Alberta health minister pledges to fix 'huge gap' in post-hospital discharge system
CBC
Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange admitted Monday to a "huge gap" in the system for referring discharged hospital patients to housing and support after a case in which a non-profit moved vulnerable people into hotel rooms.
LaGrange and Jason Nixon, minister of seniors, community and social services, said during a news conference that concerns about the organization Contentment Social Services are prompting them to pursue new accreditation and licensing rules.
On March 15, CBC News broke the story about Blair Canniff, a stroke patient with high care needs who was discharged from hospital in Edmonton and moved into a hotel south of the city, in Leduc, through a program run by Contentment Social Services.
Canniff had been expecting to go to an assisted-living facility. He and his family reported the hotel room wasn't properly equipped for his wheelchair, his hygiene wasn't being managed, and he was given fast food to eat.
Another woman also spoke to CBC News about concerns about the quality of care for her father, Glen Green, after he was discharged from hospital and moved between two Leduc hotels, also with Contentment Social Services.
LaGrange on Monday thanked Canniff for coming forward, and for "the fact that it's highlighted this huge gap in our system, that we have to make sure that we vet properly anyone who's provided as an option."
When hospital patients are discharged but need to live someplace with additional services, care teams in hospital present them with a list of housing options. It is not clear how agencies are added to the list.
In LaGrange's initial response to Canniff's story last week, the minister said Alberta Health Services followed "proper procedures" in discharging him to a non-profit provider.
On Monday, Nixon said government officials have been unable to reach anyone in charge of Contentment Social Services.
WATCH | Province taking over care of Contentment Social Services clients:
That's despite unpaid hotel bills that put more than two dozen people at risk of being evicted and sent to a homeless shelter, he said.
"This situation shines a light on the need to look at what rules are in place to organizations who advertise themselves to provide services beyond just housing," Nixon said.
Premier Danielle Smith previously said the government was working to find new living arrangements for 39 people in hotel rooms under the care of Contentment Social Services.
Nixon said Monday that a further review over the weekend revealed that the organization actually had 27 people in rooms at the Leduc Park Inn — many of them vulnerable, some discharged from hospital.
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