Malcolm Place sale not following RHRA requirements, says retired nursing employee

To the Editor:
RE: Closing of Malcolm Place, Kincardine

I am a recently-retired nursing employee of 26 years from Malcolm Place Retirement Residence here in Kincardine. It was with sadness that I heard that this home had been sold and was closing as a retirement home.

No one can stop the sale of this heritage home, I understand that, and I am not writing to contest the sale. The reason for this letter is to express my very deep concern with regard to the lack of consideration, during the sale, given to the residents from the present owners of this home.

Due to my very real concerns, I have sought counsel and information from the RHRA (Retirement Home Regulatory Authority), a body that exists to protect the rights of seniors who live in retirement homes in Ontario.

The regulations of RHRA are specific, in that when residents are given notice of a home's closure, it must be 120 days from the day of notice, with no care or other services being interrupted or withheld during those 120 days. This 120-day period allows residents to find suitable alternative housing while still receiving care.

With that in mind, the 120-day end date would be July 8. Yet residents and families were told that as of June 8, services would cease to be provided by the home. These services include: food, personal care, medication administration, bath assist, continence care, and other assistance, as required. (See below my quotes from local media.)

These folks are in this facility, by and large, because they require that extra care that a regulated retirement home offers.

Contrary to the RHRA rules and regulations of the 120-days’ notice, the residents have only been given a 92-day notice - as of June 8 - which is a full 28 days short of the RHRA regulated time frame. Further, I would also like to point out that staff received lay-off notices for May 8, providing residents with ONLY 61 days of service, not the required 120 days. This is totally unethical.

To quote from local media, dated March 9, 2022, regarding the sale of Malcolm Place: “All in-house services would end June 8. This includes pharmacy, nursing, bathing, dressing assistance, administration of medication, continence care, assistance with personal hygiene and ambulation and provision of meals. The notice adds Malcolm Place will cease to operate as a retirement residence July 8.”

If it’s to be a retirement residence until July 8, as regulated by RHRA, the owners must provide the services until that time. To repeat, this is an RHRA regulation!

With the lay-off notice of May 8 to staff, who is going to provide the care to those who remain in the home after that date? We all know the very real shortages of Personal Support Workers (PSWs) and other health-care providers in our community. People in their own homes are on wait-lists for care. So, with staff gone, who will be providing the care after May 8 for any remaining residents?

Joseph Gulizia, president and chief executive officer of UniversalCare…(the management company hired by the owners) was quoted as saying in an article in the Kincardine Record, dated March 9: “UniversalCare is working with the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) and is following all government regulations.” WHERE IS THE 120-DAY CLOSURE NOTICE? WHERE ARE THE 120 DAYS OF SERVICE AND CARE?

Therefore, I am asking the present owners, John and Janet Piper, and the management company hired by the Pipers (UniversalCare) to do the right thing by providing the full care and services under the regulations of RHRA until July 8, or until all residents have found alternate suitable housing.

The RHRA requirement date of July 8 will give families and residents the time needed to find a place to stay. It's not as simple as just finding a room in another local retirement home, as our local retirement homes have very few beds available.

If families have concerns or questions or want to lodge a complaint, I suggest you contact RHRA at 1-855-275-7472.

Sincerely,
Mary Lawson
Kincardine