People are speaking out as a Niagara Falls retirement residence battles an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
NDP MPP Wayne Gates says the wife of the Executive Director of Lundy Manor reached out to him on Friday morning.
Gates says officials were asking for help after 11 residents had tested positive for COVID-19 and at least three residents had died.
Gates says PSWs from two companies also refused to go back to work at the retirement residence after multiple workers became ill.
“There’s a number of things that went wrong here.” Gates tells CKTB’s Tim Denis. “The place didn’t take appropriate measures – didn’t do appropriate measures in place for the residents leading up to the outbreak of COVID-19.”
Gates accused officials at the home of continuing with normal operations in mid-March even after health officials issued warnings.
“They continued to have two seatings every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So that’s two seatings three times a day with 50 residents. They continued to, in my understanding in talking to employees, they continued to serve food, they continued to gather in the lunch room, and they continued to have activities.”
Former Lundy Manor employee Mary Timbers says people were still sitting at tables of two, four, and six during her last day on March 28th.
Timbers says some residents were isolating in their rooms, and a nurse was checking temperatures, but many residents were still socializing, “…Sitting after dinner in the lobby, there were people sitting there, approximately 10 or 12 I believe. A number of them were coughing and I told the nurse in charge.”
She says she loves the residents at Lundy Manor like family. “We don’t want this to turn into another Bobcaygeon where residents and staff die and no one gets to tell the story.”
Timbers says when she refused to come in for a Sunday shift an official threatened to call the union. “This is why all the staff is scared. They’re afraid of losing their jobs.”
Gates predicts more deaths will happen at the residence.
He adds officials at Lundy Manor have secured another company to provide PSWs and government officials are trying to get appropriate PPE to workers in the building.