Grief counselors and police were called to Prince Edward Home early Saturday morning after a resident of the facility was found dead.
Details surrounding the death, which took place sometime Saturday morning, are limited because officials at the provincially run healthcare facility are bound by patient confidentiality. Officials did confirm that only one person was involved in what they called a “sudden and unexpected death”.
Island Edition was able to confirm through several unnamed sources that the death was self-inflicted and involved a firearm.
It’s not known at this time where the patient was found, but a little panic did rush through the facility when some staff thought there had been an explosion of some sort. Andrew MacDougall, administrator of the facility, said no explosion had taken place.
It’s not common for police to be called in when a patient passes away at the facility, but were called in Saturday as a matter of procedure to rule out any possibilities of foul play.
“It’s driven by circumstances and that’s what dictated this connection to be made with (police),” said MacDougall.
Despite the death, MacDougall said staff are focused on taking care of the residents and are making sure they receive the extra care they may need as a result of Saturday’s tragic events.
“A big part of our focus is supporting our staff through this, as well as the residents and families,” he said. “We’ve had some counselors come in and we’ve had debriefings with our staff as well as some discussions with families who are in the general vicinity of the building where this occurred.”
Although it’s business as usual at the 128-bed long term care facility, MacDougall said the event was upsetting.
“Our thoughts, first and foremost, are with the family,” he said.
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