Mont St. Joseph Home in Prince Albert is keeping a close eye on their residents as air quality plummets due to smoke. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Smoke Hard On Seniors

Local care home taking extra precautions as smoke settles in

May 17, 2023 | 12:00 PM

The air has been harder on the lungs for everyone in Prince Albert since the wildfire smoke blew in, but what is an inconvenience for some can be very dangerous for others.

Mont St. Joseph Home in Prince Albert has had to take extra precautions since the smoke arrived Tuesday afternoon. Some of their residents are among those at greatest risk when air quality drops.

“For us, it really means any activities we might have our residents participating in at a time when we all are trying to get outdoors, we have to limit everything to being inside the buildings,” said Wayne Nogier, CEO of Mont St. Joseph Home in Prince Albert. “Our air-handling units, our HVAC, we do have to put in an upgraded filter and re-circulate internal air.”

According to Nogier, they’ve watched air quality statements from Environment Canada very closely as they try to prepare for smoke coming in. Once the smoke rolled in, they were prepared for it. Although it’s far less smoky inside than out, it’s impossible to keep all the smoke outdoors.

“We still are a public building,” Nogier said. “We still have visitors coming and going, our doors are opening and closing. We’re accepting shipments at the back door. Business continues as usual. We just have to be mindful that our residents, they tire more quickly, so our activities change.”

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It’s not just the residents who are feeling the effects of the smoke either. Environment Canada has advised everyone to spend less time outdoors if possible, and for good reason.

“It’s hard on everybody,” said Nogier. “Even the staff don’t have the same zip in their step when it’s just this muggy, smoky weather that we’ve got on the go. It’s always more work to do the work that we’re doing when the weather, particularly the smoke, is like this.”

Nogier could not go into too many details, but he said they so far haven’t had any serious incidents due to the smoke. There are, however, some residents who are among those most at risk when the air quality drops so sharply.

“Nobody plans or wants to be in a special care facility,” said Nogier. “Our residents are here because they need to be here, because they need that support. They’re medically fragile, they need support, and they have a number of underlying medical conditions that are exacerbated by the smoke.”

Nogier added that the smoke is not usually this bad and doesn’t usually arrive this early, but wildfire smoke blowing into the city isn’t new so they had some previous experience with it.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP