Caretaker in B.C. woman's starvation death says little support seen from management

Florence Girard was 54 when she died in the home of caregiver Astrid Dahl. She had been neglected and malnourished, weighing just 55 pounds at the time of her death.

BURNABY, B.C. — The caregiver of a woman who starved to death says the homecare organization she worked for provided little support for things such as prescribed pain medication or nutritional support before Florence Girard died in 2018.

Astrid Dahl told a coroner’s inquest into Girard’s death that she had to reduce the frequency of pain medication and switch to a cheaper, less potent painkiller partially because Kinsight Community Society didn’t pay for the prescribed medicine.

Dahl also said the lack of effectiveness of the stronger drugs also contributed to her decision to switch the medication, despite Girard — who had Down syndrome — experiencing constant pain as she got older.

Kinsight oversaw the home-sharing service where Girard was living with Dahl under a contract with provincial Crown corporation Community Living BC.

Dahl, who was convicted in 2022 for failing to provide the necessaries of life to Girard, told the inquest Kinsight gave no nutritionist support when Girard began losing weight, so she instead consulted her mother, a former nurse.

Girard was living with Dahl as part of a program for people with developmental disabilities, and she weighed about 50 pounds when she died.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press