The long-term care home where serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer murdered seven of her eight victims is disputing claims by Ontario's nursing regulator that it did not have "underlying issue or concern" with the former nurse.
Caressant Care in Woodstock released a written statement on the matter Wednesday, one day after the College of Nurses of Ontario revoked Wettlaufer’s nursing registration.
As is required, the nursing home notified the college when it terminated Wettlaufer in March 2014. But during Tuesday's disciplinary hearing the college's legal counsel Megan Shortreed revealed the home's director of nursing indicated in an interview with college officials following the termination there were no underlying issue or concern with Wettlaufer.
"Caressant Care has no records indicating that its leadership or staff believed or said this in response to any inquiry following the termination," the nursing home said in a release.
The home maintains it followed its duty to inform the college of the termination, sending them a 20-page chronological report outlining its concerns on April 17, 2014. The college notified the home it had received the report on July 17, 2014.
Caressant Care states that documents submitted to the college during Tuesday's hearing failed to include the underlying issues or concerns allegedly reported by the home.
Wettlaufer was fired from the nursing home due to medication error that resulted in putting a resident at risk, nursing home officials have said. In total, she had ten workplace violations over two and a half years, three of which resulted in suspensions.
New admissions at Caressant Care have been temporarily halted by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care since January with no indication when they will be allowed to resume.
Wettlaufer, 50, pleaded guilty in June to eight counts of first degree murder in the insulin-overdose deaths of seven residents at Caressant Care in Woodstock and one resident at Meadow Park in London. She was also convicted of four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault. She is serving a life sentence in prison.
