Province pledges answers into non-profit that kept residents in motel
Posted March 25, 2024 4:33 pm.
Questions around how an Edmonton senior was discharged from hospital to a Leduc motel remain, and Alberta’s Social Services Minister says almost all clients of the non-profit in question have been moved back to their original homes.
“I made a decision to stabilize not to pay off all the tab, but to stabilize the situation over the weekend and figure out who those individuals were,” said Jason Nixon, Alberta Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services.
Last week taxpayers ended up paying a $25,000 unpaid hotel bill, after the province became aware through media reports of patients discharged from a hospital and under the care of non-profit contentment social services had been moved from one hotel to another after a bill went unpaid.
We will honour that commitment to Radisson Hotel but we will not be paying the rest of Contentment’s bills and it looks like they have a large number of bills that are unpaid.
Minister Nixon says of the 27 people housed by Contentment Social Services — most are on AISH or some type of government assistance — were all paying the agency. That money, supposed to go to a private landlord — moved to two hotels for undisclosed reasons, and last Thursday, they were all at risk of being evicted to a homeless shelter if the bill wasn’t paid.
RELATED:
- More concerns surrounding Alberta non-profit housing patients in motel rooms
- Alberta premier says province paid $25K hotel bill from social services provider
Saying the company, whom CityNews has not been able to get in touch with, has not been in touch with the ministry except for one volunteer on site.
“We heard some concerns about food — lack of. And potentially some neglect for those individuals who were in those circumstances. I won’t say that’s a fact but it’s enough that we want that looked at,” said Nixon.
A provincial investigation is now underway into how this happened, as well as vetting processes for non-profits used by Alberta Health Services.
The majority of the people are not in a hotel and are back in their original apartments.
Alberta’s Health Minister apologized to the families involved, promising change.
“This situation happened, it was terrible situation, but something good has come of it, because we are actually putting new processes in place to make sure when someone is discharged or when someone is accessing a service, they know it is vetted,” said Adriana LaGrange, Alberta’s Minister of Health.
The union representing alberta healthcare workers says this highlights the need for minimum care requirements for long-term care residents.
Adding, the clients of contentment social services should have never been in this situation in the first place, saying they needed more from the province.
“But the reality remains, is that these Albertans were still in need of continuum care — that as a government — they have a responsibility to provide,” said Sandra Azocar, AUPE vice-president.
While the province regulates long-term care homes non-profits like these aren’t, the province stresses they have no relationship with contentment.
