The fire and the Grand Prix left the local inpatient ward overcrowded

An accommodation service reserved for patients of Cree descent has been overcrowded at a hotel in downtown Montreal, particularly because of the wildfires raging in northern Quebec. This weekend of the Grand Prix, rooms in this establishment are offered to tourists at even higher prices.

The Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay (CCSSSPJ) has contracted with the Espresso Hotel, located on Guy Street, to house patients in need of health care in Montreal. Duty Corroborated with multiple sources. The hotel allocates rooms for patients coming from the north and places where medical staff provide care on the second floor.

Dozens of patients of tribal origin had to give up their hotel rooms during the day on Wednesday. They have been transferred to other hotels and to the Hotel-Due, a former hospital converted into a homeless shelter, these Cree patients are not homeless.

This busy weekend, the Hotel Espresso website is offering rooms for $670 a night Friday through Saturday. Duty.

Bitter patients at the Hotel-Deux

Patients who are forced to leave the hotel often resent being housed in conditions they consider dangerous. Their loved ones are also worried.

Cynthia Niebosch, now in Misticini, says her 80-year-old father was one of the patients transferred to Hotel-Due on Wednesday morning. The health of the elderly is of particular concern to her.

“The past seems to be catching up with us with residential schools,” he says. We don’t really care [des patients] there. They were not told where they were going to eat. Some don’t even have money. »

M^me Niebosch also condemns the management of CBHSSJB: “They knew it was going to be there [Grand Prix]. They should have planned ahead. »

Cree patient Clifford Mianscum, who initially stayed at the Espresso Hotel for dialysis treatment, confirms that many patients, including himself, were forced to leave their hotel rooms. The wheelchair-bound father was transferred to the Hôtel-Dieu, a former hospital converted into an asylum.

“I am tired. Considering my health, I want to be in the most suitable place to rest,” he said Duty.

High capacity due to forest fires

said Lyle Cox, coordinator of the CBHSSJB clinic at the Espresso Hotel. Duty 80 to 90 hotel rooms are reserved for tribal patients. Another hundred rooms are offered to tourists.

Some Cree patients were about to return home in the past few days, but the wildfires in northern Quebec made that impossible, says Lyle Cox, when met in his office on the hotel’s second floor. A growing number of Cree residents vulnerable to smoke were evacuated to Montreal this week due to wildfires.

These unexpected events caused a rush at the Espresso Hotel. The Cree Board of Health occasionally allows the facility to accommodate more than 80 patients if beds are available. This has not been the case in recent days, Lyle Cox explains.

The CBHSSJB determined which patients would be transferred to other shelters in Montreal. “We have patients coming in every day, but rarely at this level. We were over capacity. Our teams did the best they could,” argues Lyle Cox.

The manager regretted the turn of events and wanted to accommodate the patients. “The emergency team in the north made decisions that disappointed us and we had to improvise accordingly,” he says.

“Our own infrastructure, our own building in the city, will allow us to better manage emergencies,” explains the manager of the Cree origin. The unexpected is not uncommon. He warns his patients that changes can occur at any time, “in five minutes over a few days.”

James Bay’s Cree Board of Health and Social Services said in a statement that patients have been transferred to other hotels in the metropolitan area, including Terrebonne. CBHSSJB mentions providing food and transport to them.

The Cree council will review the condition of the patients this Friday to determine if some can return to their communities, the statement said. For its part, Espresso Hotel management declined our request for an interview.

With Nora Villeneuve