Vision Nursing Home in Sarnia is working on a report about its cooling system, to send to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, after being fined.
The nursing home, located at Wellington Street, was one of two facilities fined under legislation passed last year, which required all homes to install air-conditioning in all resident rooms by June 22, 2022.
"After months of working with these homes and offering to fully fund these projects, it’s very clear they have no intention to comply with our government’s legislation and that action is required," said Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra in an emailed statement. "This is the first of many steps that can and will be taken if we do not see any willingness from these homes to get up to standard, including further financial penalties, compliance orders, changing management, and suspending or revoking licenses."
CEO Heather Martin said Vision Nursing Home is equipped with a cooling system and the room temperatures meet the ministry standards of 26 Celsius or below.
Martin told Sarnia News Today that the fine of $1,100 is the lesser issue at this point, the most important thing is to clarify to the ministry that the home has a tempered air system.
"Our engineers are preparing the report for us as we go forward," she said. "We have a variable refrigerant cooling system that provides cool air throughout our entire building. It complies with the temperature monitoring in the rooms and we're submitting a report of that nature to the ministry for their consideration."
Martin said a lot of paperwork is involved in order to clarify that the Sarnia home has the same system as "half of the homes in the county".
Since news of the fine was released to the public, Martin said she has received a lot of hateful emails.
"The residents' comfort and their environment is extremely important to us and we ensure that we meet the ministry's standards," said Martin.
Calandra said at this time, 554 long-term care facilities out of 627 homes have air-conditioning in all resident rooms.
"Nearly every outstanding LTC home has purchased AC equipment and provided the ministry with receipts for their projects," said Calandra. "Nearly every home has scheduled installation or electrical upgrades for their projects."
McCormick Home in London was also fined $1,100. The two homes have until September 16 to be in compliance. The ministry will conduct another inspection after that date.