H.J. McFarland Home sits nestled just outside of Picton. (Photo: Nicole Kleinsteuber / Quinte News)
Life at a municipally run nursing home in Picton, once mired in internal and ministry investigations, has taken a turn for the better.
Since the fall of 2014, H.J. McFarland Home had been the centre of investigations relating to care, training and the quality of management oversight.
Most recently there had been 25 critical incidents including abuse and one unexpected death. All have since been resolved to the standards of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
On Thursday, the committee of the whole learned from Chief Administrative Officer James Hepburn that life has done a complete 360 for the 84 residents and dozens of staff since new interim Director of Care Kim Mauro and Administrator Pamela Nisbet took the reins from Saint Elizabeth Healthcare this summer.
Councillor Kevin Gale beamed that he has heard from a local physician, that since the hiring of Mauro and Nisbet, the staff and patients at H.J. McFarland are doing well and things are moving forward in a positive manner.
“Under the new regime everything is going extremely well and it is a very happy productive place again,” said Gale in an interview. “I think it’s wonderful. We’ve had some struggles over the last few years that are behind us and we are moving forward.”
