Orlans seniors' home inspected 28 times in last 3.5 years

The Orlans seniors' home where a resident wandered off and was later found dead has been visited 28 times by provincial inspectors since it opened in November 2013.

Jean Proulx, an 80-year-old who sufferedfrom dementia and diabetes, was found dead in the woods behind Moments Manor four days after he disappearedearlier this month. The home's management says it is now reviewing its security policy.

• Dementia patient found dead after wandering from Ottawa seniors' home

A closer look at the investigations into Moments Manor by the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority paints a disturbing picture.

We have definitely done a lot of inspections of Moments Manor. We are watching the home.- Bonnie Rose, CEO and registrar of the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority

"We have definitely done a lot of inspections of Moments Manor. We are watching the home," said Bonnie Rose, the CEO and registrar of the provincial agency.

Under the Retirement Homes Act, the regulatory authority is mandated to inspect homes at least onceevery three years.

But if the agency has concerns about the homes, they can be inspected more frequently. Rose confirmedthat since Moments Manor opened in November 2013, it has been visited 28 times by provincial inspectors.

Three compliance orders issued

Almost all the inspections were "mandatory,"meaning they were prompted by concernsraised over residents' safety.

"When we receive a mandatory report, we inspect immediately," said Rose.

The mandatory reports about Moments Manor are wide ranging, and documentinstances where residents fell, dementia patients were not properly monitored, and residents were found soaked in their own urine.

In each case, the inspector issued a formal report, including corrective actions to be made by Moments Manor.

"If we cite a home, and we are in there and cite them, and we are back and cite them again, we will put on compliance orders," said Rose.

Since November 2013, three compliance orders have been issued against Moments Manorfor not meeting the standards laid out in the Retirement Homes Act.

The manor was fined twice by the regulatory authority. As well, in September 2016, a third compliance order was issued, requiring the home to hire a third party to train staff.

After the outside training was completed last September, Moments Manor did pass a routine inspection in April,according to Rose.

The Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority does have the power to revoke a home'slicenceif it is worried about residents' safety.

But Rose argued that closing homes and relocating residentsis often not in their best interestsince their average age is 88.

"In many cases the best thing is to get the home to be compliant with the act, so we focus on that first," she said.

The executive director of Moments Manor declined to comment on the number of inspections.