Problem worse than feared at seniors complex
Remediation underway in rooms and common areas of long-term care home
Mould appearing on the walls of Pioneer Village seniors complex turned out to be the tip of the iceberg when remediation specialists removed some drywall at the aging facility.
In mid-May, the Saskatchewan Health Authority announced 94 Pioneer Village residents would be moved to other long-term care facilities because of a growing mould problem.
Mould remediation started immediately on residents’ rooms and some common space windows.
During the work it was discovered that there was more mould behind the drywall than appeared on the surface.
“Per infection control discussions, that’s frequently the way it presents because the moisture infiltrates behind and then, as it comes to the surface, you start to see the indications of that,” said Debbie Sinnett, executive director of continuing care for the health authority.
There won’t be a firm completion date until more detailed assessment is done. At this point, it’s expected it will be six months to a year before displaced residents can move back into Pioneer Village.
“The work going on in these rooms, the ones that we’re remediating right now, will give us a better sense of the time frame it will take per room,” Sinnett said. “At this point, we’re still in the process of doing that deeper-dive assessment.”
Remediation has started in two other areas, but all nursing units at Pioneer Village have areas requiring mould to be removed.
“There is no part of the building, in terms of the resident care areas, where we don’t have any impact,” Sinnett said. “Some of the units have a smaller number of rooms and some have a larger number of rooms.”
There have been ongoing infrastructure issues at Pioneer Village for a number of years, but an April report indicated the problem had worsened in the 328-bed facility.
The mould is the result of moisture and water infiltrating the building due to roof issues, weakening brickwork and windows that aren’t secure.
Mould remediation is a complex process that requires the repair and cleaning of areas where drywall is taken down and air testing before new drywall can be installed.
So far 29 residents in regular long-term care beds have moved to other long-term care facilities.
Residents were given the option to move to care homes in other communities if they desired. Two residents decided to move to rural facilities — one to Indian Head, the other to Cupar.
“The remaining residents are in a specialized program, so we’ve done immediate work to ensure safety in their space so we can manage their care in place right now,” Sinnett said.
Residents in specialized programs include those with longterm psychiatric illness requiring 24-hour care and individuals with dementia. There will be 36 residents moving from Pioneer Village to Wascana Rehabilitation Centre.
“There’s pre-work to be done before that space is available and that’s targeted to be ready for sometime around mid-July,” Sinnett said.
Despite fewer patients at Pioneer Village, staffing has remained the same.
“There has been no job loss and no re-assignment to another facility,” Sinnett said.
At this point, there haven’t been longer waits for people to get into other long-term care facilities because of infrastructure problems at Pioneer Village.
“This is the time of the year, generally speaking, when things slow down considerably in terms of placement needs,” Sinnett said.
Earlier this week, three hospitalized people were waiting for longterm care beds.
“We work very closely with our primary health-care partners to support care at home and to support other options for individuals,” Sinnett said.
However, planning is underway for the surge that occurs in the fall and winter’s flu season.