Long Term Care Home In Ontario Without Air Conditioning In Heatwave

“This is the second summer this has happened,” Dorothea Biemann told CTV News Toronto.  “They’re going to die of heatstroke if something isn’t done.”
Theresia’s mother lives on the fourth floor of the Tendercare Living Centre, located at 1020 McNicoll Avenue in Scarborough.  Her floor, called Moll Berczy Haus, is private and costs $3,500 a month.  While Biemann says the staff on her mother’s floor are excellent, they are subject to the same conditions as Tendercare.
Last year, the Ontario government passed legislation requiring long-term care homes across the province to provide air conditioning in all residential rooms by June.  Fifteen percent of homes have missed this deadline.
A spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care told CP24 on Tuesday that 90 homes are behind the government deadline.  Of the residences that are not fully air-conditioned, 57 are for-profit, 25 are non-profit and eight are municipal.
Tendercare told CTV News Toronto that it is “in full compliance” with the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care’s requirements for whole-home air conditioning.
However, the executive director of the long-term care home told CTV News Toronto that they experienced a recent technical issue.
“Yesterday, there was a temporary technical issue with our central air conditioning that caused a portion of our AC system to malfunction,” said Roxanne Adams.
“During this time, we have implemented proactive protocols to ensure the comfort and well-being of residents, including enhanced temperature monitoring of residents and the use of functional designated cooling zones for all visitors, residents and staff.”
Since then, Adams said the damage has been repaired.
However, Biemann says her mother’s room, and the entire floor, still doesn’t have air conditioning and hasn’t since Monday.
“My mother is sweating to death,” he said.  “He called me and said, ‘Dorothea, I’m so hot I don’t know what to do.  I think I’m going to pass out.”
Amid a global heat wave that has not spared Toronto, Biemann says the temperature in her mother’s room, with windows facing the afternoon sun, has been 27 degrees Celsius this week.
Since the house was originally built as a hotel, Biemann says none of the windows open into her mom’s room.
With her mother’s age and congestive heart failure, she sees cause for concern.
Just yesterday, Beimann said her mother took a fan into her room, which had previously been removed due to pandemic-related rules.
“I asked my mom, ‘Did it make a difference?’  Beeman said.  “He said, ‘No, all it does is blow hot air around.’
At the start of the pandemic, Tendercare was forced to call on the military for support when almost half of their residents tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak that saw more than 80 people die.
With files from CP24’s Christina Tenaglia and CTV’s Beth Macdonell. 

title: “Long Term Care Home In Ontario Without Air Conditioning In Heatwave " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “Robert Tedesco”

“This is the second summer this has happened,” Dorothea Biemann told CTV News Toronto. “They’re going to die of heatstroke if something isn’t done.” Theresia’s mother lives on the fourth floor of the Tendercare Living Centre, located at 1020 McNicoll Avenue in Scarborough. Her floor, called Moll Berczy Haus, is private and costs $3,500 a month. While Biemann says the staff on her mother’s floor are excellent, they are subject to the same conditions as Tendercare. Last year, the Ontario government passed legislation requiring long-term care homes across the province to provide air conditioning in all residential rooms by June. Fifteen percent of homes have missed this deadline. A spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care told CP24 on Tuesday that 90 homes are behind the government deadline. Of the residences that are not fully air-conditioned, 57 are for-profit, 25 are non-profit and eight are municipal. Tendercare told CTV News Toronto that it is “in full compliance” with the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care’s requirements for whole-home air conditioning. However, the executive director of the long-term care home told CTV News Toronto that they experienced a recent technical issue. “Yesterday, there was a temporary technical issue with our central air conditioning that caused a portion of our AC system to malfunction,” said Roxanne Adams. “During this time, we have implemented proactive protocols to ensure the comfort and well-being of residents, including enhanced temperature monitoring of residents and the use of functional designated cooling zones for all visitors, residents and staff.” Since then, Adams said the damage has been repaired. However, Biemann says her mother’s room, and the entire floor, still doesn’t have air conditioning and hasn’t since Monday. “My mother is sweating to death,” he said. “He called me and said, ‘Dorothea, I’m so hot I don’t know what to do. I think I’m going to pass out.” Amid a global heat wave that has not spared Toronto, Biemann says the temperature in her mother’s room, with windows facing the afternoon sun, has been 27 degrees Celsius this week. Since the house was originally built as a hotel, Biemann says none of the windows open into her mom’s room. With her mother’s age and congestive heart failure, she sees cause for concern. Just yesterday, Beimann said her mother took a fan into her room, which had previously been removed due to pandemic-related rules. “I asked my mom, ‘Did it make a difference?’ Beeman said. “He said, ‘No, all it does is blow hot air around.’ At the start of the pandemic, Tendercare was forced to call on the military for support when almost half of their residents tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak that saw more than 80 people die. With files from CP24’s Christina Tenaglia and CTV’s Beth Macdonell.