Owner of Atholville special care home defends pilot project

The owner of the Manoir de la Vallée special care home in Atholville says a government-approved pilot project wasn't about cutting staff and saving money, but about measuring patients' needs.

Lokia Group CEO Guy Tremblay says it was pitched because the government-mandated staff-to-resident ratios were leaving his staff spread too thin, making it difficult to staff the busiest times.

"The present ratio, we can't fill all the needs," Tremblay said in an interview with CBC News.

Tremblay said the goal was to put more personal care workers on duty during the day, when things are busiest. Their ratio would count only the people providing care and not people who were taking care of housekeeping, meals or maintenance, Tremblay said.

While Tremblay hasn't yet sent his report on the pilot project to the government, he said the results were "very good."

"We should change the approach to take care of old people and be more precise in their needs ... at the same time, we have a very, very serious problem in that field with human resources," Tremblay said on Friday.

Earlier this week, a CBC News investigation found the government made a deal with Lokia Group – which owns Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville, Manoir Brise de l'Oasis and Manoir Oasis de la Baie in Bathurst, Manoir Sugarloaf in Campbellton and Manoir Sunrise in Dalhousie – in the spring of 2019.

The investigation found that special care home management was exempt from following the staff ratios set out in government standards.

It meant there was only one caregiver in some level one and two homes, where government regulations say there should be three staff for every 18 residents, former employees told CBC News.

In memory care units, which are dedicated to residents with Alzheimer's and dementia, the ratio is six caregivers for an 18-bed unit, but workers told CBC the staff requirement was cut to three during the pilot project.

• Higgs government approved drastic cuts at special care homes that continued during pandemic
• Investigation demanded into pilot project that cut staff at 5 special care homes

The former employees described how they were given tablets that described their tasks for the day and the amount of time allotted to complete them.

Opposition politicians called again on Friday for an investigation, arguing the exemption put vulnerable people at risk.

'It's impossible'

Lokia Group initially declined comment to CBC News when contacted earlier this month, but Tremblay did an interview on Friday. 

One former employee told CBC News how they were given 15 minutes to bathe a resident and five minutes to clean a room.

"I can't imagine that we can wash someone within 15 minutes," Tremblay said.

"It's impossible. We booked those baths, for example, at 40 minutes, and if somebody is looking to put on the news that we're taking 15 minutes for a bath, it's really, it's impossible."

He also said employees had 15 to 20 minutes to clean a room.

Tremblay said his company pitched the project to the New Brunswick government for about four years before the Higgs government signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2019.

The pilot project ended at the end of March, when the MOU expired, Social Development Minister Bruce Fitch confirmed on Friday.

"The owner of the homes is apparently working on a report and I'm anxious to see that when it comes out," Fitch said.

Complaint made about home

A few months after the MOU expired, there was a COVID-19 outbreak in Manoir de la Vallée.

Volunteers who responded to that outbreak told CBC News they'd walked into a crisis. They said they found residents who were dehydrated, malnourished and needed baths, and the home needed cleaning. Two people died during the outbreak.

• As COVID outbreak raged at Atholville home, volunteer workers felt abandoned by province

Fitch told reporters on Friday that a complaint was made about patient care and housekeeping at the home, including reports of dehydrated residents.

He said government staff from another jurisdiction investigated.

"There also was a physician that came in and reviewed the charts of all the patients in the home and all those allegations that were made have been unfounded," Fitch said in an interview.

Tremblay confirmed that his home was the subject of a complaint in May, during the COVID-19 outbreak, but argued they did their best during the outbreak while understaffed.

"If you're not used to dealing with special care homes or nursing homes and you're coming from the emergency room, for example, it's a different field to look at," Tremblay said.

"You should be prepared and be aware of that kind of situation, that sometimes they're already frail, those people. If you say they're frail and they're dehydrated, it's not necessarily the same thing."

Fitch suggested to reporters that the investigation report into the complaint at the home couldn't be released because of confidentiality.

One-quarter of special care homes missing valid licence

The government provided updated figures on Friday that show that 25 per cent of special care homes in the province are operating without a valid licence, which is required by law. Ninety-nine per cent of memory care homes have a valid licence, government now says.

Fitch couldn't offer a timeline for when all homes will be inspected.

"For a specific time to know when we're 100 per cent, that's a moving target," he said.

"But I've asked staff to make sure that the inspections are done, make sure they're posted on the website ASAP."

A CBC News analysis, based on inspection reports found online, showed that 77 per cent of special care homes and 75 per cent of memory care homes have expired licences or no licences at all, as of Dec. 1.

• Most N.B. special care homes didn't have required annual inspections this year

"Basically, when I saw the number that you presented, that's where I started asking a lot more questions of how could this be when my understanding was something different," Fitch said.

That prompted government to look at its records and realize it hadn't posted inspections online for a number of homes, Fitch said.

"We take these very serious and again, that's why I've asked staff to make sure the paperwork's done and make sure it's posted in a timely manner," the minister said.

When asked why so many homes were missing valid licences, Fitch blamed the pandemic for the inspection delays.

But records show the government has long struggled to inspect special care homes on time, leaving them operating without the required licence.