THE 3 KEY ISSUES

ATLANTIC CANADA IS NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER. HERE ARE COMMON THEMES ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THIS POPULATION SHIFT

1 THE HIGH COST OF CARE

Canada gets well-deserved praise for its universal medical care, but not all health care is free.

From governments facing increased demand on public facilities, to seniors dipping deep into limited incomes and meagre savings to pay for their long-term care, to adult children of elderly parents who lose work time to provide care themselves, the system extracts a heavy price.

This year, the Canadian Medical Association warned that home-supports and long-term care costs will soon outstrip seniors’ disposable income.

While some provincial governments offer subsidies for public long-term care facilities, there can be wait lists for those subsidies and seniors can find themselves heavily out of pocket as they wait for a public placement to become available.

And those who don’t qualify for a government subsidy have no choice but to cover the cost of their accommodations.

In Charlottetown, that cost just increased by 30 per cent in government-run nursing homes, from $77.60 a day to $102.73.

2 DEMAND OUTSTRIPPING SUPPLY

With towns and villages in Atlantic Canada spread out over often large geographic areas, people in rural communities may have to compete with people in urban areas for spaces in long-term care facilities.

Wait lists are common throughout the region. In Nova Scotia, for example, as SaltWire columnist Jim Vibert noted in February, one in five in-patient beds in Nova Scotia hospitals is occupied by someone waiting for a nursing home placement.

The same is true in many parts of the region.

And more people needing care means more people needed to care for them.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, as in other Atlantic provinces, unions representing staff in long-term care facilities say employees are overworked, under-resourced and denied chosen vacation days, all due to demands on the system.

“We have to start planning today for what’s going to happen in two, four, six, eight years’ time,” says Jerry Earle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees.

3 AGING POPULATION

The Canadian Medical Association reports that, for the first time in Canada’s history, seniors outnumber children.

By 2056, the CMA says, one-third of the population will be 65 and over.

In many provinces, populations are aging fast and birth rates are declining.

These trends have great implications for seniors care.

That’s not to suggest that everyone over the age of 65 requires a great level of care, but the demographic of older people is growing, and with people in Canada living longer — life expectancy is about 82 years — care facilities are grappling with greater numbers of people, many of whom have chronic and complex diseases, including dementia.