Sisters felt 'terrible helplessness' as 87-year-old mother was assaulted in care home

After inquiring aboutbruises they'd seen on their 87-year-old mother, Jeanie and Julia Warnock were told by an official at the Peter D. Clark Long-Term Care Centre that the injuries she sufferedwere possiblyself-inflicted.

After a review of various factors, including behaviour patterns and the home's own video footage, it wasdeterminedthebruising could have resultedfrombanging and hitting objects, such as tables, doors and windows, the official told them.

"Every time I went over there in the evening she would tell me, 'Are you sleeping over? I don't want you to go home. Can you sleep with me? Can you sleep in my bed with me? Can you take me home?'" JeanieWarnocktold CBC News in a recent interview.

"People just say she's confused because she has Alzheimer's. But she sounded scared."

Already unsatisfied with what they had beenhearing from thecity-run home, the two sisters were contactingCity of Ottawa officials, the province and staff,trying to understand what was happening to the woman who raised them.

Jeanie Warnock said she felt a "terrible helplessness" hearingher mother's frightful complaints. Shehad only been placed in the facility in February 2022 after their father died.

CBC has agreed not to name the mother because her dementia means she is unable to consent.

Video shows woman pulling herto the floor

Ottawa police recently charged a 25-year-oldpersonal support worker at the homewith one count of assault. They saidthey arrested the woman after relatives noticed "unexplained bruising,"placed a video camera in the elderly woman's room, and came to police with what they saw on March 28.

• Long-term care home worker charged with assaulting 87-year-old resident

Julia Warnockinstalled the camerashortlyafter seeing her mother'sfirst bruises.

The footage, which CBC News has viewed, shows a personal supportworker entering thewoman's bedroomon March 16. The employee begins to scold the elderly woman.

The motherrepeatedly asks theworker to leave and begins to flail her arms as she becomes more agitated.Eventually, the 87-year-old ispulleddown onto the ground.

The personal supportworker leaves her there,turns out the light and closes the door behind her whenshe leaves.

Later, the mother isseen showing her arms to another staff member atthe home.

Julia Warnock said she was horrified when she reviewed the footage weeks later.

"I felt bad because I was behind in [watching]the footage," she said, beginning to cry. "It took me so long to find [that incident]."

The city, which runs Peter D. Clark, said it will co-operate with the police investigation. The employee was removed from the facility while management conducted an initial investigation, the city said, and no longer works for the city.

"The city remains committed to the health, safety and well-being of all long-term care residents," said Dean Lett, the city's director of long-term care, in a statement Thursday.

"All incidents of alleged abuse are taken seriously and are investigated accordingly."

While the video is upsetting, GlennWarnock, who has power of attorney for his mother, doesn't want it to reflect poorly on other staff at the home. He saidthe peoplehe's interacted with seem dedicated to their work and to providingan adequate level ofcare.

"From my perspective, at some point, somebody like my mother has to be in some kind of care facility just because her needs are such that it's really hard to provide them at home," he said.

While it's clear the situation was mishandled, he said healso believes many of his mother's bruises were self-inflicted and although it'spossible there were other incidents, he's not certain.

"The first thing that comes up is a question of, what goes on in these places that we don't know about, right? And if we didn't have the video [camera]in there."

Looking at the options afforded to families with aging loved ones, he said hestill feels city-run homes remain one of the better options.

WATCH |Bruising appeared soon after mother moved into home, daughter says

Bruising appeared soon after mother moved into home, daughter says

2 years ago

Duration 0:58

Julia Warnock says her mother had bruises all over her body soon after she moved into Peter D. Clark long-term care home in Ottawa.

Reviewing photos of their mom, the two daughters are reminded of her indomitable spirit, of the woman who rode horses in the country and lived herlife in rural Moose Creek, Ont.

They'dlike to see their mother removed from the facility, and hope she'll return to her home in the Township of North Stormont.

By talking about what happened, Julia and Jeanie Warnock hope they can prevent similar situations, and that their mother's case demonstrates shortcomings in the system.

The two women still have questions about how the support worker was allowed that kind of power over her mother, a responsibility they feel falls onthe peoplerunning Peter D. Clark.

"If I didn't have that camera there, what would have happened to my mother?" Julia Warnock asks. "Like, would the abuse have escalated? Would she have broken a hip or a wrist?"