Teacher takes students to legislature on day her sister’s death is discussed

A Winnipeg educator used the death of her sister, which has been deemed a critical incident, as a teaching moment for a group of high school students at the legislature Thursday.

Sheri Ross and 14 students from R.B. Russell Vocational School were in the legislature chamber to watch Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook present a private member’s resolution calling for a public inquiry into the recent deaths of four patients as they waited for care at hospitals.

Cook repeatedly referred to Ross’s sister, Stacey Ross, 55, who died Jan. 16 after waiting 11 hours to be admitted for care at St. Boniface Hospital.

“It was about my sister and I wanted (the students) to put a face to a story because it happens to real people, it’s not just people in the news,” Ross told the Free Press outside the chamber.

“Some of them were getting it, and that’s great. I think as long as it resonates with some of them, I think we’ve got what we wanted.”

Two of the students were in Grade 11, and others were in Grade 9. Ross, who is a resource teacher at the North End school, said she wanted them to see politicians from both sides of the bench engage in debate.

The Tories are pushing for an inquiry, which would involve a lengthy, in-depth public probe into the deaths of Ross, Genevieve Price, 82; Judy Burns, 68; and six-month-old Luca Teng; all of whom died after lengthy waits in emergency rooms.

Cook said an inquiry would allow for an examination of systemic issues in emergency departments in Manitoba, including staffing levels, patient flow and “broader structural challenges.”

It would involve public hearings, evidence gathering and recommendations to prevent similar deaths.

“Manitobans are telling their friends and neighbours that they are afraid to go to the emergency. Think about that for a moment,” she said in the chamber. “When people begin to fear the very system that is meant to help them in vulnerable moments, something is deeply wrong.

The government has argued Manitoba has a process to review and report on critical incidents in health-care settings that result in serious injury or death.

“We’re keeping the families involved every single step of the way,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in an interview. “We’re going to stay focused on meeting families’ needs, answering every single question they bring forward and providing them the clarity and the involvement in these processes that they’re asking for.”

Ross said she supports the call for an inquiry, but appreciates efforts from Asagwara and health-care officials to keep her informed about the investigation into her sister’s death. Among other things, the province has brought in doctors from outside Manitoba to assist in the review.

Ross, who has been outspoken, reiterated Thursday her sister never should have died while waiting for help.

“I should have a sister, my niece should have a mother… and when I think about it, I get madder and madder.”

She said school administrators approved of her taking the students to the legislature.

“This was an amazing opportunity for students to witness government responding to community advocacy,” principal Daniel Keith said in a statement. “We strive to make learning relevant, and applicable to the real world. This experience was all of those things and more.”

The students toured the legislative building and met with Premier Wab Kinew before watching question period. At one point, Asagwara and Education Minister Tracey Schmidt took the unusual step of joining the students and their teacher in the visitors gallery.

Afterward they gathered in Asagwara’s office, where the health minister fielded questions from the teenagers.

“They should be able to ask us questions directly. They should be able to express their own ideas, their own hopes, their own concerns to elected people,” Asagwara said. “I hope they take away that the people who are elected to serve them care deeply about making health care better for them, and for their families.”

— with files from Carol Sanders

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca