Ontario Supporting Seniors, Caregivers and Families with 30,000 New Beds Across the Province
Ontario is creating 29 new long-term care beds in Northumberland to help seniors better access high-quality care and continue to live happy and healthy lives.
Lou Rinaldi, MPP for Northumberland – Quinte West was at the Golden Plough Lodge in Cobourg today to make the announcement. These new beds are part of the province’s commitment to build 5,000 new beds by 2022 and more than 30,000 new beds over the next decade.
Ontario is also investing more than $300 million over the next three years to hire an additional registered nurse at every long-term care home, and to increase the provincial average to four hours of daily care per resident by 2022. This will ensure that every home will have staff with specialized training in behavioural supports and in palliative and end-of-life care.
These investments, as well as a substantial 4.6 per cent increase in funding for the hospital sector and more support for home care, will improve access to care and reduce wait times in the health system to better meet the needs of a growing and aging population.
The government is also improving life for more seniors by:
· Expanding OHIP+ in 2019 to make prescription drugs free for everyone 65 and over
· Investing $650 million in new funding over three years to improve home and community care services
· Creating the Seniors’ Healthy Home Program to help those over 75 offset the costs of living independently with a $750 annual credit.
Making long-term care better and more accessible is part of the government’s plan to support care, create opportunity and make life more affordable during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes free prescription drugs for everyone under 25, and 65 or over, through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, and free preschool child care from 2 ½ to kindergarten.
QUOTES
“I’m thrilled that our government is continuing to honour our aging population by making this investment at the Golden Plough Lodge. It is very important to me that our seniors receive the high-quality care they deserve. This is an incredible opportunity to support the County of Northumberland’s plans for expansion to the Golden Plough and will drastically increase the facility’s capacity making way for more support for our aging population. More beds means more local residents will continue to have family and friends nearby for visits, which will improve the quality of life for all.”
— Lou Rinaldi, MPP for Northumberland-Quinte West
“Our government is committed to supporting Ontario residents who rely on long-term care homes for their ongoing health and personal care needs. We have allocated 5,000 new long-term care beds, and are delivering on our commitment to increase long-term care capacity by 2022 as part of Aging with Confidence: Ontario’s Action Plan for Seniors. This is the first step to create more than 30,000 new long-term care beds over the next decade, helping more seniors access the care they need in their community, close to family and friends.”
— Dr. Helena Jaczek, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
“On behalf of Northumberland County Council and staff, I want to thank the provincial government for this significant investment. 29 new long-term care beds for Northumberland responds to a tremendous need for greater access to long-term care in this community. With this funding, more seniors will get the high-quality care they deserve, in their own community where they can remain connected to family, friends and loved ones. Throughout its long history, the Golden Plough Lodge has provided quality, compassionate care to thousands of local families. This investment will ensure that more of our seniors can access this care, and continue to lead lives with purpose, choice, dignity and respect. County Council recognizes, with special thanks, our staff at the Golden Plough Lodge and the broader Northumberland County organization for their hard work to advance this redevelopment project, and MPP Lou Rinaldi, for his efforts to make this expansion possible. This is wonderful news for our community.”
— Mark Lovshin, Warden, County of Northumberland
“We were pleased to work with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and our Long-Term Care sector partners in reviewing the applications that have led to today’s announcement. Everyday our Home and Community Care front-line staff are supporting patients, their caregivers and care providers to ensure that they have timely access to long-term care. We welcome this announcement and look forward to the opening of these new long-term care beds in our LHIN.”
— Louis O’Brien, Chair, Central East LHIN Board of Directors
QUICK FACTS
§ Through the 2018 Budget, Ontario is making more than $3.3 billion in additional investments to support seniors and caregivers over the next three years.
§ These long-term care home beds will continue through their respective capital and licensing reviews.
§ The 5,000 new long-term care beds will include nearly 500 new beds for Indigenous communities and over 1,500 new beds for specific cultures, including francophone communities.
§ Ontario’s new investment in home care includes $180 million in 2018-19 to fund an estimated 2.8 million more hours of personal support, including caregiver respite, as well as 284,000 more nursing visits and 58,000 more therapy visits. This is part of a $650 million investment in home care over three years.
§ Ontario is investing $1 billion over three years to create the Seniors’ Healthy Home Program. This will provide up to $750 per year for eligible households led by seniors 75 and over to help them offset the costs of living independently.
§ The government is investing more than $100 million over three years in Ontario’s Dementia Strategy, including $37.5 million to expand community dementia programs and respite care services.
§ Ontario’s proposed new Drug and Dental Program will allow individuals and families without extended health coverage to be reimbursed up to 80 per cent of eligible prescription drug and dental expenses. This represents an investment of more than $800 million over the program’s first two years.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
