MEDIUM RISK AT 10 OF 26
LTC homes need to improve
More than a third of long-term care homes in Ottawa have been flagged as medium risk, according to a long-awaited provincial risk assessment system released Friday.
Ten of 26 long-term care homes in Ottawa are rated as “improvement required,” according to the risk assessment tool. That could indicate the province has identified areas of concern or that there are “increasing numbers of complaints and incidents where residents are harmed or at risk of harm.” The ranking could also indicate the home has recently improved and is still being monitored. The performance levels do not specify exact concerns, but inspection reports are also available.
The remaining 16 Ottawa homes are considered in good standing, according to the ranking system, and none are ranked high risk.
Public access to the information has been a long time coming. The province initially refused to release risk information about Ottawa long-term care homes when asked to by this newspaper last year. At the time, it said it was reworking its system to make it easier for members of the public to get the information and compare the performance of long-term care homes.
The province has faced growing pressure to make the information public, especially in light of highprofile abuse cases at long-term care homes.
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath pressed the province to release the information earlier this year, saying families have the right to it.
“Families with loved ones in care are now being left to wonder if their loved ones, their mom or dad, is in a facility that the ministry itself calls high risk,” she said at the time.
The performance-level system makes public which provincial long-term care homes are deemed high risk and in need of significant improvement and which meet provincial standards.
The province rates long-term care homes in one of four categories: in good standing, improvement required, significant improvement required and licence revoked. Ottawa homes only fall into the top two categories.
Significant improvement required indicates the homes deemed highest risk, with continued increases in complaints and incidents where residents are harmed or at risk of harm and the home has not demonstrated the ability to improve. Homes’ licences may be removed when high-risk concerns are ongoing, putting residents at risk, and the owner is unable to improve the situation.
Abuse and harm to residents is strikingly common in long-term care homes.
An investigation by this newspaper late last year found that every one of Ottawa’s 27 long-term care homes (one has since closed) has been the site of either violence, sexual abuse or death resulting from improper care since 2012.
Among those cases was the assault of 87-year-old Georges Karam at Garry J. Armstrong longterm care home. Karam, who has dementia and Parkinson’s disease, was slapped repeatedly by a caregiver who was later convicted of assault. The incident was recorded on video cameras the family had installed in his room.
Garry J. Armstrong, Peter D. Clark and Centre d’Accueil Champlain — all city-run long-term care homes — are among the 10 Ottawa homes considered in need of improvement. The others rated “improvement required” are: Carlingview Manor, Residence Saint-Louis, The Perley and Rideau Veteran’s Health Centre, The Salvation Army Grace Manor, Extendicare Laurier Manor, Sarsfield Colonial Home and Madonna Care Community.
“The new performance tool will enhance transparency in the long-term care sector and ensure that families have the information they need to make more informed choices about the care of their loved ones,” said Health Minister Dr. Helena Jaczek in a statement.
The online tool is available at www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/ programs/ltc/home-finder.aspx.