POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 89 In several reports obtained by CBC News, there were references to facilities being short-staffed when abuse occurred. At the beginning of September, Health Minister Randy Delorey appointed an expert advisory panel to look at ways to improve long-term care. The three-member advisory group will focus on staffing levels, safety and wound care. Under provincial legislation, people who violate the Protection of Persons in Care Act can face a fine up to $2,000. Corporations can face up to $30,000. Silverstein said she'd like to see the law enforced in Nova Scotia but she also thinks an arms-length organization should be in charge of investigating complaints instead of the Health Department. "It just doesn't seem reasonable to me the way it's done," she said. "I guess Heath and Wellness just investigates itself and who holds them accountable? Can you go to the RCMP or the regional police and get them to enforce that law? I don't know. They [Health andWellness] never had the decency to even get back to me." She and her husband, Robert, have established Families for Quality Eldercare—a foundation with the goal of improving care for seniors. Among the group's initiatives is fundraising to buy technology that helps rotate patients in order to prevent bedsores. They hope to team up with one nursing home at a time to help that facility improve its services. Families put their trust in homes and residents deserve better treatment, she said. Silverstein said she feels betrayed by what happened to her father, whom she described as a stoic man who went through a great deal of pain in his final months. "You believe your loved one is going to be cared for properly and when it doesn't turn out that way ... it's heartbreaking," she said. "I could've accepted him coming to the hospital with a heart attack or a stroke or a bad fall even, but to me, dying of a bedsore is dying of neglect. And that's very hard to take." With files from Jack Julian and Susan Allen www.cbc.ca Harbourstone is one of 34 seniors facilities owned by Shannex in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario. (Google Maps) Nursing home abuse cases pile up, leaving heartbreak and betrayal (continued) ns.211.ca CALL 211 TEXT 211 SEARCH 211 EMAIL 211 - help@ns.211.ca 1-855-466-4994 (Toll-Free for outside of NS)
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