Jody (left) and Lee Kvern. (Supplied)

By Sheldon Spackman

Service Reduction

Closure of dental office at Michener Centre upsets resident families

Jul 22, 2020 | 6:00 AM

The guardian of a long-time resident of Red Deer’s Michener Centre says the closing of an on-site dental clinic is causing unnecessary hardship for its developmentally disabled adult residents.

Lee Kvern, whose sister Jody has lived at Michener Centre for the better part of 48 years, says she didn’t learn of the April 1 closing of the Marwayne Dental Clinic until she received a letter from Michener officials on June 18.

Kvern says no consultation took place involving parents and/or the disabled community’s clients prior to the closure.

“I recently spoke with a senior manager at Michener Services and she says the UCP push is to outsource everything to the community, despite the fact that along with our 120 Michener clients, 230 disabled persons from the community also accessed this highly-specialized dental clinic,” says Kvern.

“She also cited that 90 per cent of service providers for our disabled are private for-profit care, and they want Michener, along with similarly run direct care group homes currently in the news in Edmonton and Calgary, to fall in line with this.”

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Kvern says Michener has developed into an extraordinary community over the past three decades.

“In 2010 when I was working on a fictional book, I spent two weeks up at Michener and experienced first-hand the highly-specialized care and amazing staff that work with my sister and her peers,” she recalls. “Michener has won the Premier’s Award of Excellence in care, along with consistent, high scores for accreditation done on a yearly basis. Michener scored a perfect 100 this year.”

The late, former Premier Jim Prentice speaking with Lee Kvern in 2014. Kvern says Prentice was telling her that Michener Services would be grandfathered out (services intact) for the duration of their Michener loved ones’ stay. (Supplied)

Kvern points out that Michener Centre also serves the larger community and not just those who live there.

“I don’t understand why we would be pushing for a lesser standard of care out in the private for-profit, when Michener goes above and beyond where our care for our disabled is concerned,” she exclaims. “For Jody, it will mean introducing new persons, unfamiliar places, traveling outside her community, all of which can potentially cause her undue stress. She doesn’t adjust well to change and certainly the trust she has built over decades with Marwayne Dental Clinic, will make this closure difficult for her.”

During an eight-year stint receiving care elsewhere in the community during the early 1990’s, Kvern says Jody struggled significantly.

“Her ability to adapt out in the community at that time caused her extreme grief. Her behaviour escalated to the point that she was readmitted back to Michener where she settled immediately. Michener is her safe home and the excellent standard of care on site is crucial to her well-being.”

Kvern is hopeful that staff at Michener will take care of finding a new dentist for Jody, but she’s skeptical one can be found.

”I recently saw a news story that one of the Marwayne Dental clients must travel to Edmonton and be put under in order to repair a simple chipped tooth. I’m not aware of any specialized dental services for my sister in Red Deer at this point.”

Kvern feels what people don’t understand is that these seemingly minor changes can cause severe hardship and financial implications for a person on AISH or with complex special needs.

“We need choice and expertise in care for our disabled; direct care versus for profit care. If our current government doesn’t recognize these special needs, then that leaves it to us as guardians and parents to advocate for the specialized care that remains available to our Michener people.”

“Dental services at Michener Centre began at a time when the Centre operated separately from the larger community,” Community and Social Services press secretary Diane Carter told rdnewsNOW in a statement. “Today, people with disabilities in Red Deer and across Alberta access many services that are readily available in their local communities, including physician, pharmacy, and dental services. Staff at Michener will assist anyone who needs help finding alternative dental providers.”

“I think that the care of our vulnerable; our disabled, our seniors, our children needs to be a non-partisan issue,” concludes Kvern. “It needs to be every government’s job to ensure that this is not affected by economy or budget restrictions. I am shocked on a daily basis at the cruelty of our UCP government in that they have targeted our severely disabled with these relatively low cost-cutting measures, along with the push to a lesser standard of private care in the community, while maintaining a $30 million dollar war room, and giving $4.7 billion in tax cuts to wealthy corporations.”