Doug Ford unveils funding changes for long-term-care homes in wake of COVID-19

Thestar.com
July 16, 2020

Premier Doug Ford is enriching the province’s funding formula for long-term-care homes to encourage more private-sector operators to build new facilities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the Progressive Conservative government, which on Wednesday reiterated its previously announced pledge to spend $1.75 billion in the sector, cannot say precisely how many new beds will be created.

The Tories have committed to adding 30,000 beds over the next decade, but no road map to that goal has been made public.

Ford said the move would see nearly 8,000 new beds and 12,000 redeveloped beds being built.

“The last few months have made it crystal clear that when it comes to long-term care, we can’t accept the status quo,” the premier told reporters.

“We need to tear down and redevelop old homes and we need to build new ones. We need thousands of new long-term-care beds and we need them fast,” he said.

But NDP Leader Andrea Horwath warned the move “means the for-profit corporations that have failed seniors for years could get even more public money.”

“Today feels like a re-run of years of Liberal re-announcements on long-term care, where beds were announced but never built,” said Horwath, noting Liberal premiers Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty added just 600 beds between 2011 and 2018 while Ford has built 21.

“If we want to improve conditions, we should be committing to hiring enough staff to deliver four hours of hands on care per resident per day; raising (personal support workers’) wages and offering them full-time jobs, and getting the profits out of long-term care.”

The news came the same day as Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton relaxed the rules for visits to long-term-care homes.

Starting immediately, two people can have an outdoor visit with a resident at the same time; as of next Wednesday, outdoor visitors will no longer be required to have taken a COVID-19 test within the previous fortnight.

Indoor visits will also be allowed starting next week, but those visitors must still attest that they have tested negative for COVID-19 within the past 14 days.

“I know that this has been incredibly difficult for many, including loved ones, essential caregivers in families,” said Fullerton.

“We must continue to be vigilant when visiting our loved ones in long-term care. If you are feeling unwell, please stay home.”

According to the new construction funding subsidy, operators will receive an average $23.68 per diem over 25 years for each new bed. That’s up from the existing $21.53 per diem.

The Conservatives are hopeful that $2.15 daily increase -- a 10 per cent hike -- will spur more construction.

That should mean fewer ward rooms, improved air conditioning and ventilation systems, and safer facilities for residents and staff.

Ontario’s nursing homes have seen the deaths of 1,730 elderly residents and eight workers -- accounting for almost two-thirds of the province’s officially reported COVID-19 fatalities -- since the outbreak began in March.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said Ford is reneging on his commitment to build 15,000 beds between 2018 and 2023.

Del Duca said Ford would only get 4,000 beds built before the 2022 election.

“Furthermore, the measures announced today will do nothing to help parents and grandparents in nursing homes right now, including those crammed into four-person wards,” he said.

“Flu season and a potential second wave of COVID-19 are on the horizon, but Doug Ford has no plan to fix the ongoing crisis in long term care by fixing the staffing shortage.”

The Grit chief noted the Tories have “left funding approved by the previous Liberal government to build new beds unspent.”

While the Tories promised an independent commission examining the COVID-19 disaster in long-term-care homes would begin in July, the government has yet to even appoint a commissioner to lead that review.

The situation was so bad in some seven Ontario facilities that hundreds of Canadian Armed Forces personnel were deployed to help care for their residents.

But Donna Duncan, CEO of the Ontario Long Term Care Association, which represents most operators, praised the move.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with government to renew and expand long-term care across Ontario,” said Duncan.

“The capital investment ... illustrates their understanding of the need to provide Ontario’s seniors with the care that they need and deserve.”