Siblings ‘disgusted’ by conditions at Niagara facility where Hamilton man died
Province revoked licence to operate the Greycliff Manor retirement home
NIAGARA FALLS — It’s too late for Chris Gladders.
But after seeing the deplorable conditions the 35-year-old Hamilton man was living in at a Niagara Falls retirement home, his surviving family members hope by sharing his story others might be spared the same fate.
“This happens all over Ontario, and you hear the stories every day,” said his sister, Melissa Sayegh. “You just hope at one time it will change for somebody.”
Chris died a week ago at Greycliff Manor after a medically assisted death procedure, lying in a room his siblings described as stained with feces and urine.
“It was definitely a tough thing to walk into there on Friday. I was absolutely distraught, disgusted, anything you could think of. I was just floored,” said his older brother, Shawn Gladders. “It’s traumatizing what I saw. I can only imagine what (Chris) went through.”
“It just boggles my mind,” Melissa added.
Despite the revolting conditions they found at the 62-bed facility on Lundy’s Lane, Shawn and Melissa didn’t want to spend any of their brother’s final hours complaining about the filth.
They did, however, take several disturbing photographs clearly showing the deplorable conditions in the room, and shared several with Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates — who promptly issued a letter to the provincial government, demanding an emergency takeover of Greycliff.
As of Friday afternoon, Gates said the only response his office had received
was an email from Ontario’s Seniors and Accessibility Minister Raymond Cho, acknowledging the letter had been received.
Melissa said the family has yet to hear a word from the home, or the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority that approved new management for the facility after revoking the licence from its owner, the Martino family of Hamilton.
“We haven’t had a response from the owners or anyone from the home, nothing,” Melissa said.
Shawn said his brother began considering a medically-assisted death in September, after years of living with Fabry’s disease, a rare and painful genetic disorder.
Shawn said he tried to talk Chris out of his decision to end his life, but said Chris was adamant.
After suffering several strokes as a result of the disease, including one two weeks earlier, Shawn said Chris was concerned another stroke would leave him unable to communicate.
“He said, ‘I have control of this decision now,’” Shawn said. “His exact words were: ‘I’m going to go be pain-free, with mom and dad.’”
Shawn and Melissa returned to Greycliff on Saturday, to be at their brother’s side during the procedure.
“I didn’t want him to die alone, and I made sure he knew I was there,” Shawn said.
Chris died at 3:54 p.m., leaving behind daughters, Hailee, 13, and five-year-old Savannah.
RHRA communication manager Phil Norris said Greycliff was inspected 13 times in the past year, including Dec. 9 after new management was brought in and approved by the organization.
The results, published online Jan. 12, showed only that the home was not in compliance with infection prevention and control practices related to COVID-19.
In an email, Norris said the RHRA is “assessing information collected through the mandatory reporting process in order to determine appropriate next steps,” possibly including additional inquiries or inspections.
He said the organization could not comment on the incident specifically while that process is underway.
However, Norris encouraged people with concerns about retirement home residents to bring them to its attention.
“If you see something, say something,” Norris said.
“The RHRA’s top priority is the safety and well-being of Ontario’s retirement home residents. Keeping them safe from harm is at the heart of everything we do, and we will not hesitate to use our regulatory powers and resources to make that happen.”
Chris’s siblings say they have no idea how long he had been living in those conditions. Shawn said his brother’s room was up a stairway, isolated from other parts of the retirement home.
“I never once stepped in there until Friday,” he said.
“I’m kicking myself for that, because had I looked, I wouldn’t even leave a dog in there, let alone a breathing human being.”
Melissa said Chris was moved to the Niagara Falls facility in the spring, after the ward he was staying in at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said Chris shouldn’t have been in Greycliff in the first place.
Shawn said he was told by a worker there that his “brother should have never ended up there because they didn’t have the equipment and proper tools to care for him.”