A second resident has died following the Dec. 26 carbon monoxide leak at a long-term care home in Humboldt, the Saskatoon Health Region said Tuesday.
A 94-year-old woman died in Humboldt hospital Tuesday afternoon. She was admitted following the Boxing Day gas leak at St. Mary’s Villa that landed a number of residents in hospital with gas poisoning and resulted in the death of Father Roman Schneider, an 89-year-old resident of the facility.
Dr. David Poulin, vice-president of medical affairs for the Saskatoon Health Region, says there is "no doubt" exposure to carbon monoxide was a contributing factor in the woman’s death.
"She had previous heart conditions that were aggravated by the incident. She was in the area, she was exposed and there was carbon monoxide in her system."
Carbon monoxide definitely played a role in the deaths of the two residents, says Poulin.
"There’s no question their condition worsened and they were very affected by carbon monoxide. . . . There’s no doubt in our mind."
It is not, however, possible for doctors to determine how much of a factor the gas played, he says.
The residents’ advanced age and pre-existing heart problems also contributed to their deaths, he says.
The woman, whose name is being withheld at the request of her family, was the only resident still being treated in the hospital after the gas leak.
Schneider, a former priest from St. Peter’s Abbey, died upon arrival at Humboldt District Hospital in the early morning hours of Dec. 26 after SaskEnergy confirmed the presence of carbon monoxide in the air in the Dust Wing of St. Mary’s Villa.
At around 3 a.m. that morning, several staff noticed they were experiencing symptoms of the gas poisoning and had the matter checked out before waking and evacuating the 38 residents and two visitors sleeping in the wing.
Although the man who died was among the first 14 people brought to hospital, a doctor thought the death was unrelated to the gas poisoning suffered by the rest of the people who were in the same wing, Poulin has said.
A review of the man’s medical charts shows he took a turn for the worse during the hours of the gas leak, leading officials to conclude the poison gas likely was a contributing factor in his death, Poulin said.
A faulty boiler was repaired the same day and residents were returned to the wing, where the air had been cleared.
There were no carbon monoxide detectors in the facility at the time. Several have now been installed and the health region is now participating in a provincewide inventory of carbon monoxide detectors in residential and in-patient facilities as a result of the incident.
The gas poisoning is not expected to have any lingering physical effects on the surviving residents, said Poulin.
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