Quebec family fights forced relocation of 22 seniors from long-term care home in Verdun

Kim Robertson is speaking out against the forced relocation of 22 seniors from CHSLD Champlain in Verdun.

Her 82-year-old mother is among the residents being moved from the long-term care home by Dec. 18, a place she has called home since 2016.

“I can’t even begin to explain how angry we are, and sad for her,” Robertson told Global News. “Telling my mother, she just kind of shook her head and said, ‘again, I don’t understand.'”

According to the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, residents are being moved to make room for 22 acute care beds.

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“CHSLD Champlain has 64 short-term beds, 158 long-term beds and eight palliative care beds at this location,” said regional health spokesperson Jean-Nicolas Aubé in a statement.

In order to comply with ministerial orientations to maintain short-term capacity, CHSLD Champlain must recover the 22 short-term care beds.

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“We have a waiting list of over 25 people waiting in hospitals for short-term rehabilitation rooms,” said Aubé. “The need is urgent.”

The centre informed Robertson of the decision over the phone in October and gave her until Nov. 15 to chose from a supplied list of four potential long-term care homes for her mother.

Working to find her mother a new home in the middle of the novel coronavirus pandemic makes Robertson question the timing of the decision.

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“We are in the second wave, the seniors are the most compromised — especially in the CHSLDs — why are we it doing it at this time? If it has to be done, wait for the pandemic to be over,” Robertson said.

Medical malpractice lawyer Patrick Martin-Menard said this is what officials are forgetting.

Moving anyone, let alone vulnerable seniors, from their home in the middle of a pandemic takes a large toll on their mental and physical health.

“Saying, ‘OK, we will free up some space, move some people here, move some people there,’ but has anyone really thought about the human impact that these decisions will have? And asked if there was any other way to do that.”

According to Martin-Menard, families dealing with this relocation could challenge the move in court.