LITTLE CURRENT—The Manitoulin Centennial Manor Tree of Lights Campaign is once again in full swing following last year’s successful run. This year, the goal is the same, to raise enough funds to buy another 20 new beds for the residents (last year also saw 20 new beds purchased and the ultimate goal is the replacement of all 60 beds in the long-term care nursing home).
Manor administrator Don Cook explained that the new beds are much better for the residents. “We do have high-low beds that come up higher than regular beds.” He explains that the higher position helps staff assist residents and also helps to prevent back injuries among staff, but that is really just a bonus. The real plus with the new beds is that they enhance resident safety and comfort.
In addition to being able to rise to the occasion, the new beds are also able to be lowered closer to the floor. “We have a number of residents who tend to fall out of bed,” Mr. Cook explains. In the bad old days, residents would be held in by restraints but that is thankfully no longer a course of action.”
“With the beds lowered almost to the floor, and the addition of special floor mats to cushion the individual who may have fallen out of bed, the chance of injury is greatly reduced.”
The new beds also have different wheel locking mechanisms, allowing them to be moved more easily. “With the old beds, the legs had to be raised up off the floor in order to be able to free the wheels to move,” said Mr. Cook. “The new beds have wheels that can be manually locked—so even if there is no power, you can still move them about if need be.” An important consideration should a bed-ridden resident need to be evacuated quickly.
The new beds have all the comfort settings to be found on the old beds, allowing the foot and head to be raised as needed or desired. They are also “bariatric” beds, meaning they can be adjusted to be wider or longer in order to accommodate larger or taller residents.
The biggest challenge with the old beds is that they are just that, getting old, and parts are becoming much harder to source.
“We really need 60 beds,” said Mr. Cook, “but we figured if we start with 20, then the 20 older beds that are being replaced can be used for spare parts for the remaining 40.”
It’s a strange quirk of Ontario’s approach to the care and keeping of some of the province’s most vulnerable citizens that while funding for more personal support workers has been allocated, with personal care slated to rise from 2.75 hours a day to four hours a day by 2025, there is little to no funding coming from the province for capital expenditures.
Forms for the Tree of Lights donations can be picked up at The Expositor offices in Little Current.
Cheques can be made payable to MCM Fundraising and sent by mail (once the Canada Post strike ends) to Tree of Lights, Manitoulin Centennial Manor, Postal Bag 460, Little Current, ON, P0P 1K0. In the meantime, etransfers can be sent to donationsmcm@extendicare.com. Any donation over $20 is eligible for a receipt on request (put it in the memo line). Donations can be made in memorium, with those being remembered in the donations published in the December 18 issue of The Expositor. The names of those making donations of $50 or more will be recognized as Tree of Lights sponsors in the Expositor December 23 edition.
