Orchard Villa long beset by problems, families say after military report on care homes

CBC News, Toronto

June Morrison, who lost her father George William Morrison, 95, three weeks ago, said the report is not surprising. She says: ‘I think there’s criminal act. The police investigation, once they actually go in there and see what’s actually going on and do those interviews, yes, I think you’re going to get a criminal element, definitely, on the hands of management and admin.’ (CBC)

Family members who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 say a Canadian military report on five long-term care homes in Ontario confirms what they already know about one such home because the facility had constant problems. People whose parents have died at Orchard Villa in Pickering, Ont., where 77 patients have died as of Monday, say they believe there are more homes that should be investigated.

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/orchard-villa-long-term-care-home-report-canadian-military-families-1.5586083

Covid-19: Premier vows “there will be justice” after “heartbreaking” military report on LTC homes: Trudeau pledges support

Blair Crawford, The Ottawa Citizen

A shaken looking Premier Doug Ford said Ontario’s chief coroner will investigateallegations contained in a military report into the province’s long-term care homes and that criminal charges are possible.“There will be accountability. There will be justice for these residents and their families,” Ford said in a briefing at Queen’s Park.Ford said he lay awake all night after reading the “gut-wrenching” report.

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https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/covid-19-ontario-case-load-climbs-by-just-287/

A list of some of the allegations in a military report on long-term care

The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Members of the military called in to assist five long-term care homes in Ontario dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks wrote a report on some of the troubling observations they made at those homes. Here is a selection of the allegations, which Premier Doug Ford called horrific.

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https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/a-list-of-some-of-the-allegations-in-a-military-report-on-long-term-care-homes

Report of abuse in Ontario nursing homes shocks provincial officials but not experts

Elizabeth Payne, The Ottawa Citizen

Ontario Premier Doug Ford vowed to do everything in his power to fix long-term care Tuesday after releasing a report from the Canadian Armed Forces that detailed poor infection control, lack of adequate nutrition and allegations of abuse and neglect inside five Ontario homes where soldiers were brought in to help during the pandemic. But the horrifying details in the military report came as no surprise to close observers and critics of Ontario’s long-term care system, who have long charged that the province’s nursing homes have been neglected for years, leaving families stunned as they’ve watched loved ones face pain, fear and inadequate care.

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https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/report-of-abuse-in-ontario-nursing-homes-shocks-provincial-officials-but-not-experts/

Madonna Care Community now focus of expanded class-action lawsuit

Elizabeth Payne, The Ottawa Citizen

Families with loved-ones in Ottawa’s Madonna Care Community are now part of a proposed class-action lawsuit against two major companies that operate long-term care homes in Ontario.The lawsuit, which has not been certified in court, was originally filed by the law firm Diamond and Diamond Lawyers against Revera Inc., alleging negligence and breach of contract. It has since been expanded to include Sienna Senior Living Inc., which operates Madonna Care in Ottawa and homes across the province. Angele Mansfield, whose father was a resident of Madonna Care Community and died of COVID-19, is among the representative plaintiffs who allege negligence and breach of contract against Sienna.“My father’s life was cut short,” Mansfield said. “They had a duty to him and there were too many cracks in their operation.” The proposed lawsuit is suing each company for $50 million. The allegations have not been proven in court. 

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https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/madonna-care-community-now-focus-of-expanded-class-action-lawsuit/