Worries over mother’s care arise
Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
Concerns about job loss and patient care have been prevalent since the announcement that long term care (LTC) patients at the Strathmore hospital will be moved to the Sagewood Seniors Community.
Einar Davison’s mother has been a resident of the hospital’s LTC for the past few years. After dealing with a privatized seniors facility in the past, and having not so great results, he is leery of moving his mother into Sagewood, but isn’t sure what other options there are that will keep her nearby.
“I am very worried the quality of care is going to be a lot less, and it’s not a union thing or anything. The ladies in here do a really good job, my mother is good friends with all of them, and there’s a sense of responsibility for the patients here that I’m not sure you’ll get in a private facility if you’re just income or revenue,” said Davison.
His mother first went into the system in 2007. The year she went into the private home, there was a lot of rain and flooding. The roof started collapsing in the dining room, which was of course a major concern. His mother was also placed in a shared room with a resident who suffered from either dementia or Alzheimer’s, who would throw things and was quite violent. He quickly removed his mother from this facility and she went to Didsbury next. He lives in Hussar, and the drive was a long one for visits but at least he knew she was safe.
A few years ago, Davison said, they lucked out and a space became available at the Strathmore Hospital LTC Ward. Since coming back to Strathmore there have been many occasions where she has needed blood transfusions or other care provided specifically by the hospital.
“It’s way easier to move her from the long term care, into the hospital and then back, and it’s a lot more comfortable for than being stuffed into the back of an ambulance,” said Davison.
He said his mother feels comfortable at the hospital and they were told she had to be in there because she couldn’t be alone any more.
“They are saying that the rooms over there will be much larger, but my primary concern with my mother is she’s medically sensitive, and having a bigger room isn’t going to do her any good if she gets sick and she has to wait for an ambulance to go over to the hospital,” said Davison.
“They didn’t even talk to us before hand. Basically the meeting just happened and they said, well this is what we’re doing and you have no choice. Sure you have choices, you can take your parent home or you can try to get them into a different facility, but most of those aren’t really options.”
He is confident that if the community works hard and pulls together they will be able to stop the government and the forced move.