THUNDER BAY — A recent national media report on conditions in Ontario nursing homes has trained a spotlight on Thunder Bay's Hogarth Riverview Manor.
CBC's Marketplace found that, over five years, the nursing home had more infractions of the province's Long -Term Care Homes Act (as documented in written notices) than any facility in Ontario.
Written notices are issued by inspectors assigned by the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care to ensure compliance with the law.
Hogarth Riverview received 289 notices, followed in second place by a nursing home in London which received 224.
In a prepared statement St. Josesph's Care Group CEO Tracy Buckler said "inspection reports alone do not reflect the quality of care that a home provides nor do they account for things like risk to residents or how the report was addressed."
Buckler noted that the long-term care sector is subject to approximately 1,400 requirements under legislation.
"As a sector, we have been clear for many years that greater investment is needed, as well as a robust health human resources strategy to address staffing shortages," she added.
It's no secret that local nursing homes have been challenged for years to maintain adequate staffing.
Last year, in the midst of bargaining on a new collective agreement, the union representing support workers at Hogarth Riverview described it as "dysfunctional".
In an interview Tuesday, Buckler said management is constantly striving to make improvements.
"You can always do better, and we know that, because you can always aspire to do better. I can also tell you that from a resident and family perspective, we have a very high level of satisfaction when we do surveys," she said.
Buckler said the positive feedback has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting satisfaction with additional safety protocols that have been implemented.
But a chronic shortage of workers in this field across Canada remains a serious challenge, she said.
Hogarth Riverview currently has 30 full-time-equivalent nursing and personal care staff vacancies.
"Even if we were at the right number of staff to staff the way that we're funded right now, we'd still need more staff. Our residents have become far more complicated. They have multiple co-morbidities that cause them to need a lot of care," Buckler said.
The health ministry ordered that Hogarth Riverview be placed under third-party management in late 2017.
Early last year, Buckler said she was encouraged by the progress that had been made in meeting compliance requirements.
With 544 beds, Hogarth Riverview is one of the largest nursing homes in Ontario.
Buckler said staff try to do their best all the time, but "sometimes adverse events occur."
She went on to say that it's important that staff receive adequate support.
"Sometimes people feel rushed. Sometimes maybe we haven't communicated effectively, and we need to make sure, particularly in a home this large, that our communication strategies are sound...that our education plans and practices are very effective."
The Marketplace investigation also placed three other Northwestern Ontario nursing homes in the top 30 for written reports from ministry inspectors, including Rainycrest in Fort Frances, St. Joseph Care Group's Bethammi Nursing Home, and Southbridge Pinewood in Thunder Bay.
The CEO of AdvantAge Ontario, an association representing not-for-profit home operators including SJCG, issued a statement this week saying its members are doing the "absolute best they can in a sector that has been in crisis for many years."
Lisa Levin said decades of underfunding has created a "desperate shortage" of trained staff, and until that is addressed homes will continue to be challenged to meet all the regulations.
"Urgent action is needed," Levin added.
