Ontario long-term care company accused of leaving residents 'soiled in diapers' could get millions for new beds
CTV
The Doug Ford government says it has allocated hundreds of beds to the five Ontario for-profit long-term care chains at the centre of a military report that shocked the nation more than a year ago with details of horrifying conditions and neglect.
Southbridge Care homes, which owns Orchard Villa, a long-term care home where 70 people died amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is in the running to get public funds to build 722 new and 1,070 redeveloped beds—a move that critics say “rewards” the companies behind the deadliest homes.
CTV News Toronto is working on a five-part series looking at one company at a time, and the potential beds the province has in store for them, guaranteeing their future.
The Canadian Armed Forces first got the call in April 2020 to help five long-term care homes in Ontario grappling with severe COVID-19 outbreaks and staffing shortages, including Southbridge Care Homes’ Orchard Villa in Pickering, Ont.
A month after their mission, the military published a scathing report, written by Brigadier-General C.J.J. Mialkowski, detailing allegations about the conditions inside the homes, confirming the worst fears of families whose loved ones had died within their walls.
