GT2TORONTO STAR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2016
>>GREATER TORONTO
Strangers
step up to
help man
go home
GILBERT NGABO
METRO
People are stepping forward with of-
fers to help send Mike Mallard home
for the holidays after he was profiled
Tuesday.
It would be a terrible shame if they
couldnt be together for Christmas,
said Tim Reynolds, who offered to
buy a plane ticket so Mallard could
spend Christmas with his 91-year-old
mother Marjorie, who lives in North
Bay. I was touched by him remind-
ing us all that Christmas and human-
ity starts and ends with the little
things that brighten a day and can
mean so much.
For the past three years, Mallard
has dedicated himself to collecting
cans and using the deposit money to
buy ornaments for an evergreen tree
in a community garden near Dundas
and George Sts. a tradition born
out of his passion for the season and
a ban on individual trees at the near-
by rooming house where he lives.
It was Mallards comments about
how the tree reminds him of his
mother and his familys love of
Christmas when he was growing up
that most touched readers.
Privacy breach affects 200 Hamilton health records
Organization found hack
involved remote viewing
of electronic patients files
MOLLY HAYES
HAMILTON SPECTATOR
The Hamilton Family Health Team,
a non-profit corporation that pro-
vides clinical and administrative as-
sistance to 166 doctors, confirmed
Tuesday that personal letters were
sent out to 204 patients last week to
inform them of a privacy breach of its
files at a local doctors office.
While the HFHT refused to identi-
Victims waited far too long for justice
ROTHBART from GT1
These patients were infected with
the same strain of the bacteria with
which the doctor was colonized.
Between 20 and 40 per cent of the
population carries staph A. bacteria
in their nasal passages and on their
skin. It can cause life-threatening ill-
ness if it enters the body through a
wound or injection.
The six patients are entitled to
compensation, the amount of which
will be determined at upcoming
hearings.
Three other patients referred to in
the lawsuit had different strains of
the bug. They are eligible for com-
pensation if they can tie their in-
fection to the pain clinic, according
the ruling.
Lawyers have since said they have
heard from a total of 19 patients who
allege they were harmed at the clinic.
The additional patients may also be
eligible for compensation, again if
they can show they were infected at
the clinic. None of the allegations
from the additional patients have
been tested in court.
Lead plaintiff Anne Levac said she
is pleased that James is being held
accountable.
Perhaps other outpatient clinics
will take heed and be more aware of
sterile conditions, she told the Star.
Levac received an epidural steroid
injection from James at the clinic in
August 2012 to ease chronic back
pain. Two weeks later, she was
rushed to hospital in excruciating
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People are helping Mike Mallard, who lives in a rooming house, go see his 91-year-old mother in North Bay.
As a mother, Im sure his mother
would be thrilled to see him, June
Dunn wrote in her offer to help re-
unite the two. I havent got a lot of
money, but I feel this is something I
have to do.
Mallard called the messages heart-
warming. It shows me there are still
some good people in the city, he said
during a Tuesday ceremony at
Church of the Holy Trinity to re-
member homeless people who have
died on the streets.
As much as he appreciates the gen-
erosity, Mallard said hed rather have
the would-be donors help some of
the many people who are living on
fy the doctors office in question, Ter-
ry McCarthy, executive director and
privacy officer, confirmed the breach
involved an unauthorized, remote
viewing of some electronic patient
files.
Thats hacking, says former pro-
vincial privacy commissioner Ann
Cavoukian. You dont have some-
one snooping (in the office). You
have potentially widespread access
online.
The breach was detected in Sep-
tember, McCarthy said, during a rou-
tine privacy audit, during which the
HFHT offers technical support, by
pain and falling in and out of con-
sciousness.
She had developed an epidural ab-
scess at the site of the injection.
Levac, now 70, spent weeks in hos-
pital and was left with disabilities
from permanent nerve damage. She
cannot control her bladder and bow-
el, is unable to walk without a cane
and suffers from pain and weakness.
She just underwent her fourth sur-
gery for a blocked bowel.
I dont know how many more I can
go through, said Levac, who yearns
for her once vibrant life, which in-
cluded snowmobiling, camping and
lots of socializing. She also had big
plans for travel in her retirement
years.
I cant do any of that anymore. I
have no life. I just sit and watch life go
by, she said.
Most of her outings these days con-
sist of doctors appointments, she
said.
Levac noted that she lives on a fixed
income and said that financial com-
pensation could help in covering the
cost of extra expenses she has from
her disabilities, including inconti-
nence supplies.
The College of Physicians and Sur-
geons of Ontario last year found
James guilty of professional miscon-
duct and incompetence and stripped
him of his licence for 10 months.
The 2012 Toronto Public Health in-
vestigation found many shortcom-
ings in James infection control prac-
tices. Among them:
He did not remove his wedding
the streets.
That would be so much better, he
said. But Id also love to see my
mum, even though she might force
me to shave my beard which has tak-
en me three years to grow.
Offers of help
At the age of 91, she probably doesnt
have a lot of Christmases left and Im
sure Mike would love to go and see
her. I would like to buy him a bus
ticket to go see her this Christmas
along with a little spending money to
get him there and back. My mothers
name is Marjorie, too, and I lost her
two years ago and would give any-
the practice manager of a physicians
office that had recently taken over a
roster of patients.
In this case, McCarthy says the doc-
tor immediately contacted the elec-
tronic medical record vendor and
blocked further access, then contact-
ed the privacy commissioner.
The HFHT, which also provides
privacy training and will act as priva-
cy officers, assisted with a detailed
audit of the files that had been ac-
cessed and confirmed Tuesday that
none had been altered.
Cavoukian, executive director of
the Privacy and Big Data Institute at
ring when administering epidurals.
He donned his face mask before he
had performed hand hygiene.
He wore gloves too big for his
hands.
The nose piece on his face mask
was not pinched.
His procedure room was not ade-
quately cleaned.
Perells ruling noted that James was
unaware of infection control stan-
dards issued by the College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Medical negligence lawyer Paul
Harte, who represents Levac and
other patients harmed at the clinic,
welcomed Perells decision.
This is good news for the victims of
the Rothbart clinic outbreak. They
have been waiting for justice for far
too long, he told the Star.
Lawyer Darryl Cruz, who repre-
sents James, said he did not have
permission from his client to com-
ment on the case.
James had wanted Levacs motion
for a summary judgment dismissed,
arguing that a full trial was needed.
Harte said he was pleased for his
clients that Perell saw fit not to go
that route, noting that it would have
prolonged their quest for justice.
This is an important example of
the court taking the opportunity to
provide timely, efficient justice in the
face of clear medical malpractice.
Harte and other medical negli-
gence lawyers have complained that
it takes too long for victims of medi-
cal malpractice to receive compensa-
tion.
EDUARDO LIMA/METRO NEWS
thing to see her again. In her memo-
ry I feel moved to help Mike see his
mom again. Catharine
I am a senior citizen myself and I
have a son. If he was in that situation
Id hope someone would reach out to
help him. As a mother, Im sure his
mother would be thrilled to see him.
I havent got a lot of money but I feel
this is something I have to do.
June Dunn
Id be very happy to meet this gen-
tleman and offer him whatever help I
can give. What he is doing with that
Christmas tree is amazing. He de-
serves the support from all of us.
Drupati Maharaj
Ryerson University, said the situa-
tion is enormously concerning.
Personal health information is the
most sensitive type of personal in-
formation out there, and it deserves
the strongest protections, she said.
Obviously if you are dealing with
electronic medical records, you must
have the strongest security possible.
People need to be assured their data
is going only to the intended parties.
On Tuesday, the privacy commis-
sioners office said that without the
name of the doctors office, it could
not confirm reports of a breach or
offer additional information.
ON ON0
Law society,
province to
give money
INNOCENCE from GT1
They said they would be focusing
their efforts on their 85-case backlog.
The freeze on opening new files will
be lifted in January as a result of the
new funds and new cases will be add-
ed to the queue.
The province will provide the orga-
nization with $275,000 annually and
the Law Society of Upper Canada
will provide an additional $25,000
annually, resulting in a total of
$900,000 over three years.
The organization, which was
founded in 1993, has played a role in
exonerating 21 wrongly convicted
Canadians, including David Mil-
gaard, Guy Paul Morin, Steven Trus-
cott and seven victims of disgraced
pathologist Dr. Charles Smith.
Ontario Attorney General Yasir
Naqvi acknowledged the importance
of funding Innocence Canada, stat-
ing that the criminal justice system is
not infallible.
We strive to make our courts more
accessible, more timely, more re-
sponsive. But we dont always get it
right, Naqvi said.
The simple reality is that despite
our collective best efforts we some-
times do get it wrong.
Thats why its so important to
have an organization like Innocence
Canada as part of our justice system.
It is an organization that advocates
for those who are all but forgotten by
society, for people who are in the
most vulnerable of situations.
Russell Silverstein, co-president of
Innocence Canada, said on Tuesday
that this infusion of financial sup-
port allows us to go back to where we
were and run our operation fully.
It marks an important change in
the culture of access to justice and
the fight against wrongful convic-
tions to have the government recog-
nize the reality of this phenomenon
and the importance of the work we
do, Silverstein said.
Despite these funds, Silverstein
said they will work to rouse public
support to encourage donations
from the private sector and individu-
al donors, so that they will not be-
come dependent on the government
forever.
TS08
TS01