New admissions can resume at Sarnia’s Sumac Lodge care home

Ontario has lifted its pause on new admissions to Sumac Lodge, a 100-bed long-term care home in Sarnia.

Article content

The Long-Term Care Ministry’s inspections branch sent a letter dated Dec. 6 to Erie St. Clair Home and Community Care Support Services, the local placement co-ordinator for long-term care facilities, directing it to stop authorizing admissions to the Blackwell Road home due to inconsistent maintenance over the previous two years.

Article content

That order was lifted March 28, said a statement from Extendicare, the home’s operations manager. Revera is the licensee for Sumac Lodge.

“The home has addressed the issues identified and has complied with all orders issued,” the ministry’s Mark Nesbit said by email.

The ministry’s inspection branch wrote the placement co-ordinator March 27 asking them to work with lodge staff on a “gradual . . . and mutually satisfactory plan to resume admissions.”

Article content

A Nov. 6 ministry report on Sumac Lodge, following inspections in October, included a compliance order calling for repairs, including fixing or replacing damaged walls, baseboards, door frames, damaged heater covers, sinks, toilets and stained and damaged floors.

A piece of metal was seen protruding from the wall of a resident’s room and multiple areas had holes in walls, crumbling plaster, broken and damaged plastic coverings over door frames with sharp and jagged edges, the report said.

All resident room bathrooms, but two, were found to have black or brown stains around the base of the toilet, the report said. One bathroom sink had no running water.

“Failure to maintain the interior and exterior of the home in a safe condition and a good state of repair placed the residents at risk for injury and created potential infection prevention and control risks due to the potential cleaning difficulties in areas of disrepair,” the report said.

Article content

“All outstanding building repairs and additional improvements have been completed,” Extendicare said.

That included repairs to damaged walls, baseboards, door frames and drywall plaster, and repair or replacement of plumbing fixtures. A faulty keypad for the resident spa, stained and damaged floors, and damaged patio furniture also were replaced.

“We have hired a new environmental services manager and have implemented strong processes to ensure there is swift resolution of any future building issues or repairs,” Extendicare said.

“We acknowledge that it is unacceptable that the repairs were not addressed in a more timely fashion, and we are committed to doing better moving forward.”

In early 2022, the province and Revera announced an expanded replacement for 1972-vintage Sumac Lodge would be built on London Line on land the city agreed to sell to the company.

Revera did not respond immediately to a request for information on the status of that project.

[email protected]

Article content