Maria Cook 
The Ottawa Citizen 

Saturday, February 28, 2004 

Spurred by the "disgraceful" story of Ottawa's Ted and Brenda Beament, The War Amps of Canada has launched a national campaign to uncover other cases where veterans and their spouses are living in separate nursing homes.

"For God's sake, get them together," says Cliff Chadderton, chief executive officer of the War Amps, and chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada.

"If we cannot solve the global problem, at least we can come up with creative solutions on a case-by-case basis," he says. "We're not asking for the moon. We're asking for consideration for a small number of very deserving cases."

Last Sunday, the Beaments celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. Yet, for the past four months they have lived in separate nursing homes, at opposite ends of Ottawa.

This is in part because of provincial rules that give lower priority to spousal reunification than in the past.

"My mum is very weepy, and my dad is distressed," says their daughter, Meriel Bradford. "The forced separation is affecting them both mentally and physically to their detriment."

The War Amps is running notices in 30 newspapers across the country, most of them today. They list a hotline for gathering details of cases (1-800-465-2677 ext. 231 or 731-3821 ext. 231.) The information will be submitted to a parliamentary committee.

Mr. Chadderton estimates there are half a dozen cases a year in Ottawa. He doesn't know how many there are in the rest of the country. He has established a $70,000 "battle fund" from his personal charitable foundation, not the War Amps.

"The phones have been ringing right off the hook," since the Citizen ran a story about the plight of the Beaments on Valentine's Day, he says.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Ottawa Community Care Access Centre (CCAC), the provincial agency that co-ordinates placement in long-term care, and the Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre, are planning to write a joint letter to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

They are requesting that "flawed" 2002 regulations be changed to restore priority previously given to qualified spouses. There are currently 12 couples in the Ottawa area awaiting reunification.

"The public has spoken," says Greg Fougere, the Perley's executive director. "I've received a tremendous amount of feedback. The majority of people want to see the Beaments reunited now. They believe couples should have a higher priority."

As a veteran on a full disability pension, George Edwin (Ted) Beament, 95, was entitled to a bed at the Perley. He moved there last October. He was a brilliant military officer and lawyer who was decorated by both the Canadian and French governments for his leadership in the D-Day invasion of France.

Mrs. Beament, 90, is living in the Glebe Centre. A war bride from England and an innovative music teacher, she was a leader in the Ottawa music community for many years. She is on a waiting list to join her husband at the Perley, a wait that could take six to 18 months. They are requesting to be under the same roof, not the same room.

The Beaments speak on the phone about five times a day even though both are hard-of-hearing. Mrs. Beament visits her husband two or three times a week. They hold hands and talk.

Since becoming aware of the situation, the Perley and the federal department of Veterans Affairs has provided transport for Mrs. Beament from the Glebe Centre to the Perley.

Mr. Fougere has asked the ministry of health to temporarily designate one of the Perley's 13 short-term respite care beds as a long-term care bed for Mrs. Beament. The move requires approval by the ministry. He expects to speak with ministry officials next week.

Mr. Fougere says he receives only five to seven requests a year for spouses to be admitted together. "It's doable as a special circumstance."

In the longer term, he says the regulations under the Charitable Institutions and Nursing Homes Act that govern spousal reunification need changing.

"The regulations have a major flaw. Spouses should have a much higher priority."

Sandra Golding, executive director of the CCAC, agrees. Prior to the rule change, the list was based on length of wait and "spouses could jump the queue," she says.

Now it gives first priority to people who are in crisis. Spouses are assigned the second-highest priority, along with people who need to be transferred from acute-care beds, or who need placement within three months.

"Everyone agreed this was an essential thing to do," says Ms. Golding. "But nobody anticipated it would result in the situation we have now."

Ms. Golding says spouses should be among those who receive first priority, after urgent cases. "Perhaps there should be a category 1B," she says. "This would be a really appropriate time to review the new rules."

Ms. Golding notes there are 80 empty beds in Ottawa, and the Beaments could be immediately placed together in the Glebe Centre.

But Mrs. Bradford rejects that option.

She notes Mr. Beament contracted pneumonia and nearly died during the move to the Perley, and also that the Glebe Centre will move its residents to a new building this summer. He is receiving excellent care at the Perley.

"They've been pressuring me to move my father to the Glebe Centre," she says. "But that would mean two moves. Moving my dad is not in his interest."

"Veterans want to be in veterans' homes," says Mr. Chadderton. "They want to spend their declining years talking about the most important thing that ever happened to them, which was the war.

"It was always understood that veterans needing care would be allowed to have their spouse with them, if they qualified medically."

He cited a case in Winnipeg last year, where veteran Jack Mitchell, who won the first Military Cross after D-Day for the capture of a bridge held by the German SS, was "languishing away in his home while his wife was in and out of institutions."

The War Amps pursued the case through the office of the minister of Veterans Affairs and were able to place the couple within two months in Deer Lodge Hospital, which has long been associated with veterans.

He says placing spouses together has been an issue since 1963, when Veterans Affairs gave up control of veterans' facilities to provincial health ministries.

"I went through this with my parents," he adds. "They were in separate institutions in Carleton Place. It was very bad."

John Walker, director of residential care for Veterans Affairs, has been aware of fewer than a dozen such cases in the past six years, most of which were resolved.

"We're generally able to work with the ministry of health to provide some solution," he says. In the Mitchell case "we jiggled and moved things around and were able to find room in the inn."

There are 450 beds at the Perley, with 250 reserved for veterans and 200 for the community. Both sections have waiting lists.

There are 171 nursing homes across Canada where veterans have 4,310 priority access beds paid for by Veterans Affairs. Of those, 17 facilities have a strong veteran presence, as does the Perley.

Mr. Walker says that beds reserved for veterans have "an enhanced level of care" and more funding.

In the Beament case: "It's the Ontario ministry of health we have to convince," he says. "There's an ongoing discussion to try and find a way. This will be resolved. The question is how long it takes."

A spokesman for the Ontario ministry of health says the ministry regards the situation seriously.

Minister of Veterans Affairs John McCallum is also aware of the case. "It's certainly a sad situation," says a spokesman for the minister. "We hope that a solution can be reached quickly."

Ottawa MPP Jim Watson plans to speak to the Minister of Health George Smitherman tomorrow.

"It seems cruel that we would separate people in their golden years," he says. "There has to be something we can do to make this work."

© The Ottawa Citizen 2004