Besieged health-care system, not ER staff, to blame for mom’s death, heartbroken nurse says

Before her health took a rapid, fatal turn, Genevieve Price was an independent grandmother guided by her faith in God and love for family.

The Winnipeg senior, 82, died last weekend after going to the hospital for what began as swelling in one of her hands.

Her daughter, Michelle Price, believes she suffered organ failure as a result of spending more than 30 hours in an emergency department hallway at Grace General Hospital as sepsis took hold.

After a Grace ER doctor discovered she had suffered a heart attack, Michelle’s mother was transferred to St. Boniface Hospital, where she died.

Her death has become a symbol of Manitoba’s beleaguered health-care system, where — despite doing everything right — her family said she did not receive the help she needed.

“There are so many stories that are similar and heartbreaking. We need systemic change. Nothing is going to bring back my mom, but we need to prevent this from happening again and again,” said Michelle, who has been a registered nurse since 1995 and works in home care.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority confirmed Wednesday it has begun a critical incident review into the hours Price’s mother spent waiting for treatment. Such investigations are standard in cases where health officials suspect patients suffered serious and unintended consequences unrelated to underlying health conditions.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara has also launched a probe, taking the unusual step of ordering a secondary investigation to review whether systemic issues with patient flow, miscommunication or internal policies contributed to the death.

Michelle Price said she has requested copies of her mother’s medical charts to help her better understand what happened. She and her family will await the results of the critical incident review, and contribute to its final recommendations.

In the meantime, they are faced with the difficult task of preparing funeral arrangements while grieving her loss.

“She was definitely a character,” Michelle said. “She loved her grandkids… She was ‘Nana’ to everyone.”

Catholicism was a fundamental part of her life, and she was a longtime member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Charleswood.

She overcame challenges in her life with grace and without complaint, said friend and church member Manuela Da Costa.

According to an obituary provided by her family, she was predeceased by six siblings. Her husband Kenneth died in 1999, leaving her to care for their four children.

She was among more than 250 tenants of Birchwood Terrace who were evacuated from the Portage Avenue apartment building due to structural concerns in May 2024, her daughter said.

Michelle said her mother first developed swelling in her hand on Nov. 12, and visited a minor injury clinic on Corydon Avenue on Nov. 16, where she provided a blood sample and was advised to follow up with a doctor the following week.

When the swelling hadn’t improved four days later, Michelle’s mother went to the Misericordia Health Centre, where a doctor identified the swelling as a possible infection and sent her to the Grace Hospital ER.

She remained in the waiting room for several hours, then underwent blood work and was taken for an X-ray before her stretcher was parked in an ER hallway.

“At that point, we believed she was getting treatment,” her daughter said.

When Michelle returned to the hospital late the following day, she was horrified to find her mother’s condition had seriously deteriorated. She said she feared the infection was turning septic, and asked for her mother to be reassessed.

A doctor examined her sometime after midnight, and further tests revealed she had suffered a heart attack and required a transfer to St. Boniface Hospital.

The family arrived at St. Boniface Hospital to learn she was in a medically induced coma and had already been resuscitated more than once.

Michelle said she does not blame overburdened medical staff for her mother’s death.

“In health care, we hear that help is coming all the time, but it just feels like it never arrives,” she said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca