Government report details concerns with Extendicare Maple View

The suspension of new admissions at the Sault’s Extendicare Maple View long-term care home, effective Oct. 30, came after a series of concerns were reported by Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC)  inspectors.

Ministry officials inspect long-term care homes at least once a year.

A lengthy list of concerns in a Ministry report shows inspectors, in inspections performed in late-September and early-October, found the home:

• failed to ensure that each resident of the home was bathed, at a minimum, twice a week by the method of his or her choice
• has short-staffing issues, such as not always having enough Personal Support Workers (PSWs) on duty
• numerous residents were found incontinent with soiled bedding; as well, some residents that were to wear incontinent products, had nothing on
• failed to provide proper care for residents with skin wounds
• failed to provide proper care for residents who had fallen or were in danger of falling
• experienced episodes in which some staff verbally abused residents

Compliance orders to address such issues were issued to Extendicare Maple View by the MOHLTC.

The order to suspend new admissions is in effect until further notice from the home’s director.

Marva Griffiths, Extendicare Maple View administrator, issued the following statement Nov. 1:

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Effective Oct. 30, 2018, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care under the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 (LTCHA) has instructed Extendicare Maple View to stop admitting residents until further notice from the Director.

The health and safety of our residents is our top priority and we would like to assure the members of the community and stakeholders that current residents continue to receive the highest level of quality care despite this order. Extendicare’s immediate focus will be to quickly assess current operations with the goal of addressing the compliance requirements immediately.

Over the past year, Extendicare Maple View has been working on enhancements in their quality improvement process to ensure that all our residents receive the highest quality care based on their individual needs. For example:

• We have hired a very experienced administrator to lead our team at Extendicare Maple View and ensure that the needs of all our residents are met in a timely manner.
• We continue to recruit team members aggressively to ensure staffing levels that effectively address the needs of all residents in the home.
• As we internally build our team, we are also putting measures in place to ensure that our employees receive regular education and training to help them fulfill their responsibilities effectively.
• We are also putting practices and activities in place to increase engagement among our team members.

Our team will continue to proactively work with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the North East LHIN and our residents and families to provide the highest quality of care, dignity and safety to our residents. We understand that we have long waiting lists in the community for people who need our services and we are working hard to ensure we are compliant as soon as possible in order to meet this need.

We will keep everyone updated as this situation develops.

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The MOHLTC report can be found by clicking here