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Vol. 19, No. 9, Wednesday, January 24, 2024 www.LamontLeader.com
Beaverhill Lodge looking to improve BY JANA SEMENIUK A survey was distributed to residents of Beaverhill Pioneer Lodge last week, as confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Lamont County Housing Foundation (LCHF) Shahad Bharmal, in order to gauge their experiences and look for improvements. “(It is about resident satisfaction and to find ways to improve the lodge),” he said. “(They have the) option to put the name (on the survey) if the resident wants.” Two complaints surfaced Jan. 4 against the lodge on the provincial website for Standards and Licensing. The complaints were around the
Lodge’s process for managing complaints, documenting them and measures taken to resolve the complaints. The two infractions listed on the website are still labelled as ‘outstanding’. CEO Bharmal confirmed an auditor came to investigate on Jan. 4. “The process is there and the auditor who had come to look at it and suggested a few changes that we are working on,” he said. Six additional non-compliances were recorded in 2023 centred around resident safety, nutritional requirements and contingency plans in case of an emergency. All instances from 2023 are labelled online as having been rectified.
Bharmal also said that the recent incident of a resident who was evicted for posting a negative review of Beaverhill Lodge on social media should not deter residents from filling out the survey. “LCHF does not evict people just because. We have policies that govern our operations,” Bharmal said by email. “Just because someone wrote (or) said something negative does not mean they are going to be evicted. Staff work with all the residents to address concerns. Residents should not be worried about being evicted without just cause.”
Chief Executive Officer of the Lamont County Housing Foundation (LCHF) Shahad Bharmal. File photo.
Evicted senior no longer homeless BY JANA SEMENIUK A former resident of Lamont’s Beaverhill Pioneer Lodge, who was evicted in Dec. for posting a negative review of the lodge on social media, is back home today and grateful her small acreage didn’t sell while she lived at the Lodge for eight months. “If this place would have sold, I don’t know where I would have gone,” said Sue Robinson, 65. Robinson moved into Beaverhill Lodge in May of last year after her husband passed away the previous Nov. Robinson said she wasn’t sure she could keep up with the acreage’s maintenance and wanted to live where there were people nearby. “I moved there because I didn't know if I could handle the acreage by myself anymore,” she said. “And because I had back problems and kidney problems.” Robinson said she realized her dietary conditions of low sodium were not being recognized by the Lodge’s
kitchen staff when her painful gout management, the CEO and several board members with her concerns but symptoms became very severe. She said she examined the labels on was ignored. She then decided to post a negative food in the review of kitchen, the Lodge and found on their several s o c i a l items high media page in sodium and when and preshe refused packaged, to apolowhich she gize for it, said contrawas served vened the with a 14m e n u day evicdescription tion notice. on the Meanwhile, Lodge’s Robinson website of said her in-house f a m i l y preparation helped her and fresh baking. Sue Robinson, 65, sits in the kitchen of the home she sell her furRobinson put up for sale before moving to Lamont's Beaverhill niture when said she Pioneer Lodge in May. Robinson took the acreage off she moved the approached the market, when she was evicted from the Lodge in into Dec., and recently moved back in. Photo: Jana Semeniuk
Lodge and now she is having to purchase items all over again. She said it’s been very expensive to move to the Lodge and back home. “I’ve spent over $7,000 moving there and moving back here. Plus, I was charged the whole month of December when I was only there six and a half days,” she said. Robinson’s daughter-in-law, who lives two and a half hours away, said she worries about her mother-in-law living alone on the acreage. “I don't like her being out here by herself. So, I'm travelling right now back and forth. I spend a week here. I go home for a week. I come back for a week,” she said, adding that the family is considering indoor security cameras to help keep an eye on Robinson. Jennifer said that although she stated the family had obtained legal counsel in a previous interview, she only meant the family had sought legal advice. She added they are still investigating what their legal options are.