Lodge report should finally let us move on
We remember the call all too well.
“Get down to Cowichan Lodge right now. There’s something big going down.”
We remember being on the scene as VIHA officials delivered the news to stunned staff: the lodge was being closed.
We remember the strong-arm tactics of VIHA officials, the closed door meetings, the misleading information, and the generally condescending attitude we faced while covering the story.
But mostly we remember the many conversations with the families of residents — the confused, frustrated, angry families of fragile Cowichan seniors being treated like packages or pieces of equipment by the organization charged with their care.
So when we flip through the report on the closure of the lodge released Tuesday by the B.C. Ombudsperson’s office and read VIHA handled the process poorly, our reaction is something along the lines of “Do ya think?”
The Cowichan Lodge situation was a mess from the beginning and it took a long, long time for VIHA to recognize that and take steps to repair the damage it had caused.
Tuesday’s report is sure to rekindle some of bad feeling many had hoped were finally being put to rest. That’s unfortunate, but we think it’s worth it.
It’s worth it because — despite VIHA’s changes and VIHA’s promises and VIHA’s apologies — it is a clear, independent statement that injustice was done when VIHA closed the lodge.
And with that statement, should come closure.
The lodge is in the midst of a exciting renovation aimed at addressing a real need to improve our treatment of mental health.
It’s chapter one of an exciting new book.
It’s time to close the page on the book that came before.
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