Long-Term Care Advocates Call on Trudeau Government to Invest in Seniors Care

OTTAWA, Feb. 2, 2017 – Canada needs to modernize long-term care infrastructure so that we are able to provide the complex care needed by our aging seniors, says the Canadian Association for Long Term Care (CALTC). The Association, which represents approximately 150,000 of residents living in long-term care and long-term care operators across Canada, descended on Parliament Hill today to call on the Trudeau government to make improvements to the care provided to seniors in long-term care, when they can no longer live at home.

CALTC - Canadian Association of Long Term Care — Visit CALTC.ca for more information

“We applaud the Trudeau government for putting capital funding aside to rebuild Canada’s infrastructure and committing to improve care for our seniors. Part of this funding should be used to partner with provincial governments to build new long-term care homes and modernize old ones,” says Candace Chartier, Chair, Canadian Association for Long Term Care (CALTC). “Our seniors are coming into long-term care more frail than ever before and their needs have risen dramatically. Modern homes are designed to care for these complex needs and our seniors deserve this kind of care.”

CALTC points to population projections which shows the number of seniors age 65 and older will rise by 25% by 2036, and the number of seniors 80 and over will double between 2011 and 2036. New data also shows seniors entering long-term care suffer from multiple chronic conditions, including 87% of residents are affected by Alzheimer’s or other dementias. This number is expected to double by 2031.

In a report to the federal government, entitled Caring for Canada’s Seniors, CALTC makes several recommendations on how the federal government should proceed in order to meet the needs of our aging population, including:

Set aside a portion of its infrastructure fund to modernize and rebuild older long-term care homes and build new ones;
Mandate and invest in a standardized data system for long-term care homes to measure resident satisfaction, quality of care and financial performance;
Encourage Canadians to save for their care needs later in life by developing a Seniors Care Savings Plan or allowing Canadians to use existing savings to pay for their care needs when they can no longer live at home.

“When we invest in our long-term care system it translates into better care for our seniors when and where they need it the most. There are still too many seniors getting 24/7 care in the hospital where it costs the system almost seven times more than in a long-term care home,” says Chartier. “With a renewed commitment from the federal government to invest in long-term care we will be better prepared to care for the growing needs of our aging population.”