Retirement home can rebound
Re: Ottawa retirement home manager suspended after allegations his wife received vaccine instead of front-line staff, Feb. 9.
We were shocked and saddened by your story on Stirling Park Retirement Residence. Our 93-year-old mother/grandmother has been a resident of Stirling Park for the past four years. She, and we, have always been impressed with the care, attention and activities that the staff and management have provided to residents. It is truly a happy place that has gone out of its way to engage with families of residents (see their Facebook page, for example). My mother thinks of it as her “home.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has not left them untouched, as they have recorded two outbreaks.
However, through the combined efforts of the staff and management, these have been well contained with only a few identified as positive, and no deaths.
The front-line staff have been remarkable. Many of them are temporary foreign workers with no formal status or power in Canada, and probably feel vulnerable for all kinds of reasons. These are the people who have tirelessly cared for residents — whether through housekeeping, personal health care services, hospitality and dining services, or maintenance. These are the front-line heroes that must be vaccinated as soon as possible. That even one of them is reported to have been done out of a vaccine by the family member of a manager is very upsetting.
We are glad that union officials have made this issue known. We are pleased to note that Riverstone (the company) took quick action to suspend the manager in question while an investigation was conducted. We have nothing but sadness for what is reported to be a serious lapse in judgment on the part of an otherwise caring and very capable individual.
COVID-19 has touched all of us in untold ways. Vaccination day at Stirling Park was the first tangible glimmer of hope our family has had that we are on our way out of it. Our hope and our expectation is that with the support of all the staff, residents and families, Stirling Park will address and rise above this situation for the benefit of all concerned. Robert Ready and family, Ottawa
We watch as politicians stickhandle around the press when questioned about contracts for the vaccine. We learn that we're falling behind in this fight . ... If we're going to win this war, we must be focused on the end result.
Gerard Windle, Ottawa