A couple will be reunited just in time for their 70th wedding anniversary after a bed shortage at a long-term care facility forced them to be apart for months.
Jessie and Clarence Terpstra, who immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in 1949, were separated on Aug. 25, their daughter Helen Postma told CTV News Toronto.
Her father became ill and was taken to the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby, Ont.
He remained there until Sept. 11, when Postma said a bed became available at a long-term care facility in Grimsby called Shalom Manor. However, his wife was still at Heidahoff Long Term Care Home in St. Catharines.
Postma said her family, determined to reunite the couple, went through a process with the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) to have her mother admitted to a facility of her choice.
“The CCAC categorized my mom as ‘spousal reunification’ and she needed to be reassessed so that she could be put back on the crisis list to be able to be reunited with my dad,” Postma said.
Her mother was then put on a waiting list, but Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins decided to help out after hearing their story. This week, the family found out a bed was finally available at Shalom Manor.
“The regulations need to be rewritten so that couples are not separated against their will,” said Postma.
She also said that seniors should not be taken off the crisis list when they’re considered safe, but that they should remain on that list until they’re reunited with their spouse.
“We had no idea CCAC would be so difficult to navigate. Our eyes have been opened,” Postma said.
“I can’t find enough words right now to express that they’re back together. This is the longest they’ve ever been apart in their almost 70 years of marriage,” said the couple’s son, Andy Terpstra, on Wednesday.
“Dad’s been glowing for a couple days already and Mom couldn’t wait to come here,” Postma said.
Their anniversary is on Dec. 17.
