Senior Care – left in the dark
October 5th, 2020
Recently, a meeting of the First ministers occurred to discuss health transfers to the Provinces. The Manitoba Association of Residential and Community Care Homes for the Elderly (MARCHE) and the Long Term and
Continuing Care Association of Manitoba (LTCAM) wrote a letter to the Premier (www.roadtocare.ca) in advance of the meeting. We hoped to reignite the light that shone so brightly on seniors care, just a few months ago. We were dismayed to read in the Free Press; 19/09/20 “Pallister Joins Premiers to push for Health Care cash”. In the article, the Premier would only say he would ‘continue to support front line services’.
This has been an extraordinarily difficult and painful time for everyone connected to long-term care including residents, their families, care team members, and those who operate long-term care homes. COVID-19 has
exposed long-standing, systemic challenges for long-term care homes-TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW!
In addition to staffing, long term care also needs investments into rebuilding its infrastructure. Our personal care homes make it difficult to support “a life well lived”, especially for individuals living with dementia, which puts both residents and staff at risk and does not support the dignity our seniors deserve. We estimate that 60% of the personal care homes in this province and across the country have shared accommodations and shared washrooms. As COVID-19 has taught us, this environment can be deadly when infection prevention and control is so very difficult to preserve. A 2015 report completed on Existing conditions PCH infrastructure for the 39 PCHs in Winnipeg showed that almost 50% were categorized as in ‘poor condition, issues identified should be addressed ASAP as funding allows’. In the majority of cases, little change has occurred.
Let’s Shine the Light on Seniors’ Care in Manitoba. Seniors cannot wait. In fact, our seniors, our loved ones are dying, right now, today.
Jan Legeros, Executive Director,
Long Term & Continuing Care Association of Manitoba
Julie Turenne-Maynard, Executive Director Manitoba Association of Residential and Community Care Homes for the Elderly