Long-Term Care Today
New Feature: News from the front lines in Seniors’ LTC, Inspired by Carol Wodak founding member of CITIZEN WATCH
BACKGROUNDER: CITIZEN WATCH was created as a public service for the people of Alberta. It was the work of an ever-widening network of individuals from across the province, including families and friends of long term care and assisted or supportive living residents and those requiring long term care supports in their own homes. CITIZEN WATCH WEBSITE
PRINTABLES:Carol’s carefully crafted carewatch content
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Quote of the Week:
(from Apr 25, in case you missed it)
Right now, we’re seeing terrible tragedies in long-term care facilities across the country. This is unacceptable.
Justin Trudeau
.@DrSamirSinha joined @CTVNews to talk about Ontario’s new guidelines on visitors in care homes. He finds it’s missing the point that many family members provided unpaid care in these homes before #COVID19 – we are struggling to find the right balance. https://t.co/9fDM8OaQHX
— National Institute on Ageing 🇨🇦 (@RyersonNIA) June 12, 2020
During the worst of the crisis, Extendicare gave $10 million to shareholders when only spending $300,000 on care of seniors
And while dozens of seniors died from in their care
This is appalling
We need to take profit out of long-term care and take better care of our seniors https://t.co/QXjR2sZF9j
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) June 12, 2020
Main Headline:
Australia’s COVID-19 successes shine a light on Canada’s troubled long-term care sector
More than 6,000 Canadians have died in long-term care homes from COVID-19, compared to 29 in Australia
When it comes to the death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, the comparison between Canada and Australia is shocking. Australia has suffered four deaths per million residents compared to more than 212 in Canada.
Canadians have watched in horror as the COVID-19 death toll climbed in Canada’s long-term care facilities, now more than 6,000, according to a CBC News tally. In Australia, that number is just 29, according to Australian public health data.
Greg Shaw, who runs the International Federation on Aging non-profit, is uniquely positioned to compare the two countries. He lives in Toronto but previously served in senior roles in Australia’s Health Ministry. He points out that Australia’s aged care facilities had a detailed plan to deal with a pandemic, while Canada did not.
When COVID 19 came to Australia, many of the care providers basically locked-down and implemented their pandemic plans for infection control. They stopped families from coming in. They didn’t have staff working from one facility to another facility, and generally that’s not the case in Australia anyway.
Greg Shaw, who runs the International Federation on Aging non-profit,