Interior Health will appoint an administrator to oversee the residential care section at Summerland Seniors Village. The administrator will be in place for a minimum of three months, and is in addition to the clinical consultant already on site.
Section 23 of the provincial Community Care and Assisted Living Act gives health authorities the power to do just that if there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is a risk to the health or safety of a person in care.
The administrator will take over operations of the residential care section and has the ability to exercise all powers necessary to continue the operation of the facility, which includes hiring staff.
“This is a rare and unusual step but one that we feel is necessary,” says Dr. Andrew Larder, IH Senior Medical Health Officer. “Interior Health has also brought in additional nursing staff to work at the site to help bolster the clinical leadership we feel is crucial.”
Interior Health funds 75 of 80 residential care beds and 18 of 36 assisted living suites at Summerland Seniors Village, which is owned and operated by Retirement Concepts.
In addition to the administrator, the clinical consultants brought in early December will remain at Summerland Seniors Village indefinitely. At this time, new admissions to residential care and assisted living also remain suspended.
“Interior Health’s number one priority is the safety and quality of care delivered to seniors in care,” says Karen Bloemink, IH Regional Director, Residential Services. “We have taken complaints about this facility very seriously, which is why we conducted our quality reviews and continue to maintain a presence at this site.”
Three reviews have been conducted and completed representing a snapshot in time of the facility’s operations. All of the reviews included interviews with clients, family members and facility owners and staff, as well as review of documentation including incident reports and client charts. In addition, Interior Health’s Licensing program conducted two inspections at Summerland Seniors Village—one on October 31st and another on November 14th. Licensing continues to work with the site to address infractions identified during those inspections, met with the operator as recently as January 14th, and since that meeting, has laid out items that need to be addressed within specific timeframes.
These reviews have identified common areas of concern regarding staffing levels, education and training, and leadership. Summary reports can be accessed online—see Backgrounder below.
As a result, Summerland Seniors Village has been directed to take the following steps in the coming months:
- Increase staffing levels to ensure quality of care for clients .
- Bolster its leadership team and nursing oversight to provide stronger support for frontline staff .
- Create clearer processes for communicating with staff, residents, and their families and/or caregivers, particularly relating to changes in client care needs .
- Develop enhanced procedures for falls prevention, wound care, and the use of least restraint .
- Provide ongoing education and training of staff
Interior Health, through its Residential Services and Home and Community Care departments and Licensing branch, will continue to monitor Retirement Concepts and its adherence to recommendations. In addition, the Ministry of Health’s Assisted Living Registrar will also monitor progress. New admissions to the facility were suspended in December and continue to remain suspended while changes are being made.
Source: Interior Health