River Glen Haven struggles to protect residents during COVID-19 outbreak

By: Mike Anderson

As River Glen Haven Nursing Home in Sutton battles a major COVID-19 outbreak with 23 residents and ten staff members testing positive, Sherrie Fraser and her aunt Mary Jane Mulholland are fighting to save her mother’s life.

Ms. Fraser’s mother, Susan, 67, has lived in the home since last fall and has cognitive issues resulting from an accident that occured 12 years ago.

Although she tested negative, she is sharing a 144 sq. ft. room on the second floor of RGH – the home’s initial outbreak area – with three other residents, including a woman who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 27.

According to Ms. Fraser, the room is too small to maintain a 2-metre distance between her mother and her infected roommate, and they share a communal washroom.

Although Ms. Fraser and her aunt have made repeated requests to have her mother moved, they were recently told by RGH that there are no plans to separate well and unwell residents, and those who tested negative would have to stay put for now.

This news is very upsetting to Ms. Mulholland, who said her sister was initially told that an effort would be made to move her.

“They were looking at a floor plan to move everybody around and told Susan that. So there was a promise, and then everything changed,” she said.

“I wish that they had not told her that. Because of the fear that she has is horrendous, as well as our fears, because we sit here every day waiting for her to get it.”

To make matters worse for the family, Susan’s husband of 40 years, Malcolm, 69, is also a resident of RGH. He lives on the first floor, which recently reported a positive case

COVID-19 outbreak guidelines issued by the Ontario Ministry of Health on April 15, clearly state that “LTCHs (Long-term care homes) must use… resident cohorting to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” which may include separating well and unwell residents, and providing alternative accommodation to maintain a separation of 2 metres.

The Post emailed Karen Ryan, the home’s administrator, to ask why the ministry’s guidelines are not being followed by RGH; however, as of posting, a response has not been forthcoming.

However, in a previous interview, Ms. Ryan stated the 119-bed facility is near capacity with only a few rooms available to isolate patients, so options are limited.

While Ms. Fraser acknowledges the lack of space at RGH, she said that shouldn’t have stopped the home from moving her mother to a safer location.

“There was a window of opportunity to separate those individuals who are positive from those that are negative. That wasn’t done, and now my mother is in the same room as a positive person,” she said.

Although her mother was recently provided with hand sanitizer and a mask — after Ms. Fraser and her aunt urged staff to offer them — she still believes her mother, who has a history of asthma and is underweight, is not being adequately protected.

“She’s negative so far, but every day that passes, it’s likely that she will come back with a positive,” she said.

Ms. Fraser is calling for drastic action from RGH, the province, and York Region Public Health to save her mother and other residents who haven’t yet tested positive.

“They should rent out space, whether it’s like an arena or a whole floor of a hotel, and pay for everybody to go in separate rooms, everybody needs to get out of there because if they’ve got four in every room, you’re going to have multiple cases,” she said.

“They’re paying for homeless people to be in a motel. Why aren’t the elderly not put in those positions? Let’s put them somewhere they’re safe because that floor is not safe.”