Exterior of LaVerendrye General Hospital in Fort France, November 23, 2022. Image: Randy Thoms

A newspaper ad from Riverside Health Care is raising concerns from a Fort Frances family.

The ad from Riverside Health Care appeared last week, on the anniversary of Hermina Fletcher’s death in 2015.

It appears to take aim at public statements made about the Lindsay Coyle case.

The former nurse pled guilty to a charge of criminal negligence causing death after admitting to falsifying Fletcher’s medical record in order to take medication for her personal use.

The 76-year-old later died in hospital after being administered a higher dose than originally recommended.

Riverside makes no mention of Coyle in the ad but states an investigation into a discrepancy in the tracking of narcotics at LaVerendrye

General Hospital was immediately commenced in January 2015, involving the OPP, Health Canada and the coroner’s office.

It says all those impacted were contacted.

“There have been anonymous messages and social media postings suggesting that at least one person at Riverside Health Care was aware of issues relating to the theft of narcotics prior to the identification of the discrepancy. There is absolutely no truth to these suggestions or allegations, and these false statements are seemingly intended to undermine confidence in Riverside Health Care,” states the ad.

The Fletcher family responded with a statement of their own, saying they were shocked and disturbed by the ad.

“What should trouble everyone in the community is that Riverside’s ad makes several statements which appear to be attempts to discredit concerns that have been raised based on the facts accepted by the court in Ms. Coyle’s criminal prosecution,” reads the family statement.

“Riverside has not shared with us what statements, messages, or posts it is referring to, or which statements are false. As the victims of this misconduct, we can only assume that this advertisement is somehow in reference to our concerns, some of which have been expressed publicly through counsel. We know many of our concerns are shared by others in the community.”

Their lawyer Doug Judson says if Riverside stands by its statements, it should support having a provincially appointed investigator look into some of the issues raised during the court proceedings.

“An investigation is the only way to restore the public confidence that has been damaged by the revelations from the Coyle criminal proceeding,” states Judson.

Judson says requests to the Health Minister Sylvia Jones have so far gone unanswered.