Summerland Seniors Village Problem

[Queen K]

Thanks pbear, yes exacty, what is provided and what is not is the most commonly misinterpreted scenerio in independent living situtions.

For example, something simple as towels. A set is provided a week. Sometimes the sales pitch can make it sound like the senior doesn't even need to bring towels! It's all provided. It's not. YOU supply: period.

[giglesias]

Summerland Seniors Village is a campus of care that offers residential care as well as independent living for residents who wish to maintain their independence.

Mr. Bonaldi is an independent living resident. This means he was mobile and was able to take care of his own needs. Apart from taking two meals a day with other residents in our dining room, he lived independently and received no care services from facility staff. Residents in the Independent Living side of our community have an emergency call bell in their suites that they activate when in distress. We have not determined yet why Mr. Bonaldi did not activate his emergency call bell, but we have determined that it was working. Nevertheless, his absence from the dining room on two consecutive days should have been investigated by our staff. We have policies and procedures in place to identify when residents are not present for meals and we are looking into why they were not followed in this case. We will take appropriate action to ensure that they are followed in future.

We are also urgently investigating reports that Mr. Bonaldi is suffering from salmonella poisoning. We keep samples of the food we serve for two weeks and will have them tested. As far as we know, no other residents are suffering from any salmonella-like symptoms.

What happened to Mr. Bonaldi is totally unacceptable to us. It does not reflect the high standard of care that our staff provide to residents at Summerland Seniors Village and we want to do all we can to try to make sure that this never happens again.

Sincerely,
Tony Baena
VP Operations, Retirement Concepts

[my5cents]

After watching the CTV video, I tuned into CHBC news tonight to hear more because it's really hard to fathom this happening. Like you my5cents, I was surprised to see nothing about this story.

So now I'm going hmmm..... Maybe the story was not as CTV presented it? Maybe CHBC didn't see it the same way as CTV? Or maybe more info has come to light?

Who knows, but it will be interesting to see if there is any more news on this tomorrow. If true (as presented on CTV), I can't imagine this story being swept under the rug by our local media. At least I would hope not. Anyone with family in a senior's or care home, should sit up and take notice.

I think you are confusing incompetence for cover-up.

With the very odd exception, CHBC reporting staff are a band of stenographers who attend press conferences and regurgitate word for word whatever is said at the news conference, no questions zip.

I used to watch just CHBC and the Global Vancr. Realized I was missing some important provincial stories that were reported on CTV so compared them. I discovered that generally CTV has better coverage of the Okanagan than CHBC.

Pitiful

[my5cents]

Thanks Queenie for all the information you are providing. Having been through this with 2 sets of parents, the hardest part was understanding what was provided and what we had to purchase separately. The second hardest part was dealing with an ever changing staff that had different ideas of what their responsibilities were as well.

Not many things scare me, aging into this situation does. A lot.

You know what they say, be kind to your children, they are going to be picking your retirement home.

There is likely more to this story than meets the eye.

I believe until August 2012, (very recently, anyway) this facility was run by Sodexo a very large company that has 125,000 employees in North America. http://www.sodexo.ca/caen/default.asp

I don't know when Sodexo took over running the facility.

Retirment Concepts very recently took over running this facility.

This isn't the first time Retirement Concepts has held the contract to run the Summerland the facility. Some may recall a scandal in 2006 when staff were caught taking nude photo's of some residents at the Summerland facility, that was Retirement Concents staff. http://www.castanet.net/news/Penticton/ ... kers-fired

Retirement Concepts isn't a stranger to complaints http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/10/12/BeaconHillVilla/

Didn't take long for something to go wrong under Retirement Concepts watch this time. I wonder why, after such problems in Summerland and elsewhere in the province, Retirement Concepts were chosen over Sodexo ? Couldn't be money, could it ??

Too bad we don't have any decent local media, sounds like a VERY INTERESTING story with lots of areas to delve into.

[Logitack]

this seems rather contradictory doesnt it? "staff" are not required to check on residents... but are required to alert home support staff.

so are the home support staff part of Retirement Concept?

Retirement Concepts tell CHBC News that staff are not required to check in on residents in independent living housing though they are required to have visual contact with residents at meal times.
The operator says that if staff do not have a visual on residents during meals, they are supposed to alert home support staff, who are then supposed to check in with the resident.
However, the system broke down with Bonaldi.
Retirement Concepts say staff at Summerland Seniors Village did not follow proper procedure and tell CHBC News that it was “unacceptable”. The operator will be investigating why Bonaldi was left undetected for several days.

Read it on Global News: CHBC Okanagan | Okanagan senior left in room for four days, company admits mistake

http://www.chbcnews.ca/okanagan+senior+ ... story.html

[gambler]

First off, Queenie, your posts have been informative and enlightning. I only have experience with one relative in assisted living and your comments have helped me to understand some of the concerns the staff there expressed to us. While we thought we were providing what WE thought he needed, I now see it differently. I'm so glad you have posted your thoughts on this topic as it has provided some much needed knowledge from a different perspective than many of us see. I really do appreciate you taking the time to comment on this. I'm sure there are many seniors and family members as well, who will ultimately benefit from the knowledge you shared.

It was interesting to see the reply from giglesias AKA Tony Baena, VP of Operations at Retirement Concepts. It does explain how Mr. Bonaldi was actually in an Independant Living arrangement. However, after reading the articles posted by my5cents about previous concerns raised at their facilities, it actually just sounds like more of the stuff he promised would never happen again. So I'm not sure how genuine I feel his comments were. If I had a relative living in one of their facilities, I'd be worried. Very worried.

With the very odd exception, CHBC reporting staff are a band of stenographers who attend press conferences and regurgitate word for word whatever is said at the news conference, no questions zip.

I used to watch just CHBC and the Global Vancr. Realized I was missing some important provincial stories that were reported on CTV so compared them. I discovered that generally CTV has better coverage of the Okanagan than CHBC.

Pitiful

Pitiful indeed. CHBC is not the only local news source that no longer investigates their stories. Castanet's article on this situation (posted 8 hours after CTV wrote the story and hours after we started discussing it here) states clearly at the top and bottom, that the information came from the CTV and was simply regurgitated in different form. I have lost all faith in our local news outlets as for the past couple years, it seems they have stopped hiring reporters and just hire copy re-writers. So many times, we have local news happening and I have to google it to get something from Toronto or Vancouver. I did notice your comments on the Westjet thread and have to wonder myself, why CHBC sent a reporter to cover that non-story rather than investigate something far more important like what happened to Mr. Bonaldi. For whatever reason, I feel our local news agencies are just not interested in giving good investigative journalism. Many times, a small news blurb is written locally and it leaves me with more questions than answers. I ask myself, did the writer even read this article before posting? Do reporters not ask questions and dig deep anymore? It's a shame that a town of our size, cannot support better journalism but it is what it is. But I am in total agreement with your comments my5cents. Your post researching the history of Retirement Concepts was by far better than anything I've read from our local news sources.

[my5cents]

Thanks gambler, my pleasure.

[Queen K]

And thank you Gambler.

As I suspected the fellow in question was living as an independent resident.

Fair enough.

And protocols failed.

But there's a danger in assuming all was in place and it was the Village's fault. As Tony points out there was a call bell in place, well, all independent living rooms have call bells in the rooms, both somewhere in the main living space and in the bathroom (the number one place where people are usually found btw). The issue is assuming that the resident when fallen on a floor can actually reach it. And it's not necessarily the homes fault if the resident can't reach it. I've seen furniture blocking them in some cases, "can you reach that?" is met with a "I would somehow."

More important to me is if someone is deemed a fall risk (and yes, that is the correct terminology), they are generally given information in regards to using a safety line whereas they push the button to automatically alert a company that they have fallen. Sounds good right? It is and works, when the resident does several things:

1. accepts that they need it and is willing to wear the braclet or pendant, every day, religiously.
2. actually signs up with the program and is willing to pay for it as an extra cost benefitting them.
3. Will actually use it when fallen. That is to say, does not have some ideas that using it incurs still more costs as in an ambulance charge.

Yes, I have found people on the floor, had been there for hours refusing to use their call button on their wrist. "I can't afford the extra charge."

4. Will sign a risk agreement if they refuse to sign up for the service. Yes, "risk agreement" again is a the legal jargon and it generally means the senior knows what they have been offered, it's benefits, but for various reasons, are willing to sign a document stating that the service has been offered but declined. Risk agreements are legal and allows people to live at risk in their own home. Just so you all know, many people live at risk in their own homes for various reasons, these are not rare documents.

Many people have these pendants/wrist bands even while living in independent living arrangements surrounded by people all day because the staffing is NOT 24/7 and actually quite a bit can happen in the space of a few minutes.

These comments are for general interest purposes, and not intended at all about the fellow in question. No one but his family and Dr. knows what exactly his situation was. And maybe Tony.

[normaM]

just put me on an ice floe - I read these stories and I get the auggies. Poor old man... how the heck could someone not notice him missing for a week?
Ice floe
or a shoe sale at Holts, results about the same

[gambler]

so are the home support staff part of Retirement Concept?

From what I now think I understand, it would all depend on the level of care you negotiated for. For instance, you might agree to independent living arrangements without additional help. Or you might want independent living with a support worker offering extra services.

Depending on their economic circumstances and their needs (physical needs like laundry, companionship vs. medical needs like monitoring medicines, assistance in walking), the support worker could be paid by the government (low income requirements met), your family may pay for someone, or your health insurance might provide it under certain conditions.

As mentioned earlier, only his family and doctor knows what the situation was. And maybe Tony.

I might be way off base though in my understanding. I'm curious too Logitack. Queenie, does this sound about right?

[bipdl]

I wish to correct one glaring factual error in this thread.

My5cents wrote (and has accepted misplaced accolades for his erroneous posts), basically, that Retirement Concepts once operated the Summerland Senior's Village, then Sodexo ran it for a while, then its operation once again reverted to Retirement Concepts. He stated that problems have only arisen when Sodexo was not at the helm of the operation. This is not accurate! My5cents seems to have pieced together and presented as fact his distorted picture from various unrelated media sources and news reports... and we all know how accurately news stories are gathered and shared!!!

Retirement Concepts was the promoter, builder, marketer and operator of this facility from its outset till the present day.
Sodexo is a subcontracted food and housekeeping services provider, nothing more. It is my understanding that Sodexo is not in the business of running retirement homes, especially when it comes to providing services associated with extended care needs such as comprise a major component of Summerland Senior's Village's operation.

Retirement Concepts is in a "Triple P" partnership with the provincial Government, meaning they are part of a Private/Public Partnership. They operate as a private, profit based corporation with specific arrangements to receive public funding for certain aspects of their operations. I have no way of knowing if Mr. Bonaldi's arrangements were a matter of either private or public administration... but either way, the buck stops on Retirement Concepts' desk, and, this principle has already been properly acknowledged by a company executive.

I was a Retirement Concepts employee at the Summerland Senior's Village not long ago. Due to nondisclosure agreements I signed as a condition of being hired, I am not at liberty to "blow the whistle" on any of the "stuff" I witnessed or was personally involved in. However, I can and will state categorically that I would never want to be consigned to a Retirement Concepts facility in my waning years and that I made damned good and certain that my own parents chose a facility operated by someone other than Retirement Concepts. I can also truthfully state that the vast majority of staff at the Summerland Senior's Village are very good and conscientious workers, are passionate about the care they provide and the people they provide it for, and have perfectly reasonable expectations about their responsibility loads and hopes for necessary improvements to their work environment.

Talk is always cheaper than action. (Thank God for Government Inspectors and Unions! {I wasn't in the union!])
Policies and promises are typically talk and conveniently overlooked by those who make or administer them.
Glossy brochures are exactly what they are.

These three truths are neither slanderous nor libelous... they are what I have found to be common occurrences in life.

AND, I hope someone reads this post before it's deleted because it doesn't support a warm, fuzzy myth that all is well here in retirement land... something our local media seems incapable of doing, as previously noted.

It never ceases to amaze me how "news reporters" always seem to forget to ask the most important question of the W-5, namely "WHY?"... and how readily they swallow pure, unadulterated, clearly obvious "baffle-gab" and lame, cliche slogans as acceptable explanations.

[Queen K]

Gambler has got it almost perfect.

Did this fellow even have home support or not is part of the question.

But there is a whole more to that too.

Even if he did, protocol is that two people go to a room together, one would be the Villages staff member with the CHW.

Seeing that IHA has THREE investigations going I'm not sure what else I can elaborate on.

Bipdl has it down to the buck stops at the desk of the Village. Correct in my view too.

[Queen K]

just put me on an ice floe - I read these stories and I get the auggies. Poor old man... how the heck could someone not notice him missing for a week?
Ice floe
or a shoe sale at Holts, results about the same

NormaM! You'd start decorationg the ice flow.

I think I could open a coffee shop dedicated to seniors and their needs and name it The Ice Flow.

"Meet me at the Ice Flow for a cuppa joe."

[Queen K]

http://news.ca.msn.com/local/britishcol ... in-suite-1

And here it is, the most interesting part to this story is that the fellow did not have homesupport. Many don't and don't need it.

What this tells us that the whomever was reporting to the homesupport who were there for their actual clients, was very confused about what to report to whom.

[gambler]

Goodness Bipdl, we're just having an interesting conversation here about lots of different things. Thank you for clarification though. It's interesting what you say about being a former employee and not wanting your parents there. I have a relative who is getting up there in years so I'm looking at this whole situation way differently then I would have 5 years ago.

Back then, I had a family member in assisted living and thought they were getting great care. The facility provided a menu of nutritious meals, a sunny eating room, a variety of activities that he was unable to partake in and a smiling face at the front desk. As you mentioned, it was just a glossy brochure. Just reading the webpage for Retirement Concepts makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Thinking about what Queenie has said, makes me realize that the real things that matter to a resident in their care, the things that make their quality of life better, are not even mentioned in their website. A sunny room is nice, but if your laundry isn't getting done or if you have no Depends or toilet paper, your quality of life is severely impacted.

When my relative was in care, we provided his clothes. The staff always complained that we weren't providing enough. It wasn't until after he passed away that we discovered that his laundry was being shipped to Vernon to get washed and that took a couple days. When his watch and some of his clothes went missing, we assumed someone was stealing. Now I realize that his clothes were probably just given back to the wrong resident. I imagine the watch is sitting in a lost and found basket somewhere because it came through the laundry and no one knows who owns it.

When the care home said they provided laundry, we never gave it a second thought. Should the staff have explained to us how the system worked (while he was alive instead of after he died) or were we wrong for not asking the proper questions?

When the time comes to look for care for my elderly family member, I feel much better prepared now to ask the right questions. I now know the glossy brochure, an arts and craft room and a piano in the eating area are not what matters. I'm heartsick to realize I fell for that before.

One other thing I wanted to comment on is the coverage of this story by CHBC. Last night's coverage regarding Retirement Concepts was limited to the reporter regurgitating the press release Mr. Baena posted on this forum earlier. Granted to the uninformed, they presented it like they had done some honest investigation but in reality they just repeated what was said in the press release. No questions asked. That's shameful.

http://www.chbcnews.ca/video/abandoned+ ... dd#stories