Two Renfrew County long-term care homes consider letting residents smoke on the property

Smoking is not permitted on the property at Bonnechere Manor long-term care home, but Renfrew County is reconsidering the policy. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)

LONG-TERM CARE HOMES IN RENFREW COUNTY TO CONSIDER SMOKING POLICY CHANGE

Two long-term care homes in Renfrew County will consider allowing their residents to smoke on the property once again.

Bonnechere Manor in Renfrew and Miramichi Lodge in Pembroke, the two county-run long-term care homes, banned residents from smoking on the home's property in 2010.

But despite the known health effects caused by smoking, the county will consider rolling back the policy for the sake of residents' personal safety.

"Over the years, residents with varying degrees of mobility impairments have endured hazards associated with all weather conditions and vehicular traffic in order to vacate the property to smoke," said Mike Blackmore, director of long-term care in Renfrew County at a health committee meeting on Feb. 15.

"Some have fallen and sustained injury," Blackmore went on to say. "Fortunately to date, no residents have fallen unattended for a duration detrimental to their health."

Residents would still be prohibited from smoking indoors. Any smoking done on the homes' properties would have to be done at least nine metres from an entrance.

Michael Donohue, chair of the county's health committee, noted that at Bonnechere Manor in Renfrew, there is an old bus stop from the 1970s off the corner of the property where residents venture to smoke.

"We have frail individuals that are residents at Bonnechere Manor or Miramichi Lodge and yet they cannot resist that compulsion, and yet we are requiring them to actually vacate the property," said Donohue.

"I think it's long overdue in recognizing that this is the home of these individuals and we need to weight it as such," the chair added.

The change is now before County council and would be reviewed at six- and 12-month increments after implementation.