By Rosalind Russell – An Espanola woman is somewhat relieved that after a two-year battle to have her husband be placed in long-term-care in Espanola.
Diane Bruhmuller says with the assistance of her lawyer, Mary-Katherine Lowe, she has finally received word that Espanola’s long-term facility has put her husband on the waiting list for a bed after what she calls a horrific lapse of care for her husband, Frank, at the long-term care facility in Sudbury.
Diane says she and her lawyer will be taking legal action against Extendicare York in Sudbury after her husband suffered extensive burns on February 16th.
Diane says her husband’s arm and hand lay on a baseboard heater beside his bed while sleeping for an undetermined amount of time resulting in severe burns that will require extensive skin grafting and pain management.
Diane says if she had the power to make the decision, she would be moving her husband back to Espanola now, adding she is somewhat relieved that he is short-listed and likely will return home in the short term.
York Extendicare stated in an email to The Moose that long-term care operators and other care providers have a responsibility to keep personal health information private for those in their care, so they are unable to publicly disclose information about Mr. Bruhmuller’s status.
However, they did make the statement that they are conducting monthly audits to ensure that beds are placed in the correct positions in line with their safety policies and that they issued a safety alert to all their homes to ensure there is no risk of a similar incident.
They add they apologized to the family, but Diane says no personal apology has ever been made to her.
She adds she will continue moving forward with her lawyer seeking redress for her husband’s injuries.
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