REGINA – Things are heating up, quite literally, at a Moose Jaw senior citizens home.
A broken air conditioning unit has residents at Providence Place sweating it out and it could be September before the unit is replaced.
Audra Zolmer, a private caregiver with 15 years of experience, says she’s noticed seniors looking ill from the heat.
“These poor people are being overheated.”
“We give our dogs shelter, water, we take them in, we don’t leave them outside to get overheated,” Zolmer said. “These poor people are being overheated in a building and can’t get out. It’s unacceptable.”
Zolmer says temperatures inside the home are soaring above 30 degrees.
The Sask. Party government has approved spending for a new $350,000 A/C unit, but it won’t arrive for another seven-to-12 weeks.
“Why didn’t this government and its health region do anything before this became a crisis? I want to know right now that temporary units will be installed immediately,” NDP health critic Danielle Chartier said in a news release.
Providence Place CEO Paul Nyhof says the best solution appears to be a smaller, rented unit that he expects will bring the air conditioning up to two-thirds capacity. It’s supposed to arrive within 10 days.
Nyhof says staff at the home are working to ensure residents remain hydrated and safe.
Comments