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Woman evicted from care home without family consent: Public Interest Alberta

An advocacy group is accusing an Edmonton care home of transferring a woman to a hospital without her family’s consent.

EDMONTON — An advocacy group is accusing an Edmonton care home of transferring a woman to a hospital without her family’s consent.

Public Interest Alberta says the Good Samaritan Millwoods Care Centre left a voice mail for the woman’s sister and banned another family member from the facility for complaining about the quality of care.

Bill Moore-Kilgannon, a spokesman for Public Interest Alberta, says institutions should not be allowed to arbitrarily evict patients and ban relatives.

He wants Alberta Health Services to make sure the woman is allowed to return to the Millwoods care centre, where she has lived for five years.

Alberta Health Services says it will work with the family to determine what’s best for the woman, other residents and staff.

The health agency says there are rules at care homes that everyone must follow.

“This is an unusual situation; however, we believe we have found an alternative placement for this resident,” AHS spokesman Kerry Williamson said Tuesday.

“We will continue to work with her and her family to find a suitable resolution for all involved.”

Moore-Kilgannon said families with concerns about the quality of care in a facility will be afraid to speak up for their loved ones.

He said similar evictions have happened before.

“The government needs to step in and make sure that there is a proper independent process that allows patients and their families to stand up to this abuse of power.”