Alderney Manor resident dies of legionnaires' disease

CTV Atlantic: Woman dies of Legionnaires' One of the residents living in Alderney Manor in Dartmouth has died after being diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease.

One of the residents living in Alderney Manor in Dartmouth has died after being diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease.

Beverly Roma died Saturday after being hospitalized with the illness at the end of August.

The 78-year-old was one of five residents of Alderney Manor diagnosed with Legionnaires'.

“It seemed to go downhill every day,” said Elta Mullins, Roma’s daughter.

Her family is speaking out with hopes of helping others.

“That water's not safe,” said Mullins. “I don't know why they're not taking people out of there until they get it fixed.”

Health authorities maintain the building is safe for people to live in. The water is being treated, but until that process is complete, restrictions remain in place.

“There's a lot of older folks there who do have health issues and this can't be good for them,” said Mullins.

Nova Scotia’s medical officer of health confirmed on Wednesday an individual who was confirmed to have contracted Legionella has passed away.

"We offer our sincere condolences to her family and friends. This is extremely sad and unfortunate,” said Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed in a statement. “It is due to the seriousness of this illness that Public Health gets involved as readily as possible whenever there are suspected cases, in order to limit the impact on people.”

Mullins says there have always been issues in the building.

“They're always turning the water off and turning it on, there's issues with bedbugs that ran rampant through the building,” she said.

"Housing Nova Scotia takes the safety and comfort of all of our residents very seriously,” said a media relations advisor for Nova Scotia’s Department of Community Service in a statement. “If any resident or family member has a concern about conditions at any of our buildings, we encourage them to speak to their resident manager or staff at the local housing authority.”

Roma's family says their mother lived at Alderney Manor for 19 years.

“If you can get your loved ones out of there until they get the water fixed, do it,” said Mullins.

She says her mother could have lived with her daughters but she maintained her independence until the very end.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kayla Hounsell.