St. Jacobs retirement home ordered closed by Ontario regulatory body

A retirement home in St. Jacobs that houses 17 people has had its licence revoked by the regulatory body which oversees retirement homes in Ontario.

“The RHRA issued the order to revoke the licence of Village Manor because the Registrar believes that the licensee is no longer able to operate the retirement home according to the law and regulations,” Phil Norris, a spokesperson for the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA), told Global News through email.

A quick scan of the RHRA web site shows that Village Manor has been cited numerous times for issues such as verbal abuse, borrowing money from residents and having untrained staff watching over residents.

“This home has been inspected numerous times over the past three years and has been the subject of several other orders by the RHRA,” Norris said.

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Initially the home was ordered to close by June 1 but Norris says the owners have appealed the order which has pushed the effective date back to Oct. 9.

He says that the order will also require the Village Manor to find new housing for residents who are to be displaced.

“The RHRA would like to reassure people that the order requires the licensee to continue to provide the care services each resident signed up for until the home ceases to operate,” Norris said.

“It also requires the licensee to help residents find new accommodations.”

The move to close the retirement residence is a rare occurrence in Ontario.

Norris says the governing body has issued 1,149 licences over the last eight years with only 11 of them revoked.

In a statement to Global News issued by Village Manor owner Deb Moore, she denies the allegations of abuse and says that the RHRA’s move was made “without conducting a thorough investigation.”

“The revocation order is in the process of being appealed to a tribunal, who will hear and consider all of the relevant facts.  We are of the view that there are individuals who have powers and duties conferred upon them by the Retirement Homes Act who have not been acting in good faith. ”

She says there will be not further comment until the appeal is heard.