(Man with CMT dies) Supervision questioned after nursing home death

[Guest guest]

Supervision questioned after nursing home death

By Vanres

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2008/01/11/4767376-sun.html

A woman is looking for answers after her mentally challenged brother-

in-law was found dead in the courtyard of a supervised residency.

" It was terrible, I still can't believe it, " said Ann Collen. " I

have no idea exactly what happened. "

What she does know is the body of her 74-year-old relative, Barry

Collen, was found in the courtyard of The Kanee Centre at The Sharon

Home in north Winnipeg early Jan. 2, several hours after he entered

the area to have a cigarette.

Collen thinks the elderly man may have frozen to death after being

unable to reopen the door to the facility, but noted the chief

medical examiner's office is investigating.

" They should have checked in on him, " said Collen, who questions why

it took so long to find Barry, regardless of the cause of death.

She said although Barry was able to do many things on his own, he

suffered from Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome, which makes it difficult

to feel numbness or the cold. It also affected his balance, and made

it very difficult for him to use buttons or zippers. Because of

those facts, Collen felt he should have been frequently checked on

during cold weather.

She was further frustrated by the fact her brother-in-law was

smoking outdoors, because the facility has a smoking room.

" He was banned from the smoking room, for smoking too much, " Collen

said, adding she hasn't been satisfied with the information she

received from Sharon Home since Barry's death. He had been living at

the centre since 2004.

The Winnipeg Police Service did investigate the incident, but ruled

out any suspicious causes of death.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is looking into the matter,

but doesn't believe Barry was somehow locked outside.

" We are investigating the cause of death, but the door had a

code ... and he had the code, " said WRHA spokeswoman Heidi Graham,

adding the code was needed to enter the courtyard, not exit it.

Delorme, Sharon Home president and CEO, didn't respond to

calls. She previously told the Winnipeg-based Jewish Post and News

that Barry was competent enough to head outside for a smoke.

She added staff wasn't alarmed when he didn't return to his room

because he liked to wander throughout the building.

Collen said she has had concerns about how Sharon Home treats

clients in the past, but said people need to be vigilant when it

comes to the safety of loved ones. Now she's urging others to take a

closer look at care homes while continuing to search for closure in

Barry's death.

Collen is his only surviving relative. " It could happen at any

nursing home ... people should be aware of their mothers and fathers

and check on them, " she said.