A 91-year-old woman in British Columbia died a lonely death after being whisked away from her husband .Jim Albo, one of her sons, is hopeful that his mom’s death will bring about some good to the quality of care to the senior citizens.
The hospital separated Fanny Albo from her ailing husband who was also being treated at the same hospital, Kootenay regional hospital in Trail. Fanny Albo and her husband had been together for seven decades. Two days after she was moved to a long term care facility in Grand Forks, more than 100 kilometres away, Fanny died from the pangs of separation. The couple couldn’t even bid goodbye to each other.The family had requested that the couple be together during Fanny’s final days, but the hospital had dismissed such requests.
Jim Albo is very upset with the way health officials tackled the matter, but he fervently hopes that this will be a lesson for the future to prevent such situations. Albo also met with the Deputy Health Minister Penny Ballem, who will head the investigation team that will probe into his mother's death. Jim has expressed satisfaction with the government's response.
"She expressed her condolences to my brother and I and our family for what took place, and seemed genuinely very, very interested in finding out how this happened, why it happened, and most of all, that it should never happen to anybody," he said.
Jim would ultimately wish a change in health official’s attitude, which should encourage consultation with families before any major decision about patients is taken. "If that happens, then my mother won't have died in vain," he said.
