SOUTHBRIDGE'S ORCHARD VILLA, FOR-PROFIT LONG-TERM CARE HOME SUBJECT OF ARMED FORCES REPORT, ENDURES DAYS OF HEATING OUTAGE AS TEMPERATURES DROP TO -18 OVER THE WEEKEND

SEIU Healthcare delivered space heaters to keep people warm after slow response from the nursing home

PICKERING, ON, Dec. 23, 2024 /CNW/ - Yesterday, SEIU Healthcare, the largest long-term care union in Ontario, delivered large space heaters to bring warmth and relief to kitchen staff left in freezing conditions by Southbridge's Orchard Villa when the nursing home corporation failed to address an ongoing outage of the heating system.

Union delivering more heaters to long-term care home (CNW Group/SEIU Healthcare)

Lone heater provided by Southbridge management (CNW Group/SEIU Healthcare)

Kitchen worker wearing coat to stay warm in cold long-term care facility (CNW Group/SEIU Healthcare)

Reading of 57 degrees in side the long-term care home (CNW Group/SEIU Healthcare)

Staff were left to prepare meals in winter jackets. The small personal-sized heater provided by management was completely ineffective in raising temperatures in the industrial sized kitchen. After initial complaints were raised by staff, their union took it upon themselves to action and deliver large space heaters to the nursing home on Sunday as temperatures dropped further. The freezing conditions extended beyond the kitchen and into the dining hall of the long-term care home.

In a letter sent to the Southbridge CEO on Monday, SEIU Healthcare is demanding accountability for leaving workers and seniors in freezing conditions for a period of at least five days. "Failure to properly act in the face of -20 degree temperatures is cruelty to workers. It's inhumane and beyond corporate mismanagement," declared Tyler Downey, president of SEIU Healthcare.

Downey added, "It's the job of the employer to protect workers. We demand no less." SEIU Healthcare is calling on the Ministry of Labour to inspect the failures of the nursing home.

During the pandemic, more than 70 residents died at Orchard Villa. At 30 deaths per 100 residents, Orchard Villa has one of the worst pandemic death records in Ontario, resulting in support from the Canadian Armed Forces.

SOURCE SEIU Healthcare

For Media Inquiries Contact: Corey Johnson, Director of Strategic Communications, SEIU Healthcare, 416-529-8909, [email protected]