Latest news with #personalcarehome
CBC
15-07-2025
- CBC
Care home asks court to keep details around woman's fall, death out of police hands
A Winnipeg personal care home is going to court to try to prevent police from obtaining details from a critical incident report after a 90-year old woman died at the home a week after falling out of her bed. According to a notice of application filed in the Court of King's Bench on July 9, a critical incident at Concordia Place occurred on Oct. 9, 2024, when a 90-year-old resident of the personal care home fall out of bed. A health-care aide attended to the resident and lifted her back into bed, the application states. At the time of the incident, the woman was suffering from dementia, and was said to have been experiencing an overall general decline in health in the year preceding the fall, according to the application. The morning after the incident, skin changes and swelling were observed on the woman, and an X-Ray confirmed she had a fractured leg, but due to her age and other existing medical conditions, she was not considered for surgery to repair the fracture. The application says the woman died a week after the incident, but added there is "no evidence the fall caused the woman's death." The critical incident was reported and investigated by a critical incident review committee, but pursuant to the Manitoba Evidence Act, Concordia Place is prohibited from disclosing any records or information that is prepared solely for the use of a critical incident committee, or that is used solely in the course of an investigation. But Winnipeg Police (WPS) began looking into the incident, as the application states that WPS Det. Parnelli Parnes sought a production order, seeking the disclosure of reports, communications, contact information and investigative reports relating to the incident. On Feb. 24, 2025, a Manitoba judge issued the production order, which required Concordia Place to disclose occurrence reports and all communications stemming from the investigation, including emails and digital communications. The order also required the disclosure of photos, X-Rays, and other information from the investigation. On March 26, Concordia Place advised Winnipeg Police that it could not disclose the information being sought in the order, because it was statutorily prohibited from doing so under the Manitoba Evidence Act. Concordia Place, which is operated by the Concordia Hospital under an agreement with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA), is now asking that the production order be quashed. It claims the authorizing judge failed to impose "adequate conditions to minimize the risk of disclosing privileged information." The application also accuses the production order of being "overly broad" because it seeks all communications made during the investigation, seeks disclosure of documents which are "statutorily privileged," and goes beyond what is "reasonably necessary to gather evidence concerning the commission of the crime under investigation." According to the application, the woman had fallen twice in the previous quarter and was on a fall protocol, which involves implementing specific clinical practices for fall prevention and management. In the application, Concordia Place states that "there is no basis to support a reasonably grounded belief that the critical incident caused the woman's death." The first court hearing before a judge related to the application is scheduled to take place on Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. at the Law Courts Building in Winnipeg.
CBC
09-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
300 vulnerable residents in Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation still waiting to be evacuated: deputy chief
Social Sharing Hundreds of vulnerable residents in northern Manitoba, including dozens living in a personal care home, are still waiting to be evacuated as smoke from multiple nearby wildfires shrouds Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. The First Nation declared a state of emergency on Sunday afternoon due to heavy smoke from the surrounding fires. As of Tuesday night, an evacuation order had not yet been issued, but the community is trying to get its more vulnerable residents out due to the smoke. "On Sunday, smoke in our community was so heavy [that] you couldn't even see our neighbour's house. That's how bad it was," Deputy Chief Marcel Moody told CBC News on Tuesday. "The conditions are so terrible. It's frightening," he said. The closest wildfire to the community has burned about 10 hectares near Notigi, just under 30 kilometres away from Nisichawayasihk, according to a fire status report from the province. The First Nation is located about 60 kilometres west of the city of Thompson, which declared its own state of emergency on Monday. An out-of-control fire north of the city was 5,900 hectares as of Monday, the province said. Moody said Nisichawayasihk's council has been trying to evacuate all 24 residents of the community's personal care home since the state of emergency was declared. Those individuals are considered Priority 1 evacuees and will be the first to leave, he said. But Nisichawayasihk council said in a Monday news release that the residents, the majority of them wheelchair users, have been left in limbo after staff from the Canadian Red Cross and Indigenous Services Canada told leadership that there were no hotel rooms available anywhere in Manitoba. Moody said Red Cross and Indigenous Services officials also told them there was nowhere to send evacuees in Alberta, British Columbia or Ontario. Moody said council is trying to find accommodations for about 300 high-priority community members, including elders and people with respiratory conditions, chronic health conditions and mobility needs. "I want to make sure people are safe and healthy, and they're not compromised by the smoke in the community," he said. "People are impacted by the smoke and they want to go." In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Canadian Red Cross said it could not speak directly to the organization's efforts to help Nisichawayasihk evacuees, but spoke generally about support provided to Manitobans affected by wildfires. "Once Red Cross support is requested by community leadership, then Canadian Red Cross works closely with Indigenous leadership and provincial, municipal, and federal governments to assist with support and services for individuals, families, and communities," the Red Cross spokesperson said. The provincial government said it has met with Nisichawayasihk's leadership and aid partners to try to get evacuees to hotel rooms or congregate shelters in some cases. CBC News asked Indigenous Services Canada for comment but did not receive a response before publication. Threat from smoke 'very real': U of M prof The community is not in imminent danger of the fire itself, but as people across Manitoba experienced this week, poor air quality due to wildfires can cause coughing, irritation, wheezing and chest pains. Those effects are more acutely felt the closer you get to the fire zone, says University of Manitoba associate professor Chris Pascoe, who specializes in respiratory diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. "Right at the site of the fire, or near the fire, the levels of these particulates can get to the point where respiratory symptoms and health concerns can set in very quickly," Pascoe told CBC. "If we're feeling it in the city [of Winnipeg] as it's blowing through, I can only imagine what it's like to be right near that," he said. Pascoe said there's evidence that young people who are exposed to ongoing wildfire smoke are more likely to develop frequent lung infections, and are at a greater risk of developing asthma or other respiratory diseases. Exposing people who already have chronic respiratory or heart conditions to wildfire smoke may make their symptoms worse, Pascoe said, requiring more extensive medical treatment than usual. "The threats of health concerns around particulate matter are very real," he said. As of Tuesday, Nisichawayasihk Deputy Chief Moody said he and council are still waiting to find out where the 300 high-priority community members, including the 24 care-home residents, will be sent. "Hopefully we don't have to move … everybody, but if we have to, we will. But right now our focus is on the most vulnerable people," he said. There are more than 3,000 people living in the First Nation, which only has one main road out and no airport. "There's lots of smoke, and we're scared that [if] the fire comes towards our community … we might get locked in," Moody said. Until then, he said Nisichawayasihk will be waiting for an answer from the Red Cross and Indigenous Services — and hoping for rain. "I think they're forecasting for some rain over the weekend. Hopefully we have lots of it," he said. Thousands of Manitobans can't go home as wildfires burn 4 hours ago Duration 1:31 Areas in northern Manitoba remain at risk as wildfires burn out of control. On Tuesday, hundreds more left their homes behind, not knowing what they will come back to. Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
