THUNDER BAY — The CEO of a firm that operates three Thunder Bay nursing homes says the company has learned from an incident in which an employee made inappropriate comments on social media.
Keith McIntosh of Southbridge Care Homes said the worker at Southbridge Lakehead on South Vickers Street was reprimanded, and the company is retraining staff on the use of social media.
According to a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) report on the incident, the worker "took to social media after a situation had occurred and made a threat towards residents and staff."
Management reported the incident to the MOHLTC in early June, resulting in a ministry investigation.
An inspector determined that Southbridge had failed to abide by the legislated requirement to ensure that policies promoting zero tolerance of abuse are complied with.
In an interview with tbnewswatch.com, McIntosh said the employee involved in the incident meant the social media post to be a joke "without understanding or appreciating the impact or implications."
What the post said was not disclosed (the worker took it down), but McIntosh said it had to do with the menu for the home.
"It was nothing derogatory, it was intended to be a joke, it wasn't a joke, and the team member understands that now."
McIntosh said the woman, who was otherwise in very good standing, is "very remorseful."
The inspector's report notes that staff at Southbridge Lakehead told her the worker had previously completed online learning related to zero tolerance and abuse prevention, and had signed a code of conduct.
Southbridge has been asked by the ministry to prepare a written plan of correction for achieving compliance with zero tolerance.
McIntosh said "social media is something that I think we're all kind of getting our heads around the impact of," and retraining of staff is aimed at making sure "these things don't happen again."
Southbridge took over the 131-bed Vickers Street facility and two others in Thunder Bay from Revera Long Term Care earlier this year.
