Forced to move

Province scrambling to find nursing home residents new place to live

With a private nursing home in Charlottetown set to close numerous beds, the province is looking to find new homes for affected residents.

Public and private long-term care facilities are being approached to see where capacity exists to transfer residents.

The Atlantic Baptist Home has decided to close 41 of its 116 long-term care beds, including 31 beds in the dementia unit, citing insufficient government funding to continue operating at its current level.

“As a government, we have to respect their decision, and our main priority now is finding a home for those affected residents,’’ the Department of Health and Wellness says in a statement sent to The Guardian.

“We know moving can be difficult, so it’s our goal, if at all possible, to move people to a facility of their choice and to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.’’

Pat Gill’s preference would be for her husband, Brian, to remain in the dementia unit at Atlantic Baptist Home. She finds the care top-notch and fears relocating to another nursing home will be quite unsettling for Brian.

Pat was among close to 200 people who attended a meeting Thursday night to hear the latest news on the proposed bed closures.

She was pleased to see a strong turnout from government, including Health and Wellness Minister Robert Henderson, as well as Progressive Conservative leadership candidate James Aylward and Green Party of P.E.I. Leader Peter Bevan-Baker.

She was not pleased to learn that Atlantic Baptist Home is closing 41 beds, meaning Brian and many other residents will be forced to move.

“People were upset with what is going to happen,’’ she says.

“You are not only messing with peoples’ loved ones but you are messing with peoples’ jobs.’’

The government does not have a specific timeframe on how long it will take to determine exactly where residents will go. The goal is to relocate the residents within 90 days of the nursing home’s written notice to government on Sept. 14 that it had made a business decision to no longer provide services for 41 of their 116 long term care beds.

Atlantic Baptist Home is the only not-for-profit one in the province and its executive director, Victor Shea, has said the home and the province failed to agree to a funding increase over the summer.

The home, he added, is losing too much money to keep the 41 beds open.

There is a single service agreement between the province and the Private Nursing Home Association, which represents all nine of the private nursing homes in the province. The agreement provides the same per diem rate to be paid to all nine private nursing homes and requires all nine facilities to provide care to the same standards, notes a spokeswoman from Health and Wellness.

“Having a single agreement provides an equitable approach for all parties involved,’’ she states.

“Residents and families can expect the same care and service for the same funding anywhere across the province.’’

The last agreement expired March 31, 2016. Negotiations for a new agreement have taken place, but a settlement was not reached.

Arbitration is scheduled to start in late October.

All parties will have the opportunity to present their positions and the arbitrator will look at the facts and make a decision, the spokeswoman adds.

The findings of the arbitrator will be binding on all parties.