.R. feel degraded, embarrassed and humiliated.” The last charge related more to patient safety. With the IV machine beeping alerts every 20 minutes, Purdy broke the rules in instructing the man’s family on how to silence or restart the machine. That left the family “effectively acting as health-care professionals,” said Clyde. Hale called it “an error in judgment” and an attempt to appease the man’s family members, who were getting annoyed that the man’s rest was being interrupted. As penalty, Purdy must complete a code of ethics learning module and an interpersonal communications course, write a reflective essay about the incident, and pay $5,000 to SALPN, to cover less than half of the costs of the investigation and hearing. Further, Purdy will have to submit a copy of the disciplinary decision to current and future employers for the next two years.
August 20, 2017
A former employee of a residential care home made her first appearance in court today. The 35-year-old is charged with distributing intimate images without consent. She and four other employees allegedly posted the images on Snapchat.
August 20, 2017
Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) has announced two changes in its leadership. Kathy Milsom will join Toronto’s public housing agency as its new president and chief executive officer. Kevin Marshman, TCHC’s interim president and CEO, will help Milsom with her transition then return to the board where he will step in as interim chair until Toronto City Council approves of a permanent one.
July 17, 2017
An employee of a care home allegedly photographed residents without their consent and shared the image with her fellow co-workers on social media, police said. The alleged incidents came to light when a staff member came forward about the conduct of five fellow colleagues.
