MANITOULIN—The Manitoulin Centennial Manor board is requesting support of a motion they passed, calling on the provincial government to increase funding to long term care facilities. Central Manitoulin, the Northeast Town and Billings councils, along with the Gore Bay council passed motions at meetings in the last week in support of this motion.
“The government funding for long term care facilities has not increased to cover the costs in long term care (LTC) facilities,” stated Paul Moffatt, chair of the Manor board. “Things are tough all over the province.”
“We have a well-run facility that is municipally-owned and it’s getting harder all the time for municipalities to continue the support; it’s getting harder to maintain the Manor building and it is getting harder to maintain. So far we are on top of all of this, but it is getting tougher.”
“The Manitoulin Lodge in Gore Bay is in the same predicament as we and other long term care facilities in the province,” continued Mr. Moffatt. “Our municipalities are subsidizing the Manor to an extent, and provide good support, but municipal support we realize is limited because there is not a lot of money around.”
“We have fabulous facilities, and really good caring staff, and most of the residents in the Manor are family members of residents on the Island,” said Billings Councillor Tom Imrie, Manor board representative for Billings and the Town of Gore Bay. “Communities can only provide so much support, and we (the Manor board) are asking for the province to step up to the plate and do its share.”
“The Manor board has sent a motion to all municipal councils on the Island asking for support of our motion to request the province provide increased funding,” said Councillor Imrie. He pointed, out for example, long term care facilities require additional funding to meet increased costs for Behavioural Services Ontario to better manage dementia and mental health care and adequate funding has not been provided to provide alternate care for complex health conditions required specialized staff and equipment.
“Costs have continued to rise to operate the nursing home; we have done our best as most long term care homes have done, fundraising to bridge funding gaps. But the provincial government needs to come forward with more financial support,” said Councillor Imrie.
Councillor Imrie noted, “we recognize that aging at home is a key aspect of the long term care strategy. A significant number need to live at nursing homes because of the nature of their disability. The province sets the standard for nursing home care and management, but meeting these standards is expensive.” He said, noting that the Manor is currently in the process of contract negotiations with its nursing staff (who have been without a contract for two years) and he said it is expected a new contract will be retroactive so the staff nurses will receive back pay. “We’ve been budgeting for this but the costs are going to be significant. And the salary ranges for staff like personal support workers (PSWs) are not sufficient to staff.”
Lee Turley, administrator at the Manitoulin Lodge Nursing Home in Gore Bay said, “we fully support the Better Seniors Care Campaign in partnership with the Ontario Long Term Care Association. Resident population in long-term care has changed significantly over the last five years. With the success of the province’s ‘Aging in Place’ strategy, seniors are now entering our home with high or very high care needs. They are older, more frail and in need of more medical and personal care. Unfortunately, long-term care funding has not kept pace with the growing acuity of these residents.”
Mr. Turley explained the four objectives of the Better Seniors Care campaign: to rebuild and modernize homes and eliminate outdated three and four bedrooms; increase access to behavioural supports Ontario (BSO) teams by putting them in each home so those living with dementia are getting the services and care they need to be safe. We need to support smaller and rural homes through additional services. Residents deserve to stay closer to their families and out of acute care beds. And better staffing solutions are needed, including additional PSWs and allowing staff to work according to their training and skills (like administering prescriptions).”
“At Manitoulin Lodge solutions are not only needed to sustain our current level of exceptional care, but to also enhance those services that we provide,” continued Mr. Turley. “That is why we are helping to spread the message and gain support for the campaign by asking families and friends to visit BetterSeniorsCare.ca. Through the website, you can send emails to Mike Mantha, tweet about the campaign and also make personal phone call. You can also pledge your support with us by choosing our long-term care home from the drop down list.”
“We are committed to doing the right thing by advocating for our residents and making a difference in their lives and those who will be living with us in the future,” added Mr. Turley.
The chief executive officer of the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) Candace Chartier, in a speech last week, cited real-life examples to demonstrate the daily struggles facing residents and staff in the industry.
“The seniors we care for have very different needs than those we were caring for 10 years ago. The simple truth is that government hasn’t kept pace,” said Ms. Chartier.
Ms. Chartier released a report from the association, Better Seniors Care, which elaborated on these four points and urges Ontarians to press their MPPs for the changes.
Councillor Imrie added, “our goal as a board is to bring these concerns to the attention of the Minister of Health, Dr. Eric Hoskins. What we are asking for is not unreasonable, and the treatment methodology that is currently in use is not what was in place when the original funding model was established. And despite having to put in new programs and services, funding from the province to match this is not coming forward. We are asking for the province to review this and municipal supports.”
