Family claims 92-year-old faced violent assault at Warman care home

Charmaine Macooh’s 92-year-old father was supposed to live out his days at Diamond House, a private assisted living facility in Warman.

However, an alleged assault at the home in February has left the man recovering from serious injuries.

“I felt sick, to be honest. I just felt really upset for my dad to have been in that position of being scared,” Macooh said in an interview with 650 CKOM.

Barney, whose last name is being withheld to protect his privacy, suffers from dementia. He lived at Diamond House, where his family pays $6,500 per month for his rent and care, for four and a half years before the alleged assault happened.

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Macooh received a call around 7 a.m. on Feb. 5 from staff informing her that her father had fallen in his room and that he would need to go to the hospital for stitches. Barney had extensive bruising around his eye and forehead, and a CT scan revealed a brain bleed.

About 12 hours later, Macooh said she learned from a Diamond House nurse and another employee that her father had not fallen but instead wandered into another man’s room where he was injured.

She said she also learned the 65-year-old man who allegedly committed the assault would remain in the facility because he has “nowhere to go.”

“Apparently, the man was just screaming at (Barney) because that’s how staff found out what was going on,” said Macooh.

She wants to know why the man who allegedly attacked her father was placed in a room across from him.

Transitional patients housed at no charge

According to its website, Golden Health Care Inc. runs Diamond House and six other care homes in Saskatchewan. 650 CKOM made numerous attempts to contact its CEO, Heather Haupstein, without success.

An undated letter sent to Diamond House residents and families last week from Haupstein revealed the care home recently received funding from Health Excellence Canada to provide transitional care for older adults who no longer require hospital care.

“We have chosen Diamond House as our pilot as we identified several gaps in care for older adults in our community we would like to address,” the letter reads.

“We are working on criteria for admissions so please give Diamond House a little time to get things figured out,” the letter states.

A statement provided by David Freeman, a media specialist with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, confirms an agreement with Diamond House.

“The SHA’s contracts with personal care homes, including Diamond House, are for patients who no longer require hospital care, and whose needs can appropriately be met in a personal care home setting,” it read.

“Contracting with personal care homes is a pre-existing practice that supports our ability to provide patients with the appropriate care in the appropriate setting.”

Macooh believes the man who allegedly attacked her father was one of the residents sent to Diamond House from another health-care facility.

Several relatives whose loved ones either currently reside or have recently lived at Diamond House expressed concerns to 650 CKOM about the transitional patients being housed at no charge.

It’s unclear how much money Diamond House receives to house patients who don’t pay the private care facility rent or how many have lived at the home or currently reside there.

Investigation ongoing

Macooh said at this point, no charges have been laid.

She moved her father out of Diamond House on March 25 and is helping the Ministry of Health with its investigation.

In a statement, the SHA confirms a patient incident occurred at Diamond House on Feb. 5.

“While we are unable to speak to specifics of the incident due to the patient confidentiality, we are co-ordinating with facility management to ensure that appropriate care is being provided,” it said.

“As the regulator responsible for licensing and monitoring personal care homes, the Ministry of Health is undertaking an investigation into the incident that occurred at Diamond House, which the SHA will fully support.”

According to the Government of Saskatchewan’s Personal Care Home website , Diamond House was cited in March 2022 for not reporting serious incidents to the Ministry of Health. There are no results to show for the most recent inspection in July 2023.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brittany Caffet