Bruhmuller wants to know why — and how — her husband, Frank, ended up in the emergency room at Health Sciences North with burns to his arm and a bloody wound to his lip.  

Frank, originally from Espanola, lives with dementia and has been a resident at Extendicare York since December 2021. Bruhmuller understood her husband would be transferred to the Espanola long-term care facility within one year, as most of his family lives in the small town. But he remains in Sudbury.  

At 4:15 a.m. on Feb. 16, Bruhmuller received a phone call — the kind nobody likes to hear in the darkest hours of night. She was told Frank had suffered burns and was being transferred to HSN.

“His arm was all bandaged, so I couldn’t really see too much of what had happened, but the doctor told me he had never seen anything like that come from a long-term care facility,” she said. “He said it was a possibility my husband would need skin grafts. I was horrified; I didn’t even know what to think.”

Bruhmuller was told “Frank’s arm and hand were hanging over his bed and resting on the baseboard heater. His bed was beside the heater, which had no heat safety guards to prevent injury.”

Frank did require skin grafts nearly one week after his injury. 

Because he has dementia, Frank has an early bedtime of about 9 p.m. Bruhmuller was told staff checked on him at 1 a.m., so she has no idea how long his arm was dangling over the edge of his bed. 

“No one knows anything,” Bruhmuller said. “I was told he was checked at 1 a.m. and I was called at 4:15 a.m., so I have no idea how long his arm was laying on that baseboard.” 

Because of the dementia, Bruhmuller said Frank did not recognize the origin of his pain. But he felt it.  

“His reaction was to bite down on his lips, causing additional injuries,” she commented. “He is currently recovering, but was, and still is, in much pain.”

Bruhmuller admits “everything is an assumption, because nobody was there.”  

Markham-based Extendicare Corp. acknowledged Thursday that something went terribly wrong the night of Feb. 16.  

Extendicare said since the unfortunate incident took place, Frank’s bed has been “moved to the correct location in the room. In addition, the home has been audited to ensure all resident beds are in appropriate locations in line with our safety policies. The home will continue to undergo monthly audits to ensure these placements are maintained and we will issue a safety alert to all homes to ensure there is no risk of a similar incident.”

Bruhmuller has shared images of her husband’s injuries. They are ghastly. Frank’s entire forearm was damaged by the heater. There were several patches where the skin was entirely burned away, revealing the tender tissue underneath. The arm was swollen and red. There were several areas where the wounds were weeping. His hand is entirely blistered. The injuries look very painful. 

While the incident was upsetting for Frank’s family, Bruhmuller said it raises the spotlight on the state of long-term care in Ontario. She wants to know why Frank has not been admitted to a facility closer to home and she wants to know why companies continue to operate facilities that are aging, out-of-date and under-staffed. 

The Ontario Health Coalition advocates daily for more staff in long-term care homes, but Melissa Wood, a spokesperson for the group, said Thursday that some facilities also need to be modernized. 

“We need better staff-to-resident ratios. Often during a nightshift, there may only be one or two individuals working a floor. If there were more workers it may have been possible to have caught the accident sooner,” Wood said. “It also doesn’t help that there is not enough space for the elderly in many of the older buildings that do not meet required codes for long-term care, as most new buildings do not have baseboard heating.” 

“This is an unfortunate incident, to say the least, for the family and the resident. This is a situation that never should have happened, with all the risk factors that are in place through Ministry of Health and Long-term Care regulations. What is on paper and what the reality is for residents are two different experiences,” Wood added. “For countless years the OHC has been advocating and sounding the whistle bells for minimum care standards due to heavy workloads and increased resident behaviours, and for-profit healthcare, which takes the care out and puts it in the hands of shareholders. 

“It all has cause-and-effect, as we want our loved ones to be in the safest place possible. My heart goes out to all families who have loved ones that are not well, especially not well enough to stay in their own homes.”

mkkeown@postmedia.com
Twitter: @marykkeown
Facebook: @mkkeown

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