We have high expectations, but reality always seems to be different

Over the last five years, we’ve seen the safety of our world, both personally and nationally, change dramatically. Nationally the arrest of 17 “home grown” terrorists give us a new perspective on the 9/11 attacks, and on a personal level, the shootings at Dawson College in Montreal have made us rethink the safety of our children. But there’s one aspect of safety that has remained constant; it happens too frequently to our seniors in far too many communities in Canada and it’s been happening for a long time. I’ll use these two examples:

THUNDER BAY, Ont. - The family of a Thunder Bay, Ont., woman who died after nearly having her arm torn off in an attack at a seniors home has settled a multi million-dollar lawsuit. Documents obtained by the Thunder Bay Chronicle- Journal show the estate of Blanche McCooeye has agreed to settlements with the Thunder Bay District Housing Corp. as well as Douglas Shepherd and his fiancee, Susan Carmichael. Shepherd, 44, was arrested on the evening of March 5, 2005, following an attack on the 86-year-old McCooeye. He was convicted of manslaughter in June and sentenced to a 10- year prison term. Details of the Housing Corp. agreement are confidential and a court order prohibits the disclosure of the terms or amount of settlement. Shepherd agreed to a judgment that calls for a $1- million payout to the family, plus $200,000 to cover their legal fees.

Now, from what I’ve been able to gather about the case, is that Mr. Shepherd was not a resident of the Walter Assef Seniors Residence. He was there visiting his girlfriend, Ms. Charmichel (the Residence is not exclusively for seniors). Blanche McCooeye was calling a Bingo game and Mr. Shepherd was in the room and became disruptive. Blanche McCooeye asked Mr. Shepherd to leave and he refused. She moved to pick up the phone to call the police and he attacked her. What ensued was like a chapter out of a Stephen King novel, Blanche McCooeye died in hospital two months and four days later.

And my second example:

BARRIE — The owner of an Orillia seniors home yawned in the prisoner’s box yesterday while a judge said the woman “had precious little remorse” after endangering the life of a feeble, 82-year-old resident who lost over 100 pounds while in her care. Janet Longford, 54, a registered nurse and former owner of Morrison House, was given six months house arrest and three years probation after being convicted of endangering the life of Sarah Eisemann. Longford yawned several times during her sentencing hearing and refused to read a victim-impact statement. The elderly woman went to live at the 18-bed facility in November 2001 when she was a robust 189 pounds. By the time her daughter removed her in 2003, Eisemann weighed 78 pounds and was suffering from malnutrition, severe “stage four” bedsores and was sometimes strapped to a bed or a chair for hours. “Old people ... deserve our care in the last years of their lives,” Crown attorney Kate Hull said. Defense lawyer Arman Hoque said Longford made an error in judgment by hiring “needy staff” who were not qualified. “She would help people who needed a second chance by giving them employment,” the lawyer said. Justice Robert MacKinnon said he had considered sending Longford to jail. “There is precious little evidence of remorse,” he said. “You wouldn’t even read the victim-impact statement.” Outside court, Eisemann’s daughter Isabella Eisemann wept and said she felt ignored when her victim-impact statement was not read in court. “People need to know what can happen to their parents.” Longford is under investigation by the Ontario College of Nurses..

Here is a case of abuse that’s right out of a Dickens novel. The story speaks for itself and demonstrates the flaws in our system on multiple levels. Despite many studies and recommendations, and token lip service by politicians, events like this do occur.

I suggest that the agent of change will be the courts. Massive change in almost every industry in the United States has occurred because of huge legal settlements in liability and wrongful death cases. This change via legal precedent is beginning to make itself felt in Canada and this trend We have high expectations, but reality always seems to be different will continue until the seniors and long term care segment is forced to implement change in order to survive.

The first story that I used, despite the financial settlement, touches on a different situation. Mr. Shepherd had a history of mental illness and claimed he was off his meds.

In the course of the last 20 years the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has made it their mission to change public opinion so that being drunk behind the wheel is just not acceptable, and it can possibly be considered premeditated murder in the case were a death occurs as the result of a driving accident. MADD has redefined the way the public perceives personal responsibility.

Will a group emerge in Canada or the United States that will make it their mission to convince the public and the courts that “being off your meds” is not an acceptable excuse for disruption, violence or even murder? The court heard Mr. Shepherds claim that he was off his meds in his trial for the death of Blanche McCooeye and still held him responsible to the tune of 10 years.

Every day in Canada, seniors and long term care institutions operate in large cities where there is also a large “transient” population and a large “homeless” population. I’m aware of the precautions they take and it’s a tribute to the management and staff of these institutions that astonishingly few incidents occur.

It will take some time and public pressure for legal and medical experts to redefine the limit of liability in the case of the mentally ill, but I am left to wonder: if this incident happened in a children’s day care facility, would the press and public outcry be different? I can only conclude that it would have, and I’m sure you know the reasons why.

I also wonder about two additional items: What of the other residents of the Morrison House in Orillia that were under Janet Langford’s care? And with all due respect to the surviving family of Blanche McCooeye, what of the other seniors that witnessed the events that day in the Walter Assef Seniors Residence in Thunder Bay?