James Acker, victim of beating at Dundas nursing home, dies at 86
James Acker, the man whose beating at St. Joseph’s Villa left him with serious head injuries and outraged his family and seniors advocates, has died.
Acker, 86, was attacked in his sleep two-and-a-half months ago by a resident with Alzheimer’s who wandered into his room around 2 a.m. at the Dundas nursing home on Governor’s Road.
Acker, who had dementia but was high-functioning, was taken by ambulance to Hamilton General with head trauma, bleeding on the brain, a swollen, bruised and bloody face, and black eyes.
His daughter, Tammy Carbino, said he never recovered and his health declined steadily.
Acker died in hospital in the early Sunday morning.
“We’re all very stressed and emotional,” Carbino said, “At the same time, we’re relieved it’s over — he’s not suffering anymore.”
But Carbino is still angry with authorities over the beating. She has been a vocal critic of the Villa and of the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care since her father was attacked the night of Jan. 28.
“I just feel sick to my stomach … there’s something fundamentally wrong. I still feel the Villa should be held responsible.”
A provincial investigation into the beating found the Villa failed to protect its residents from abuse. The investigation report says the Villa failed to act on behaviours shown by the attacker as early as five weeks before he beat up Acker.
Although the ministry cited the Villa for nine Long-Term Care Homes Act Violations, the only course of action has been to issue orders the Villa must comply with by May 30. This prompted Carbino to call the investigation a farce.
St. Joseph’s Villa, which is owned by St. Joseph’s Healthcare, said Monday the home’s “thoughts are prayers” are with the family.
“We continue to look at the circumstances in which Mr. Acker was injured to ensure we have not missed any opportunity to create the safest home possible for our residents. Our staff are deeply saddened and affected by this sad news and our sympathy is with his family,” Villa president Derrick Bernardo said in an email to The Spectator.
Neither Carbino nor her mother, Diane Acker, wants the attacker to be criminally charged. What they want is for St. Joseph’s Villa — and all nursing homes — to be made safer for residents.
Carbino, who took her complaints to Queen’s Park with the support of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) and had a meeting with Health Minister Eric Hoskins afterward, has vowed to continue her fight to protect nursing home residents.
“My father’s death will not be in vain,” she said. “I’m going to try really hard to change the system.”
Carbino also wants her father remembered for the kind and caring man that he was.
The Waterdown man owned his own business and worked until he was 80, Carbino said. Although he was a bailiff and tax collector for the City of Hamilton for years, he befriended the people whose businesses he was closing down and tried to help them get their businesses back, Carbino said.
“He was a kind, loving father who provided a beautiful life for his family,” she added.