Daughter hides tape recorder to get facts on father's care

A7

by dwayne tingley
times & transcript staff

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MEMRAMCOOK - Joanne Cameron emphasizes one point -- at least 95 per cent of the staff at the Foyer St-Thomas nursing home in Memramcook is compassionate and provides gentle care for the facility's 30 residents.

It's the other five per cent who should take some intense training on how to properly care for the elderly or find another line of work, said Cameron, whose complaints of verbal abuse have led to an investigation by the department of social development.

Not only does Cameron hope this complaint is resolved, but she also wants the department to take all issues dealing with the abuse of nursing home residents more seriously.

Cameron's father, Philippe Gaudet, an 83-year-old former construction worker who has been a resident of Foyer St-Thomas since last spring, has often talked to his family about a nurse he didn't get along with.

Cameron asked the head nurse about the working relationship between the nurse and her father. She was told her father often cursed and disturbed other residents and the nurse might have been gruff, but "that's just the way she is."

The explanation didn't satisfy Cameron and her two brothers so they hid a tape recorder at the head of their father's bed so they could hear all conversations in his room for three days.

At one point, they heard their father scream for help because he felt sick and was in pain. It was at least 15 minutes before help arrived. The first person to respond tried to help then a second worker arrived and she was not sympathetic.

Cecile Cassista, the executive-director of the New Brunswick Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Rights, has heard the tape.

"It was hard to listen to," Cassista said. "It made me sick. I can't believe someone would treat a senior that way."

The worker told the man he was the worst case she's ever had to deal with in her 15 years as an employee at the home and she called him "ignorant."

Cameron, of Moncton, has since released the tape to several media outlets. The employee has been suspended with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation by the department of social development.

"I'm not looking to get anyone fired," Cameron said. "If she gets fired, she'll end up getting a job somewhere else.

"I would rather see more education and more training. I'm sure this has happened to other people, who don't know who to complain to. People have to step forward."

Pierre Landry, manager of the nursing home, was surprised by the complaint.

He said the suspended employee has been working at the home for "a very long time" and there have no been other complaints. In fact, the home has been open for 23 years and complaints have been rare.

"All of our employees are well-trained," Landry said. "It's a very difficult time for everybody -- the staff and the residents."

A spokeswoman for the department of social development said individual complaints can't be discussed because of privacy concerns, but she acknowledged department officials had heard the tape recording.

All complaints are taken seriously and are immediately investigated by the department, said Judy Cole, director of communications for senior services, a branch of the department of social development.

In most cases, the complaints are resolved by the family and the nursing home working together, she said. At other times, the department has to get more involved.

All nursing homes in New Brunswick are licensed and must follow provincial standards. The homes are operated by private business or not-for-profit agencies, but are administered by the province. The province also subsidizes residents of the nursing homes.

Meanwhile, Cameron has not told her father about the investigation.

"It would just upset him," she said. "He deserves to be treated with respect. This is going to be his last residence. Let him live in dignity."