More funds urged for care of seniors
Group wants changes to system, up to $337M a year over five years
The B.C. Care Providers Association released its report on seniors Tuesday, calling for increased funding for their care and aimed at putting the issue on the agenda for the upcoming provincial election.
Called Strengthening Seniors Care: A Made-in-B.C. Roadmap, the report, which marks the launch of a provincewide multimedia campaign, includes 30 recommendations and calls for up to $337 million a year to be spent on seniors care over the next five years.
Some would be in new spending and some would reallocate existing dollars, such as shifting seniors from costly acute-care beds to care in the community.
“We really want to engage the public from corner-to-corner and to ensure as we head towards a provincial election that the issues related to seniors and seniors care are not lost in the mix,” said Daniel Fontaine, chief executive of the BCCPA.
“Given where we’re at, at a significant crossroads around the rapid aging of our population, we want to make sure that the issue of seniors care is up there in the public’s mind in terms of a priority for the upcoming election.”
Fontaine said the provincewide public-awareness campaign, a first in the 40-year history of the organization that represents 300 non-government care-providers, is the result of public consultation that started last May.
“We need to make some changes both to the way the system is structured and also the way that it’s funded,” said Fontaine.
“If we don’t make those changes soon, in the next one to five years, the care may not be there for people when they need it.
“Not just in urban areas like Victoria and Vancouver, but in rural British Columbia, we’re going to need to innovate and adopt some new concepts in order to ensure that the care is there for both the seniors and their families as well.”
Among its recommendations, the BCCPA is calling for:
A minimum 3.36 direct-care hours per day per senior in publicly funded homes.
An increase in minimum time for home-care visits to 30 minutes from the current 15.
Up to $5 million per year over the next five years to recruit, train and retain workers in the sector.
Up to $20 million to expand palliative care by repurposing unused or underused care beds.
Up to $100 million to renovate and replace aging care homes.
Up to $2 million to pilot a new Care Credit program that would allow seniors to choose their care provider.
Up to $28 million a year to expand the Care Hub program across B.C., especially for rural areas that would allow seniors to “age-in-place,” rather than having to move far from their homes to get the support they need.
A $100-per-month quality-oflife fund for seniors in publicly funded facilities for such programs as recreation therapy, music programming and nutritional options.
Fontaine said seniors care is an issue that affects not only seniors, but entire families.
“There is another group of people directly impacted and that’s the families that are providing care for their elderly parents and for their children at the same time — the sandwich generation,” he said.
“An investment in seniors care is not only going to help seniors with their health outcomes and make sure their quality of life is what they deserve, but that investment also provides a direct positive impact on the families that are caring for them as well.”