BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
The funding formula for long-term care facilities has to change because it causes some homes to cut much-needed staff every year, says the man in charge of eight Extendicare nursing homes in the northeast.
Keith Clement spoke at provincial Standing Committee on Social Policy hearings on Bill 140 at the Howard Johnston Hotel Tuesday.
Bill 140 revamps legislation governing the way seniors are cared for in nursing homes.
The government performs “snapshot in time” assessments of each nursing home once a year to figure out how many residents they have and what level of care they need, says Clement.
“Following that assessment, our funding either increases or decreases. Then we’re put in a situation where long-term care facility receives less funding and staff cuts need to be made.”
Clement, who is in charge of Extendicare York and Extendicare Falconbridge in Greater Sudbury, says the funding formula needs to change but Bill 140 does not do that.
He says he’s not sure what form the funding formula should take because there’s so many different ideas out there.
“How should they do that? They have to take a look at the system. Some people are suggesting each resident be guaranteed 3.5 hours of care per day. I’m saying let’s be fair,” he says.
“We need to increase funding by $6,000 per resident, and the government has increased it by $2,000.”
Clement also says he’s concerned older nursing homes with ward rooms are set to be phased out in 10 to 12 years if not upgraded.
The government has not set out any budget for renovations in Bill 140, so when these facilities shut down, the nursing home bed shortage will be even worse, he says.
“Ultimately, what we’re looking for is some sort of capital renewal program for these homes,” he says.
“We’re put in a position where they’ve put fixed-term licensing for the facilities, and in 10 years, because they haven’t given us a program for capital renewal, there’s a possibility some of these homes could shut down.”
The man says new documentation procedures required in Bill 140 will keep his staff away from patients.
“Because the legislation is so specific, it’s absolute and we have to take it literally,” he says. “If you’ve got the documentation in place, it means you’re meeting the standards. It’s not about helping my grandmother to the washroom.”
Twenty-one people from the long-term care sector spoke in front of the all-party committee. Nickel Belt New Democrat MPP Shelley Martel and Nipissing Liberal MPP Monique Smith are both members of the committee.
Lynn Granatier, a personal support worker at a nursing home in Kirkland Lake, says she and her co-workers do their best, but it’s hard to provide adequate care for everyone at the facility.
Residents at the home don’t receive anywhere near the 3.5 hours of hands-on care per day being requested by some groups, she says. Instead, they receive 1.9 hours of care.
“There are some individuals that need more care than others. Unfortunately, the ones that need less care get less care,” she says.
A few years ago, the province brought in new rules saying each nursing home resident was to receive two baths a week instead of one.
This has placed a lot of stress on workers because it has increased the workload and new staff haven’t been hired, she says.
Smith defends her government’s new legislation, saying providing more care for patients requires more money, and that would be an issue better addressed in the budget.
Smith says the bill may be changed based on the feedback they get at the hearings.
“We’ve heard a lot of submissions around funding for older homes, funding for more staff and some submissions on the actual legislation and what we can do to improve it.”
Martel says the bill needs to contain a guarantee of a certain amount of hands-on care for nursing home residents.
“There’s no legislation, no standard, no rule regarding how much hands-on care per resident per day will be provided. There is nothing in this legislation that would provide a minimum amount of care,” she says.
“When the NDP was in power, the standard was 2.25 hours of hands-on care per resident per day. That was cancelled by the Conservative government in 1996. The Liberals promised to re-instate that standard in the last election, and they have done nothing.”
