Mold found at Calgary
hospital
CBC Edmonton
April 1, 2003
Calgary - At least 30 nurses working on the dialysis unit at Foothills Hospital
have complained of headaches and breathing problems for months, and over the
weekend the health authority discovered a two-foot patch of mold.
The United Nurses of Alberta says one-third of the RNs working in that unit have
filed complaints that list symptoms ranging from hives to chronic nose bleeds to
respiratory problems. There is no evidence linking the ailments to the mold.
Many nurses have asked to be transferred to different wards and two have been
off sick for months.
Ellie Nycholat says she would go to work feeling healthy and leave with
inexplicable symptoms.
"I would experience gripping left-side chest pain that would make you want to
cry," Nycholat, who has been off work since December, said. "I could not go on."
The problems began after the unit flooded in September and the Calgary Health
Region cleaned up "small spots" of toxic mold. At the time, officials insisted
staff and patients were in no imminent danger.
Over the weekend, a washroom joining the nurses' station and a treatment area
was sealed off and labelled "caution, do not enter." The health region says it
found a patch of mold two-feet wide, but Ray Caddy, manager of occupational
safety services, says he doesn't know whether the mold is toxic.
Caddy says the mold is being cleaned up. No air tests have been conducted, but
Caddy says patients and staff aren't at risk.
"We identified there had been an overflow of sink or toilet in the washroom. And
so we went in and investigated and identified that there was a small amount of
what appeared to be mold on the wall," Caddy said. "So, as we do anytime we have
a situation like this, we seal the area off. Put it under negative air to the
outside and performed a remediation."
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