File Photo (Image Credit: Q101 Merritt)

By James Peters

The Florentine

Interior Health takes over Merritt’s The Florentine after ‘ongoing challenges’

Mar 23, 2021 | 1:00 PM

MERRITT, B.C. — Interior Health (IH) says it is taking over day-to-day operations of a Merritt long-term care home that recently cleared a COVID-19 outbreak.

In a news release, IH says its Board of Directors has appointed an administrator for The Florentine. Matt Renfrew manages the IH-operated Overlander Residential Care home in Kamloops and will be redeployed to The Florentine.

Medical Health Officer Dr. Carol Fenton recommended the administrator takeover to the board. It is effective immediately with a duration of four months.

Fenton made the recommendation after IH’s Licensing Officer and Quality Review Team conducted a review process, determining the private operator “was unable meet the legislated standards of care for residents.”

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Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Albert de Villiers says the change will have minimal impact to residents and their families.

“We are there to support the residents and the staff going forward as well,” de Villiers said in a Zoom news conference. “Really, not a lot will change for residents; they will still receive care. We’ve got the administrator now who is going to oversee — basically run the home — but it shouldn’t impact the care that the residents receive. It will just go better from now on.”

De Villiers says the timing — considering a COVID-19 outbreak at The Florentine was declared over on Friday (Mar. 19) — is coincidental.

“We were going down this path of progressive compliance for a while. We’ve been meeting with the owner and with the manager for quite a while before the (COVID-19) outbreak happened. The issues that were identified started before COVID was here.”

In its release, IH says “The Florentine has ongoing challenges with its site leadership, care planning, staff education and training, and reporting.”

A look at the most recent IH inspection reports sheds light into the possible source of the friction with IH.

An inspection on January 11, 2021 found seven non-critical infractions in the facility, plus one critical infraction relating to improper refrigeration of potentially hazardous foods.

A previous inspection that took place on February 18, 2020, shows two critical infractions — both relating to inadequate refrigeration practices.

Prior to those inspections, IH had found no critical infractions at the facility dating back to 2013.

“The bottom line is that the safe care of all our residents in care is really the highest priority for all of us at Interior Health,” said de Villiers.

The Florentine is owned by a numbered company. It has 20 independently funded long-term care beds. It also has an assisted living section which is not subject to the administration process, according to IH.