Mould discovered at Parkridge Centre

The Parkridge Centre has closed off rooms and moved residents to avoid mould growing in the facility.

The Parkridge Centre has sealed off rooms, relocated residents, and is tracking health concerns after mould was discovered inside the facility.

Moisture has been a problem at Parkridge for the past five years, now the health region is taking drastic measures to clean the place out.

Cleaning out Parkridge is only a temporary solution until the source of the problem is addressed. The entire roof needs to be replaced. For now, crews are clearing off snow and covering eaves troughs with shields so that water sheds off the building.

“We’ve had staff that said ‘this is starting to affect my own health,’” Sandra Blevins, vice presidents of integrated health services, said.

Of the 600 staff, 20 have noticed symptoms such as itchy eyes and an irritated throat. One member moved to another facility. Four residents have visited a respirologist with concerns.

“Because of the symptoms being caused by a whole bunch of other things, quite often it’s difficult to tell whether they’re from the mould or something else,” said Ross Findlater, the deputy medical health officer.

“Occasionally, people get more serious stuff from mould exposure, but we haven’t seen any of those,” Findlater added

Regardless of the lack of severe symptoms, the health region said it’s monitoring everyone’s health to make sure the Parkridge Centre is safe.