Browse Primary Sources
"How Can This Happen?" - Dale Brazao, Moira Welsh - Toronto Star
"The 82-year-old man, in diapers and suffering advanced dementia, slid off his chair and crashed to the floor of the Toronto retirement home. No staffer came to help. An undercover Toronto Star reporter helped Sam up and waited. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. At twenty minutes, a tired, overworked staffer appeared. "Sam does not belong here," she said. That was our first night inside InTouch Retirement Living in Toronto's west end. Over the next week, the Star witnessed profound neglect in a place where more than half of the 18 residents should be in a nursing home receiving higher quality, regulated medical care. People left in urine- and feces-filled diapers for hours. Washrooms had no toilet paper so residents, some suffering from dementia, wiped themselves with their hands or a fliimsy communal towel ...
Toronto Star 2010-10-01
"Watchdog urged for Ontario’s retirement home" - Moira Welsh - Toronto Star
"The Star investigation into retirement homes is a 'wake-up call for Ontario,' said Judith Wahl, of the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly. Nursing homes resources are strained, but they still face strict regulations — especially for medical care. But there are now 24,000 people on a waiting list for one of the province’s 77,000 nursing home beds. For those who cannot live at home, even with help from government programs, there will be nowhere else to go but Ontario’s retirement home industry."
Toronto Star 2010-10-03
"Seniors at risk in retirement home, investigation reveals" - Dale Brazao & Moira Welsh - Toronto Star
"While one reporter investigated from the inside, another delved into management of the home owned by Elaine Lindo. We found health records showing dangerous food preparation; court records detailing a confrontation that led to an assault allegation; and Lindo’s attempt to evict a resident who refused to pay a massive rent increase."
Toronto Star 2010-10-01
"Critics demand retirement home probe" - Moira Welsh, Dale Brazao - Toronto Star
"Reaction to the Star’s expose was swift. The Ontario progressive conservative caucus immediately sent a letter to the government Friday calling for a sweeping investigation into the living conditions of seniors in both retirement homes and nursing homes."
Toronto Star 2010-10-01
"Reporter’s diary reveals substandard conditions at retirement home" - Dale Brazao - Toronto Star
"SATURDAY 8:52 am – Urine puddle on floor of stairwell. Has been there for 24 hours. Told this is a slipping hazard, a staff member grumbles, takes mop and cleans. Sam, who fell off his chair Thursday night, has angry bruise on leg. Staffer says he likes to sleep on floor. 10 am – Some residents sleep in room all day. Diapers, which most residents pay for, rarely changed. Discarded people. Few visitors. When the bathroom is cleaned the same mop and water used to swab lounge floor. Mop and pail stored in shower on second floor."
Toronto Star 2010-10-01