A water line break in the sprinkler system of a Brandon personal care home (PCH) has meant that the residents had to be moved to other facilities within Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) in Reston, Virden, Elkhorn and other centres.
Residents from Rideau Park Personal Care Home in Brandon were moved during the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 27 and on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The cause of the break is still under investigation.
Reston’s Transitional Care Unit has received one person. Eighteen people have been moved to PCH in Virden: three into Sherwood Home and 15 into West-Man. Elkhorn’s Elkwood Manor received one resident.
None of the Brandon residents were in quarantine at the time, but precautions have been taken. In West-Man PCH, a spokesperson for PMH says, “all residents moved from Rideau Park have been cohorted into a hub location. A separate dining room has been created in the PCH activity area for Rideau Park Residents.”
Throughout the area, “most residents have been relocated within vacant PCH beds within the region. Some additional staff have been provided; specifically, for West-Man… as a result of this urgent situation.”
A total of 46 residents needed to be relocated on a temporary basis to other locations in Brandon, Reston, Minnedosa, Virden, Deloraine, Wawanesa, Cartwright, Elkhorn, Boissevain, Killarney. PMH has notified resident families and will continue to communicate with them as short- and longer-term plans are put in place.
PMH has activated its Incident Command System to further develop plans to mitigate the situation. Resources have already been mobilized on site to support water mapping and environmental control.
It is anticipated that significant restoration work will need to occur prior to moving residents back, although a specific timeline is not available at this time.
PMH thanks all staff – both at Rideau Park PCH and other PMH locations - as well as Shared Health EMS (ambulance) members and the City of Brandon for their support in assisting with the efficient and safe relocation efforts PMH further thanks the residents and their families for their patience and understanding as the region ensures their safety and works to get them back home as soon as possible.
