Category: long-term care

Canada’s Long-Term Care System Lacks Choice and Competition

Commentary The long-term care sector in Canada has received a lot of media attention since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is not surprising, given the tragic consequences that have affected the residents of public and private nursing homes and their families. However, the difficulties in meeting the care needs of the elderly in…


Coroner Probing Quebec Elder Care Deaths During Pandemic Says Workers Deserve Respect

MONTREAL—The Quebec coroner investigating the deaths at elder care homes during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic assured health workers they were not at fault and deserve respect for the working conditions they endured. “Rest assured that the coroner’s office doesn’t lay blame on health-care workers,” coroner Géhane Kamel said. “And each individual who…


Pandemic Changed People’s Views on Their Future in Long Term Care, Survey Suggests

TORONTO—A survey from the Angus Reid Institute suggests that the pandemic has changed the way most Canadians think about their future with long-term care. The survey finds that just 18 percent of respondents say their views haven’t changed since COVID-19 hit, but about half of those surveyed say they now “dread” the thought of themselves…


How to Improve Health and Quality of Life for Long-Term Care Residents

Sitting around is a known risk factor for disease and disability. Yet, when older adults start to lose independence—becoming less functional physically or showing signs of cognitive impairment—they move into residences that may allow them to sit for 85 percent of their waking hours. As the baby boomer population ages, older people are starting to…


Ontario to Allow Transfer of Hospital Patients to LTCs Without Consent

TORONTO—Hospitals in Ontario will be able to transfer patients waiting for a long-term care space to any nursing home without their consent, the government announced Wednesday as it scrambled to free up beds for residents with COVID-19. Health Minister Christine Elliott said a new emergency order allowing for the transfers was being brought in to…


Advocates Call for Faster Vaccinations of Long-Term-Care Residents and Workers

OTTAWA—Experts who advocate for improvements to long-term care in Canada say the provinces need to move faster to vaccinate residents and the people who look after them. Canada’s overall vaccination rollout is being questioned with more than 420,000 doses now received, but only about one-quarter of those injected. And long-term-care residents, who have paid the…