Massive Edmonton care home battling mice infestation, droppings

EDMONTON – The operator of one of the province’s largest long-term care homes says it’s working to address serious concerns about an infestation of mice and mice droppings.

But Alberta’s Opposition NDP says the longstanding problem at Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre was flagged to authorities six months ago.

Scott Baerg, senior officer of continuing care operations at Covenant Health, said in a statement Thursday the safety, dignity and care of residents is their top priority. 

“We take this concern seriously and are working hard to rectify the situation,” he said. That includes recently hiring a new pest control company to do regular inspections, he said.

“If evidence of pests is found, it is rectified quickly, communicated to site leadership and potential entry points secured,” Baerg said. 

NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman said it’s not a new issue, and she raised the alarm about mice at the facility last summer, including with health inspectors.

But she said on a recent visit with a man living in the facility, she saw continued evidence, including mice droppings, in his room.

“Just knowing that if his blanket falls on the floor in the middle of the night, there’s probably going to be mice crawling all over his blanket — it just makes my skin crawl,” Hoffman said in an interview.

The centre, run by publicly funded Covenant Health, advertises it accommodates almost 500 people in the city’s downtown, providing long-term, subacute and hospice care.

Baerg confirmed that the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre is at full capacity. 

Health Canada warns mice – particularly mice droppings – can be a serious health hazard. The agency says breathing in particles from droppings of mice, particularly deer mice, can cause hantavirus infection, leading to severe respiratory illness. It cautions against haphazardly sweeping up the droppings, as that could increase the risk of illness.

Hoffman said the mice are living where people sleep.

“Whatever is happening on the pest control side is not enough because it’s clear that there are mice living in the same rooms as patients,” she said. “The government really should be prioritizing this and putting the resources in to make sure that everyone … is safe.”

Ron Guetter, a spiritual care volunteer for more than two years, said he’s seen mice and mouse traps in the unit rooms he visits. He said residents have shared their own sightings with him, but some have trouble advocating for themselves.

He said one described tucking in her bed sheets and blankets in an attempt to keep them out.

“She was terrified to get out of her bed, because there were mice on the floor,” Guetter said. “It was a disturbing experience for her.”

In the centre, some residents are mostly confined to their beds, Guetter noted.

“It just seems quite tragic in many ways that people who are, as they say, often in the last stages of their life, need to live in those kinds of conditions – conditions that the rest of us here in Edmonton certainly wouldn’t tolerate.”

“We all know about it, and nothing seems to have changed.”

He stressed that the building’s employees are very diligent, caring and attentive to the residents, and said he’s impressed with the cleanliness of common spaces.

“My hope is not really to embarrass anybody, but it is to say this really is not acceptable for anybody,” he said.

Hoffman said the government also needs to beef up its whistleblower protections so staff across publicly funded organizations can better flag situations like the one at Edmonton General.

She urged the government to pass a private member’s bill the NDP plans to introduce in the legislature so that people who work in health care feel empowered to raise the alarm and ask for help on behalf of their patients and their colleagues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2026.