Ontario long-term care home director named as donor to the anti-vaccine mandate ‘Freedom Convoy’
The executive director of a London long-term care home cited for not following public health guidelines during recent COVID-19 outbreaks that infected dozens is named as donating to the anti-vaccine mandate Freedom Convoy.'
Andrew Adamyk is no longer the head of Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, said a spokesperson for St. Joseph's Health Care London, which runs the 394-bed home. She refused to say how or why his employment ended.
A $100 contribution was made under Adamyk's name to the convoy on Feb. 7 on the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo.
The home had recently emerged from a month-long series of COVID-19 outbreaks that infected at least 34 people, during which government inspectors found widespread" non-compliance with public health protocols by Mount Hope staff.
God bless them and keep up the good fight," says a comment left under Adamyk's name with the donation for the Freedom Convoy 2022 campaign, which called for the end of all pandemic restrictions, including those at long-term care homes.
Adamyk's name was found alongside more than 92,000 other people who donated to the protest in the data leaked by a whistleblower collective last month.
Our client objects to the use of his private information and data by (Torstar), and any other publication," Alexander Boissonneau-Lehner, Adamyk's lawyer, said in an emailed statement. We will hold any individuals and organizations who disclose Mr. Adamyk's confidential information and data responsible for same."
Boissonneau-Lehner did not immediately reply to followup questions about the donation to the convoy protest.
St. Joseph's initially declined to answer questions about Adamyk on Monday, saying in a statement it does not comment on the private activities of staff. Later, spokesperson Patrica Hoffer said, Andrew Adamyk is no longer with the organization. Due to privacy and confidentiality, we cannot comment further."
All staff and physicians working at St. Joseph's are required to comply with our policies and processes, as well as directives set by the province and professional practice standards of regulatory bodies," Hoffer said.
Hoffer declined to discuss Adamyk's role in the enacting of COVID-19 protocols at Mount Hope or donations to the convoy protest.
Since the very first days of the pandemic, staff and physicians have remained diligent and dedicated to our Mount Hope community of more than 350 residents," Hoffer said.
Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of the senior's advocacy group CanAge, said the director of a long-term care home should not donate to a cause like the convoy protest.
A leader who financially and personally supports illegal activity and vaccine disinformation has no place in our health-care system," she said.
The performance of a long-term care home is directly tied to its leadership, Watts said.
And it is extremely problematic when you're looking at a home which has had poor outcomes like this one."
The GiveSendGo campaign has raised more than $12 million after being launched on Feb. 2 by Freedom Convoy" leader Tamara Lich.
Lich, who faces mischief charges related to the protest-turned-occupation that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for three weeks, swore she would not stand down until the government ended all pandemic mandates, including those intended to protect long-term care home residents, such as limiting visitors.
On Jan. 30, she told those gathered around Parliament that, We're not leaving until you can see your parents at a long-term care facility."
Long-term care homes have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an analysis by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, long-term care residents in Canada make up only 3 per cent of all COVID-19 cases, but at least 45 per cent of all deaths.
According to the Middlesex-London public health department, Mount Hope performed comparably" to other homes in the area. To date, around 185 residents and staff of the home were infected with COVID-19, and six residents have died.
Almost one fifth of those infections happened during the January 2022 outbreaks. There were no deaths.
The Ministry of Long Term Care performed a nearly month-long inspection of the home in January during the outbreaks and found multiple failures in COVID-19 safety protocols.
This non-compliance was widespread as on several occasions staff were observed not wearing appropriate PPE, and not practicing physical distancing when entering or exiting the home," the report says.
Inspectors also found soiled PPE was dropped in open bins kept under elevator buttons, that the roommate of a COVID-19 infected person was not isolated, and staff did not receive the proper training.
These failures increased the risk of cross-contamination and further spread of COVID-19 within the home, the inspection report says.
St. Joseph's was disappointed with the findings" from the results of the inspection by the ministry, Hoffer said, noting the hospital is implementing additional measures to improve performance.
Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care has implemented all Ministry directives and, in many cases, have gone above and beyond what is required," Hoffer said in a statement.
Watts said while the Mount Hope report is troubling two years into the pandemic, sometimes inspection reports do not always tell the full story because they can lack context, focus on relatively inconsequential breaches in protocols or don't take into account staffing and budgeting constraints.
We know how understaffed and undersupported long-term care is, so it's important that we measure against things which are achievable and attainable," she said.
Sheila Wang is a municipal politics and general assignment reporter for YorkRegion.com and its sister papers. Reach her via email: swang@metroland.com
Grant LaFleche is a St. Catharines-based investigative reporter with the Standard. Reach him via email: grant.lafleche@niagaradailies.com