Au Chateau Continues to Punish Caregivers

They are looking the other way and not enforcing their visitation policy for the majority of visitors. But for the ones they have punished for over a year, there are no exceptions.

*For those not from West Nipissing, Au Chateau is our local long-term care facility.

In June I attempted to make the case that Au Chateau, the long term care home in Sturgeon Falls, was engaging in cruel and unusual punishment towards a certain group of people. 

Six months later and with the holiday season upon us, this stubborn organization has not let up. 

With no apparent justification, Au Chateau still denies a group of caregivers the right to enter their premises even if they test negative for COVID at the door. The home frequently tries to justify this ongoing exclusion by referring to their official visitation policy which can be found on their website. However the administration doesn’t even enforce this policy on the majority of entrants. They only choose to grudgingly enforce it on some. 

It’s important to note that the most updated version of the visitation policy states that only those who are “up to date” on their COVID vaccine schedule are allowed to visit.

The policy even specifically defines what up to date means. According to the official visitation policy which was formally updated in July 2022, “people who are up to date with their COVID vaccination are people who have received the recommended number of doses and boosters of the Covid vaccine as soon as they are eligible according to their age and health status more than 2 weeks prior to visitation.”

According to both Public Health Ontario and Health Canada, everyone in the country is recommended to get a booster if it’s been more than six months since their last shot. 

According to the most recent stats from Public Health Ontario, only 24% of Ontarians have chosen to get a COVID shot in the last 6 months.

Which means that 76% of Ontarians are likely not “up to date” and according to Au Chateau’s visitation policy, should not be allowed to visit. 

However that is not the case. 

Most caregivers and visitors entering Au Chateau today are simply asked to prove they received two doses (even if those doses were administered over a year ago and likely provide no personal protection, let alone any community protection whatsoever). 

Au Chateau’s administration is looking the other way and not enforcing their visitation policy as it is written for the majority of visitors. They are not enforcing this policy on the 20+ members of a film crew who were arbitrarily let into the home last month creating unnecessary and absolutely non-essential additional risk of exposure on the vulnerable residents. 

But for the ones they have punished for over a year, there is no exception to the rule. 

Even a caregiver who is willing to take a test at the door is denied entry. Even if they are a resident’s only chance at daily companionship.

I took a lot of grief for trying to categorize this as punishment but to this day I still can’t think of what else to call it. 

The decision to deny a caregiver visitation rights is clearly not supported by any science. 

If it was, then the home would be enforcing their policy on all visitors. Not just the ones who’ve suffered the most. 

If these decisions were based on science and not punishment, then why would a negative- tested caregiver be denied entry, while someone who contracted COVID ten days ago and still tests positive be allowed in?

None of this matters since the prevailing consensus is that the COVID shots only offer personal protection and offer very little (if any) protection against catching or spreading the virus for a very limited period of time. 

Even scouring the websites of all health authorities, or ministries, I cannot find a single reference of a professional recommending that long-term care homes continue to exclude visitors based on vaccine doses. 

So I am left wondering what could possibly be the justification for this organization to continue doing this? Again, punishment is the only word that comes to mind. It’s also why I believe the majority of our community is not bothered by this arbitrary and unscientific rule. Many people still believe that a certain group of society deserves to be punished. I blame the hate-filled divisive language used by certain politicians last year for this lasting effect. What would the majority of the community say if this nursing home started actually enforcing their visitation policy and denied over half the population (those that are not “up to date'') from visiting their loved-ones? Certainly people would start caring then. 

I call on Au Chateau to end this unfair and cruel policy ahead of the holiday season. Please have some sympathy and let everyone see their loved-ones regardless of their personal health choices. I call on my community to speak up and care for your neighbors and friends who may not be able to visit their family this Christmas. Regardless of what the news or the government has said about them, those who chose to take zero shots instead of 1 shot, 2 shots, 3 shots or 4 shots like you, are generous, intelligent people. They breathe the same air as you. They care for and love their family just like you do.