CHSLD Herron, also known as Résidence Herron, is a
long-term care facility
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...
(french: centre d'hébergement de soins de longue durée) located in
Dorval
Dorval () is an on-island suburban city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has the largest surface area in Montré ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
; a suburb of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
; near
Lake Saint Louis
Lake Saint-Louis is a lake in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The Saint Lawrence Seaway passes through the lake.
Lake St. Louis is a widening of the St. Lawrence River in the Hochelaga Arch ...
. The property was acquired by Katasa Groupe in 2015.
The facility gained attention in April 2020 during the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
, as it was reported that most staff had abandoned the facility, leading to a police investigation and government takeover of the facility that exposed deaths and neglect of residents.
History
The facility opened in 1988.
The facility was previously known as Maison Herron ( en, Herron House), and was owned by
Chartwell Inc. According to Michel Amar, consultant for the Katasa group, the Herron center operated an annual operating deficit of around $300,000 at the time, the occupancy rate was only 55%.
On 11 November 2015, the ''Groupe Katasa inc.'' purchased the facility.
[ Operating as a holding company, its largest shareholder is The Choueri Family Trust. Its president and secretary, Samir Emile Choueiri has been in office since 2010. The corporation has six other retirement homes. It is a family business where the president is the largest majority shareholder. Decisions are made by the president and his three daughters. In the fall of 2015, one of the president's daughters (Catherine) was responsible for the management of Centre-Herron and Centre-Pierrefonds. Another of the president's daughters manages residences in Gatineau and the third takes care of property management.
In November 2015, an increase in the occupancy rate for the year 2016 is set to increase it from 55 to 88%. In addition, budget cuts were to start incidentally.
On 28 February 2017, the six members of the users' committee of the CHSLD Herron resigned as a group, saying they were "unable to fulfill their role in defending the residents' rights in the current climate". At the time, the private establishment could accommodate up to 150 elderly residents who lost their autonomy. The director general at the time, Adrei Stanica told La Presse that his establishment fulfilled the quality of life requirements required by the CIUSS.
On 5 July 2017, the Québec Ombudsman submitted its intervention report to the Herron accommodation centre to the Assemblée Nationale du Québec. The Québec Ombudsman noted gaps in the quality of care and services, including a lack of medical follow-ups, a lack of skills and training of staff, lack of variety in food and a daily limitation on the number of incontinence pants, in addition to communication difficulties and poor access to a neutral and impartial complaints procedure.
On 2 May 2018, the Administrative Labor Tribunal accepted Sylvain Legault's complaint alleging that he was dismissed on 4 February 2016 without just and sufficient cause by Center-Herron, owned by Groupe Katasa inc.
In March 2019, coroner Julie-Kim Godin had tabled an overwhelming report on the residence following the death of a 94-year-old woman, suffocated with food.
]
COVID-19 deaths, facility desertion, government response
Between 13 March and 11 April, 31 residents of the facility died; as of 11 April, five were confirmed to be a result of COVID-19. The facility averaged four deaths a month,
and had claimed only two deaths during the period. The first known COVID death was in a patient sent to the Jewish General Hospital
The Jewish General Hospital (JGH; french: Hôpital général juif), known officially as the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital (french: Hôpital général juif Sir Mortimer B. Davis) since 1978, is an acute-care teaching hospital in ...
on 26 March, dying shortly after. Health authorities found that the facility was found to be "deserted" of staff, as of 29 March, three days after the first death.
Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS)[CIUSSS: french: centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux; en, Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre] de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal[ en, ]West Island
The West Island () is the unofficial name given to the cities, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Dorval, Pointe-Cl ...
of Montreal Island
The Island of Montreal (french: Île de Montréal) is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main ...
; french: Ouest-de-l'Île, Île-de-Montréal took over the facility. On 10 April, a team of nurses began treating residents. Minister of Health and Social Services Danielle McCann
Danielle McCann is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2018 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of Sanguinet as a member of the Coalition Avenir Québec and is the former Minist ...
knew of only 18 deaths at the time, two of which were linked to COVID-19. According to the health professionals who intervened in the residence, the living conditions inside were similar to "a concentration camp".
On 11 April, Quebec Premier François Legault
François Legault (; born May 26, 1957) is a Canadian politician serving as the 32nd premier of Quebec since 2018. A member of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), he has led the party since its founding in 2011. Legault sits as a member of the ...
promised a criminal investigation into the facility. The Premier said that the province would conduct a larger review of private and public seniors' residences at some point after the COVID pandemic. That day, the Canadian federal government also promised additional measures for long-term care facilities.
The family that owns Groupe Katasa contacted media outlets on 13 April to deny accusations of negligence. While authorities had claimed the company was uncommunicative, the representative claims that they were actively asking CIUSSS for PPE and replacement staff, and that Info-Santé had ordered staff to self-quarantine.
On 16 April, the ''Montreal Gazette
The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
'' reported that Katasa president Samir Chowieri previously co-owned a company that was investigated for money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdiction ...
, by the RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
Proceeds of Crime unit. Chowieri and his brother had previously served time for their involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy. No charges were filed in the case. Chowieri was convicted at the Hull courthouse of conspiracy for drug trafficking at the Hull courthouse in 1981, and received two years in prison. A year later, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for conspiracy to commit fraud. Chowieri had fraudulently acquired 12.5 tonnes of cheese. In 2002, Chowieri was found guilty of tax evasion and fined $125,000, while operating CHO Brothers, a business he has operated since 1995. He was pardoned for this in 2014. In 2006, Chowieri would have acquired a building in Gatineau worth 37 million for the modest sum of $1. The transaction involved an individual who then turned out to be a relative of the Italian-Canadian mafia.
See also
* (CISSS; french: Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services Sociaux)[CISSS: french: centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux; en, Integrated Health and Social Services Centre]
* COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec
The COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec is part of an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Until 2021, Quebec had reported t ...
* COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal
Notes
References
Citations
*
{{COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
Nursing homes in Canada
Healthcare in Montreal
Buildings and structures in Dorval
Medical and health organizations based in Quebec
1988 establishments in Quebec
COVID-19 pandemic in Canada