Four other colleagues heard similar account
When a nursing home tenant in the Atlantic Baptist Nursing Home in Charlottetown complained about being treated poorly, a care worker was terminated after a brief investigation.
Anastasia Gajodi worked for the employer since 2015 as a resident care worker, when on March 12, 2017, she worked a shift with a nurse and another attendant. Erin MacDonald, resident attendant, testified that on that evening, Gajodi said, “Oh, my god, ‘X’ is mad at me.”
When MacDonald asked for further clarification, she was told that X wasn’t happy while being prepped for bed.
Later in the evening, X (who suffered from acute anxiety and mild dementia and was not identified), approached MacDonald and said, “Keep that creep away from me.”
X said that Gajodi had earlier grabbed the TV remote from X and then put soap into X‘s mouth. MacDonald peered into the bathroom and saw a dry bar of soap with no bite marks.
MacDonald told X that she would report the incident to her supervisor.
But at 10 p.m., after she finished her shift, MacDonald didn’t write a report for her supervisor Edira Buell, a registered nurse, because she was “not in full trust that (Buell) would take it seriously,” she testified.
The next day, MacDonald advised Donna Grace, RN supervisor, about what she had heard from X.
On March 14, MacDonald submitted a report that included her conversation with X.
Another resident care worker, also testified that she had a conversation with X and the original soap allegation was repeated. X also told her that Gajodi had “stripped (X) off,” and X was emotional while recounting the experience.
A registered nurse also testified that he approached X after hearing about the story and heard the same account.
Grace then visited with X and after asking if X has had any concerns about staff members, said, “Yes, I did. (Gajodi) tried to get me to take my clothes off, she took my remote and she put soap in my mouth.”
Wendy Holland, director of care and nursing, asked all relevant employees about what they heard from X and then on March 20, issued a termination letter to Gajodi.
“An investigation was conducted and revealed that the resident had complained and recounted the incident to four other employees. The details of each recount remained the same,” said the letter.
On April 3, the union, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 2523, grieved the termination.
Gajodi testified that during the incident in question, she didn’t put any soap on a facecloth but she only handed a wet cloth to X and after seeing X was agitated, Gajodi left the room.
Gajodi also testified that the fact MacDonald reported a bar of soap was surprising because the home doesn’t use bars, only liquid soap.
Arbitrator Michel Doucet Chair (backed by fellow board members Wayne McMillan and Bob Crockett) upheld the grievance and ordered Gajodi to be returned to her former status at the nursing home and to be compensated for time missed.
“The board concludes that the employer has not met its burden and that is has not been able to establish that there was just and reasonable cause for the imposition of a disciplinary measure against (Gajodi).”
The arbitrator expressed concerns about the way the employer presented its witnesses and its investigation.
“Edira Buell was not called as a witness and no reason was given to explain her absence. Even though she was the registered nurse on duty that evening, she was not asked to file a report and, according to Holland, she was not interviewed during the investigation process.”
“Because of all the inconsistencies in the evidence, the board concludes that the employer has not been able to establish its case on a balance of probabilities. There is no clear evidence that (Gajodi) put soap in X’s mouth or that she took his remote away and that she ‘stripped’ or ‘ripped’ his or her clothes off,” said Doucet.
Reference: Atlantic Baptist Nursing Home and Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 2523. Michel Doucet — arbitrator. Chris Montigny, Emily Campbell for the employer. Bill McKinnon for the employee. April 9, 2018. 2018
