May 14, 2021
By Christine Ross
Minister of Long Term Care Merrilee Fullerton has confirmed that investigations are underway at two long term care homes where the military found deaths cause by neglect.
“So we’ve got inspectors in two homes right now, to understand and interview staff and medical directors and working with the coroner’s office reports to understand and put this together to verify what actually happened,” explained Fullerton. 51 residents died at Hawthorn Place Care Centre and 65 residents, including one PSW, died at Downsview Long Term Care. Overall, more than 3,700 seniors in long term care died during the first wave of the pandemic.
These non-COVID related deaths were outlined in the recent Long Term Care Commission report.
Fullerton’s comments were made during a Zoom media conference to announce that the province is investing $35M to increase enrollment in nursing education programs in colleges and universities.
Minister Fullerton says 2,000 practical and registered nursing grads will one day join the healthcare system.
The funding will also support the expansion of clinical education placements for nursing and personal support workers students in long-term care.
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