A residential care facility (RCF) in central Hamilton is being evacuated due to what the city is describing as a “deteriorating situation” at the home.
On Friday afternoon, the city began relocating residents of Emerald Lodge at the request of the facility’s receiver as the result of a situation described as “increasingly untenable and unsafe” for residents and staff.
About 35 residents will be moved to the former Cathedral Boys School — which is operating as a temporary mens’ shelter — for assessment.
After that, the city says it will be working with community partners to find long-term housing alternatives for each resident, based on their individual needs.
Following an announcement that Emerald Lodge would be going into receivership, the city began conducting extra inspections that uncovered what the city calls “serious concerns” at the home.
A release from the city cites “the absence of on-site management supervision, the state of repair of the facility, the safety and security of staff and residents, staffing levels, inadequate infection prevention and control measures, and, the overall inability of the operator to meet the complex needs of residents.”
Emerald Lodge is currently owned by a numbered company, and the city says Stefanie Martino is the director and officer of that company.
Another member of the Martino Family was the owner of the Rosslyn Retirement Residence, which was the site of Hamilton’s worst outbreak of COVID-19 to date.
The receiver, Grant Thornton Ltd., terminated the company’s operation of the facility on Friday.
Between Oct. 1 and Oct. 11, inspections were conducted by the city’s bylaw, fire and public health departments, and issued several orders to the operator related to things like a “pest infestation in a food storage area” and infection prevention and control deficiencies.
On Oct. 21, the city’s licensing and bylaw department informed the operator that its RCF licence would not be renewed beyond its expiry date at the end of this month.
The city says more updates will be provided in the coming days.
Global News has reached out to the Martino family’s lawyer for comment.