Staff and families at a Nanaimo seniors' care residence were shocked and concerned to learn some of the beds of the facility will be given over to drug addicts and those suffering mental health issues..“We’ve already had one of our long-term residents suffer an assault at the hands of someone there for drug treatment,” said a nurse — one of two who spoke to the Western Standard on the condition of anonymity for fear of job reprisal — who works at Dufferin Place in Nanaimo..“An elderly woman was roughly pushed to the floor and when we asked the other woman (who committed the assault) why she did it, she said, “‘Because she wouldn’t get out of my way.’”.Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) told its staff two facilities — Dufferin and The Summit in Victoria — now have SPUs (Specialized Population Units) as the new norm. The Summit opened 36 beds July 1, with Dufferin set to follow today, with the new patients set to arrive then..According to an internal VIHA memo acquired by the Western Standard, the new units “will provide complex care to residents who:.• Meet the LTC (long term care) Admission Criteria.• Are medically and psychiatrically stable.• Have care plans that can be followed in a LTC setting.In addition to meeting the above three criteria, residents must also meet at least two of the following:.• Younger and/or more robust than traditional LTC residents.• Has cognitive impairment.• Exhibits challenging responsive behaviours.• Currently uses or has a history of substance use (may be on the Methadone Maintenance Program, attending a substance maintenance program, etc.) that does not dominate their current clinical picture or place others at risk.• Smokes independently.• Requires individualized recreation/therapeutic programming..While the new residents will be on a separate ward, the nurses said the only thing separating their elderly charges and those with addiction or mental health issues is a fire door which must be manually locked. .“At this time we are only anticipating seven residents on the unit with the potential to increase to 12, but in all likelihood will remain at seven,” reads a mid-July internal memo from Sharron Traub, long-term care manager at Dufferin Place. .“This is a population that is being seen more and more in LTC (long-term care) and require care with care staff who have been trained (our staff have been and continue to be trained) to care for these individuals with complex care needs as well as being supported by specialized care staff.”.Both nurses who spoke to the Western Standard show resumes with decades of work with the elderly, and both maintain they are neither prepared or trained to work with those who have mental issues, or are addicted to drugs or alcohol..Yet they already have. .“We had mental health people on our units for about a year … that was supposed to be temporary until we get this unit,” said one nurse..Michelle Woodruff struggles with VIHA’s decision to house those battling addictions and other problems in the same building as her elderly mom, who suffers from dementia..While she’s aware of the province’s struggle to hire and maintain medical staff, keep emergency wards open and ambulances on the streets, Woodruff said she’s not happy with the new living arrangements in which her mom finds herself..“I just find that unacceptable,” said the Nanaimo resident..“I get it. I'm happy to, you know, work for the good of helping the mental health people and getting them off the street if you can, but a lot of them don't want to be offthe streets because of their mental health issues.”.Woodruff said everyone deserves a roof over their heads, “But is it right to do it to the detriment of the people who built our freakin’ world?”.Currently, the nurses said there’s a mix of four mental health patients/alcoholics/drug addicts on the premises of Dufferin Place — that once housed 24-26 elderly patients — and on the books..“Oh, yeah,” said one nurse, “we hand out vodka all day long. It's supplied in those little airplane bottles — doctor's orders.”.Given one assault already occurred at the end of May, the nurses are none too pleased to learn they will indeed have more interactions with the new tenants..“They will have (their own nursing staff) working with the new arrivals,” said one nurse, “(Staff) over there apparently are working through a one day training session — I don't know if it's online or in person.”.Still, both nurses said it’s common for them to move from ward to ward, given current staff shortages..VIHA refused comment.
