A family is urging for an investigation following the death of an intellectually disabled man under the care of a Manitoba group home. Sean Feldsted, aged 54, passed away in early 2024 at a Winnipeg hospital after his sister discovered him at the Gimli group home in a severely malnourished state. The distressing sight of her emaciated brother will forever stay with Shelley Shultz, who was shocked by his condition when she flew back from B.C. to Winnipeg in December 2023.
Sean had resided at the Gimli group home in Manitoba’s Interlake region for many years, with his family instrumental in establishing the home to ensure round-the-clock care for him due to his intellectual disability. Ownership of the facility later shifted to Community Bridges, a non-profit organization catering to individuals with intellectual disabilities.
It took the family over two years to ascertain the cause of Sean’s demise. Shultz received his autopsy report in February 2026, with the delay attributed to staffing shortages at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office. The autopsy disclosed that Sean arrived at the Winnipeg hospital significantly malnourished, with his death attributed to sepsis, exacerbated by malnutrition as a contributing factor.
Following communication from CBC to provincial authorities, Shultz gained access to the internal investigation into her brother’s passing. The inquiry, conducted by Manitoba’s provincial investigation unit under the Department of Families, which investigates reports of abuse and neglect involving adults with intellectual disabilities, determined that neglect did not occur at the group home. However, it criticized the decisions made at the Gimli hospital in the period leading up to Sean’s demise.
Community Bridges staff made efforts to assist Sean by engaging medical professionals like an occupational therapist and dietitian, as well as taking him to the hospital on multiple occasions. When Shultz visited her brother at the group home in December 2023, workers alerted her to his severe illness, finding him on a mattress on the floor due to repeated falls from the bed. Despite the staff’s attempts, Sean’s health continued to deteriorate, leading to his hospitalization and eventual passing.
Shultz emphasized the need for a judicial inquest to address the gaps in her brother’s care, improve support for substitute decision makers, and enhance the treatment of terminally ill individuals with intellectual disabilities. Reflecting on her brother’s final days, Shultz finds solace in the peaceful passing of Sean as Vivaldi played in the background, with her by his side.
Yona Lunsky, a program director at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, highlighted the challenges faced by individuals with intellectual disabilities in having their concerns heard within the healthcare system. Lunsky advocated for enhanced reporting mechanisms to prevent avoidable deaths among this vulnerable population.
