Rainycrest reopened to admissions

News Release
Riverside Health Care Facilities

The Board of Directors of Riverside Health Care Facilities is pleased to announce that formal approval has been received from the Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care to resume admissions to Rainycrest Home for the Aged, effective Monday, September 19, 2005.
“This is great news!” enthused Wayne Woods, CEO of Riverside. “We are very happy with the Ministry’s decision to lift the suspension”, he said.
Rainycrest has been plagued by ongoing compliance issues with the Ministry of Health and was subsequently forced to suspend admissions on February 18th of this year. This Ministry then appointed Riverside Health Care Facilities as interim manager of Rainycrest on March 18th. Since that time, the staff and management have been working diligently to address and overcome the compliance issues cited by the Ministry of Health.
“The Rainycrest staff and management have done an exemplary job in working together to overcome these issues”, noted Woods. “I am very proud of the work that has been done. We’re definitely moving in the right direction!” he added.
Kathy A. O’Reilly, who is the Enforcement Coordinator for the Ministry of Health & Long Term Care issued a letter to Wayne Woods outlining the importance of a well-planned admission process.
“We must ensure that the admission process is well-planned, well implemented and ultimately thoroughly evaluated in an ongoing manner in terms of the overall impact on the delivery of care and services to all residents”, she said in her letter.
“We will need to handle the admission process very delicately”, agreed Woods. “We do not want to overwhelm the home and we also want to remain in compliance”.
In order to do that, Riverside has developed a plan for a gradual admission process over the next several weeks.
“We plan to admit one patient the first week and then increase it to two admissions per week for the succeeding weeks until all the beds are filled”, explained Woods.
When asked about the importance of this decision for district residents, Mr. Woods said, “Our elderly need a place to call home - a place where they are comfortable and free from harm. Our staff, management and Board have always been, and remain committed to the delivery of quality, compassionate and safe patient care for all district residents”.

For further information, contact:

Teresa Hazel, Communications Officer
Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc.
Phone: (807) 274-4803
FAX: (807) 274-2898
Email: t.hazel@rhcf.on.ca