Dozens of London retirement home residents displaced as flooding forces closure

Family members and retirement home staff are scrambling to find last-minute living arrangements for more than 50 residents for the next few months after the seniors were displaced following a weekend flood at the Maple View Terrace (MVT) home.

London firefighters evacuated at least 74 seniors from the six-storey retirement home on Horton and Wellington Streets early Sunday evening after a sprinkler pipe burst on its penthouse floor, causing water damage to the entire building. 

Fifty-five residents were temporarily moved to the Best Western Plus Stoneridge Inn in south London, and others are with family members or at neighbouring facilities. MVT officials say it will take several months before the home can reopen.

"They're still assessing the damage. The early estimate we've been given is three to six months to repair the building before we can reopen but it's not a firm timeline yet," said Scott Vecile, chief financial officer for Oxford Living, which owns MVT. 

"We've been in touch with all the families, non-stop communication and we're finding accommodations for all the residents since it'll obviously take some time before the building is repaired. The operation is good in the hotel but it's not a long-term solution." 

"We don't know how long they can actually stay in the hotel. It's a serious situation in trying to find places for this many individuals," said Heather Noddle, whose dad James McGilvray, 94, is among the displaced residents and has dementia. She said the incident has left him feeling anxious.

"He was so hyper and wound up because he didn't know where he was and he kept thinking about the water [from the flood] and the staff had to calm him down. It's traumatized him for sure, but thank goodness he's got the familiar faces [of staff and other residents]."

McGilvray has been on a five-year waitlist for long-term care but will now be bumped up due to his situation. He will most likely be relocated to Chatham, Kitchener or Brantford which will make it hard for Noddle to visit her dad every other day as she currently does, she said.  

Long waitlists and high costs are proving to be a challenge in relocating residents to another facility, said Vecile, adding that MVT is one of the more affordable privately-owned retirement homes in the region, with monthly fees ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 depending on an individual's care needs. 

Vecile said nurses and personal support workers are working from the hotel to continue providing care to residents, many of whom have high acuity health conditions such as dementia.

'It's all up in the air,' residents say

Laverna O'Brien, 84, said the disruption to her routine has left her sleepless for the three nights she's been at the hotel.

"The flood was everywhere, all over the floors and walls and we still can't go back," she said. "I am stressed right out. I can't sleep, I'm up walking the floors all night and I take sleeping pills, I don't know how long I'll stay here but I am so tired."

O'Brien and other seniors at the hotel said despite the ordeal, hotel and retirement home staff have been helpful in making sure their care isn't disrupted.

"It's hard for nurses to organize because they're not in one central location, they're on different floors and wings and that compounds the problem but they're managing and they're doing quite an excellent job," said Chris McDonald, 69, who doesn't know where he'll be going yet.

"Its very inconvenient and it's causing a lot of disruption so it interferes with your life," said Shirley Merritt, 90, who has lived at MVT for a few years. "It's all up in the air what the next will bring and where we're going to stay."

MVT's on-site staff member, Ashley Bernardo told CBC News on Wednesday afternoon that so far about a third of displaced residents have found another home. MVT is working with Ontario Health at Home and Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority to find accommodations.