Submitted by Mary Spring
The news over the past few weeks with regard to long-term care in Ontario and Quebec has had us all shaking our heads. How could we have come to this? For many, this is no surprise, as we have been aware of the problems for many years. However, the extent of the damage and the consequences due to COVID-19 are horrifying.
I feel like a bit of an authority when it comes to long-term care. As a teenager I watched as my parents were forced to place their parents into old-age homes. My memories of visiting my grandparents in those homes will never leave me, as I had never experienced such institutional living.
My own mother begged her daughters to never put her into a long-term care facility. Unfortunately, her health declined and we had to do just that. Luckily for us her experience was comfortable and safe. We had a wonderful personal support worker who helped with her care. We are forever indebted to the hard-working staff at Muskoka Landing in Huntsville.
For 100 days we have been standing at a window at that same long-term care facility in Huntsville, trying to communicate with my mother-in-law, almost 96-years old. A wonderful personal support worker who had helped with her care, and whom we adored, was not allowed to help with her care once the pandemic hit. This was difficult for us, but especially for her. My mother-in-law smiles as family members stare into that window. What does she understand? She looks healthy and we only hope and pray that she is safe. We have faith in our long-term care facilities in Muskoka and they have not had any COVID cases to date.
As a 65-year-old woman, I wonder: what will long-term care look like in twenty years? I have a few ideas to share and I think that our government needs to consider my ideas for the future.
For the past ten years I have volunteered for an organization called Muskoka Seniors. This organization provides frozen meals for seniors, drives seniors to medical appointments and, best of all, before the COVID-19 pandemic they organized a weekly luncheon for seniors in Huntsville, Dorset, and Baysville. Their goal is to keep seniors living in their own homes for as long as possible, thus preventing them from having to enter the long term-care system for as long as possible. Our clients congregated to eat a lovely meal, to socialize, and to enjoy local entertainment. The benefits of these luncheons as well as the services that Muskoka Seniors is able to provide should not be underestimated. Unfortunately, funding for Muskoka Seniors is always a challenge. My hope is that our government will increase not only financial support but also acceptance of organizations like Muskoka Seniors.
I believe that the government should provide funding or tax breaks for homeowners who are willing and able to renovate their home to allow for an elder. Such renovations would need a bedroom on a lower level, with no stairs and an accessible washroom. Only then could an elder join a family instead of entering long-term care until absolutely necessary,
I believe that building companies should be provided with government funding or tax breaks if they are willing to design their homes with an elder in mind. A downstairs bedroom and accessible washroom is not a difficult task. Such homes would allow an older family member to join the family for as long as possible.
Finally, our governments and businesses must take into consideration people who are able to look after elders and to provide financial support and flexible working conditions in order to provide that care.
Those are my dreams for future long-term care and our elders. It will be me in not so many years, as well as millions of other baby boomers. We need to change our system to guarantee safe and humane care for our elders.
(Main photo: Sabine van Erp / Pixabay)
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Betty Fulton says
Thank you Mary, EXCELLENT suggestions. Let’s hope Scott reads your article and takes it to heart. Knowing Scott, I’m sure he will do his best to bring it to the attentions of government. Ches and I had the privilege of vising your mom a number of times both at Muskoka Traditions and Muskoka Landing. She was one of those grand ladies you read about in bygone times, always cheerful, immensely proud of her girls, and always able to see the bright side of any situation., and from what I have seen her girls have inherited many of her wonderful attributes..
I am fortunate, thanks to son Larry to live in a wonderful retirement home in St. Catharines. We have the finest staff anyone could ask for, nothing is too much trouble for them. Judging from what I have seen, that and a good manager are key to success. Our two sons who live here insisted we come “home” when Ches was dying, and they were right – we could never have managed without them.
Good to know you are still volunteering with Muskoka Seniors. We certainly enjoyed our meals and socializing there, and have fond memories of the Bobsey Twins! Organizations like this need more government support, especially when you look at the amount of volunteer assistance that is given.
Ted Mercer says
Well said Mary, we need to make sure that each generation has dignity in their old age. Families are best to support their parents in their final years. Living with family and outside assistance is a superior manner of helping seniors. Long term care homes are only a last resort. I believe this conversation is essential today so that we do not perpetuate inequity in our culture.
Kate Brown says
These are all wonderful ideas and they are entirely possible.
Muskoka Seniors is an invaluable service for which I am personally most grateful.
Anna-Lise Kear says
Thank you Mary for tackling this concern, relating your experience. More for-profit contracts of new LTC homes were awarded in the Mike Harris years; also, more for-profit community home care agencies were awarded contracts in the move away from non-profit agencies (Red Cross, VON). Unfortunately, some of these care outcomes are of no surprise to me.
As a retired nurse with LTC, retirement home, and community care experience, I have frequently written Norm Miller, MPP about many related issues (e.g. Scandinavian models for delivery of care, worker wages, proper infection control measures, increasing non-profit management of homes/services).
Of late, I have “begged” him to reinstate comprehensive, frequent inspections in LTC (prior to the outbreak of Covid19), describing my concern for care competency, neglect, and abuse. These MOHLTC comprehensive inspections had been rolled back by the provincial conservatives.
I urge anyone interested to review and sign yet another petition from the RNAO (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario), citing essential improvements to basic staffing and staffing complements in facilities. If what I read is true, for-profit nursing homes have an average of 17% fewer staff. Hope you can access this site.
https://rnao.ca/policy/action-alerts/act-july-31-demand-government-implement-nursing-home-basic-care-guarantee.
You do not need to be a nurse or healthcare provider to sign this petition.
Above all, please remember this issue, among others, at the next provincial election folks.
Rob Millman says
The problems in long-term care are almost exclusively found in the private system (where the need for profits for the stakeholders necessitate cutting corners). Most municipal homes provide outstanding care. It broke my heart to see my mother beg us to not resuscitate her (as she suffered in a private institution, placed there by a sibling). This sibling also had power of attorney for health; no DNR was instituted, and my mother starved herself to death. I have not spoken to that particular family member since.
But back to your construction suggestions, Mary. Unfortunately, they don’t even fulfill the minimum conditions for “visitability” (the ability to have a person with ambulatory disabilities visit you.
They are:
1) a zero-step entrance connected to an accessible route from a driveway or public sidewalk;
2) accessible hallways (min. 810 mm., 32″); and
3) an accessible washroom on the same floor as the entrance.
As far as a universally accessible “granny flat” is concerned, many more requirements (with the attendant significant costs) are necessary.
That being said, having the elderly “age-in-place” is always to be preferred above all other alternatives; both from their physical and mental health perspectives, and from the burden on the healthcare system.
Unfortunately, however, I believe that your ideas would have to be presented to the Province, who are responsible for healthcare, to a Premier who was elected to cut costs.
Even if it could somehow find its way to the PM, we have mortgaged our future with the enormous expenditures on pandemic relief.
nancy long says
Long term care wasn’t a conversation in my family. My grandparents and parents stayed home. It wasn’t easy on the family members but it was expected. I agree that home care needs substantial attention. There has been talk of this for decades. Enough talk……it’s cheap! Actions speak.
Anna-Lise Kear says
Please note, it is the Canadian Red Cross Society which has been appointed in Ontario LTC homes to step in and take over from the Canadian Military, as announced today
The Ontario Red Cross Society, when running community care services as a non-profit also trained their workers for home care services. Yet these were the same community services forced to compete (which I might add, we did so successfully) with the for-profit organizations gaining a foot-hold in home care, courtesy of Mike Harris government. Through contract awards, as the hours of work diminished in the non-profit agencies, experienced, trained workers had to reapply for jobs at for-profit agencies, with no seniority recognized and begin again.
Please keep an open eye on how well for-profit agencies operate home care services in the province folks and the client & worker satisfaction.