A 94-year-old woman in Chilliwack, B.C. was confined to her bedbug infested long-term care room for 2 weeks at the demand of facility management.

Staff were threatened with being fired if they shared information about the state of the room to other residents or the public. 

Rita Bedford is blind, and was purposely misled as to the state of her room, being told she was sick, and had to remain isolated, missing last year’s holiday celebrations. 

“This kind of neglect and abuse is unacceptable, but unfortunately not all that surprising given how frequently we hear horror stories in long-term care,” says Marissa Lennox, Chief Policy Officer at CARP. “This is another example of why we need real systemic change so that long-term care is a place where seniors can age with dignity and respect.” 

Rita’s story was reported by her daughter and facility staff to the Ministry of Health. Sienna Senior Living, the owner of the facility, is now embroiled in numerous lawsuits, including a proposed class-action lawsuit involving 200 families, alongside the 2 other largest for-profit owners of seniors’ homes in Canada.