MPPs call for investigation of Extendicare Countryside in Sudbury

Sudbury's two MPPs joined families of residents at Extendicare Countryside on Wednesday to call for an investigation into conditions at the home.

Sudbury MPP Jamie West and Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas are calling for a review of Extendicare Countryside by Ontario’s Ministry of Long-Term Care.

While they have established good communication with senior officials at Extendicare, the MPPs said Wednesday that they have received troubling information from families who describe the situation as nothing short of a crisis.

The Ministry of Long-Term Care issued a cease of admissions for Extendicare Countryside in December of 2024 after several compliance orders were issued last fall.

West said he’s opposed to lifting that order because of what they are hearing from families of residents.

“And so we’ve asked the minister to investigate,” said West.

At a media conference Wednesday hosted by both MPPs, Mina Thibeault spoke on behalf of Rose Brown, her 90-year-old aunt who has been in long-term care at Extendicare for two and a half years.

Thibeault said she became concerned about Brown’s level of care shortly after admission. Her hopes that problems would be resolved when the residents moved into the new building at Extendicare Countryside were quickly dashed.

“When Rose asks for help putting her clothes on or her brief on, staff stand there and ignore her,” Thibeault said.

“When Rose has an accident in her bed, mattresses are not properly disinfected and soiled clothes are left lying around. Recently when this happened, Rose was given the towel to clean herself up. Staff did not help her in any way, even though Rose said she needed help.”

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A spokesperson for Extendicare Countryside sent CTV News a statement that said all six compliance orders were lifted after a ministry inspection March 24-28.

(The full statement can be read at the bottom of this story.)

“We continue to listen to our community and are focused on doing the work to rebuild trust and ensure the families of our residents once again feel confident in the care and experience we provide to their loved ones,” the statement said.

“We welcome the ministry’s presence in our home. While we are encouraged by the progress that has been observed by the ministry, we recognize that we must remain focused on continuing to improve care.”

Countryside said it was “concerned” about the MPPs’ “perception that there is a discrepancy between the ministry’s observations and the feedback they are hearing.”

“What matters most to us is that residents and families are noticing positive change,” the statement said.

“While our work is not done and the cease of admissions remains in place, we are encouraged by the progress being made.”

In response to a request from CTV News, the Ministry of Long-Term Care sent a statement that said, in part:

“The Ministry of Long-term Care has been actively monitoring the Extendicare Countryside long-term care home through regular inspections and ongoing engagement with the licensee and management.”

“The cease of admissions order will remain in effect and will only be lifted once the ministry is confident that the home has achieved full compliance with ministry standards and has shown they are able to maintain that compliance moving forward.”

Both Gelinas and West said they are hopeful the ministry will be looking in ongoing issues at Countryside, but said if things aren’t getting better, they will apply pressure to get things moving in the right direction.

Full statement from Extendicare Countryside

“Our most important responsibility is the care and safety of all those who live and work in our homes. We continue to listen to our community and are focused on doing the work to rebuild trust and ensure the families of our residents once again feel confident in the care and experience we provide to their loved ones.”

“In our most recent inspection by the Ministry of Long-Term Care from March 24-28, all six compliance orders were lifted based on their direct observations. We welcome the Ministry’s presence in our home. While we are encouraged by the progress that has been observed by the Ministry, we recognize that we must remain focused on continuing to improve care.”

“We are concerned by MPPs Gelinas and West’s perception that there is a discrepancy between the ministry’s observations and the feedback they are hearing. We continue to listen and remain focused on improvement. Beyond the regular lines of communication, which include town halls, email updates and one-to-one conversations with residents and families, we are launching a survey to invite direct feedback from our residents and families with questions relating to the key areas of focus in our action plan: care, cleanliness, meals, communication and raising concerns. This survey will serve as a pulse check to ensure the experiences of our residents and their families are improving as we act on the feedback received from the Ministry.”

“What matters most to us is that residents and families are noticing positive change. While our work is not done and the cease of admissions remains in place, we are encouraged by the progress being made. Over the last few months, we have worked closely with the Ministry of Long-Term Care and our Family and Resident Councils to deliver on our action plan to improve care. We have also worked closely with our local Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) through open, ongoing communication and have continued to share regular updates with them.”

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“In response to the Ministry’s Cease of Admissions order issued in December, we have taken a number of actions:

Brought in external supports to complete a deep clean of the home and permanently expanded our internal housekeeping team

Focused on recruiting and retaining permanent team members to improve care consistency. In addition to replacing agency staff with permanent team members, particularly registered nurses (RNs) and registered practical nurses (RPNs), we have hired new dietary aides to help improve dining experiences.

Launched re-education for team members on medication management, pain management, skin and wound care and more.

Increased manager support for mealtimes, captured resident and family feedback to guide us in improving dining experiences. We continue to host regular town halls for residents and families, meet regularly with our Resident and Family Councils and encourage ongoing feedback as we continue to work to improve care every day.”