On Dec. 9 in the Advocate there was a good news story about a decreased in waiting times in emergency rooms. With the public watching so closely, it is good to have those kind of statistics to report.
So what happened that this success could occur so quickly? According to the United Nurses of Alberta, what is happening is patients are being admitted to units in the hospitals into stretches in the hallway, rooms that were to accommodate two now sometimes accommodate three. Staff already stretched to provide quality care are stretched more.
One major problem identified by everyone is the shortage of long term care beds.
We have two public long-term care facilities sitting empty. Extendicare Michener Hill has had significant staffing challenges to deal with.
Last weekend there was an influx of Extendicare Canada management people from Ontario in Red Deer, including the president Paul Tuttle.
In addition to an in-depth assessment of the situation, they attempted to contact a family member of each of their residents to have more understanding of people’s concerns and appreciations. I had the opportunity to talk with Tuttle and found him to be informed, knowledgeable, aware of the concerns and challenges and very determined to improve the situation at the facility.
We had a frank discussion. He was open to constructive suggestions. The substance of our talk was that Extendicare, up to the highest level of management is committed to fulfilling their contract with the government to provide adequate care to the frail elderly in their facility. I left feeling reassured yet found it ironic that it was because usually you expect that companies will fulfil their contact obligations. In this case only time will tell if they do.
One thing discussed with Tuttle was the funding model of 3.6 hours of direct patient care per resident per day. Apparently it does not cover the costs due to the acuity of our elderly long-term care residents. I have since tried to gain an understanding of how that number relates practically to care required by our seniors. It does not seem to — it seems to be more a funding number based on available budget.
So I find myself in agreement with Tuttle, not because I have any concern for Extendicare profits (they knew the funding model when they signed their contract) but because it effects every patient. It is time to call on the government to provide funding based on a professional assessment using the InterRAI system adopted in 2008. Our frail elderly deserve to be funded in relationship to their real needs, not an arbitrary number that bears no relation to individual care requirements.
Brenda Corney
Red Dee