Nursing home group wants more beds, bigger construction subsidy

The largest groupof long-term care operators in Ontario is calling for a dramatic increase in spending on nursing homes.

The province should create 10,000 new long-term care beds in the next five years and boost its subsidy for older nursing homes to rebuild, says theOntario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) in its pre-budget submission to the government, released Wednesday.

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The document, called More Care,Better Careindicates that 32,000 people are on the waiting list for spots in long-term care homes in Ontario, a number that is growing by 15 per cent annually.

"I'm optimistic that we're going to see some movement," saidCandaceChartier, chief executive of theassociation, during a speech to reveal the budget proposal. "Hopefullywe'll see more beds, more staff, more investment into the care that we need to look after our seniors."

HazelMcCallion, 96, the former mayor ofMississauga, was at the launch and endorsed the association's push.

"The province has got to start making some decisions on long-term care," saidMcCallion."The need for long-term care is building every day in the province and if the beds are not provided, it's going to become a crisis situation."

The association is calling for a 24 per cent increase in the provincial subsidy to older nursing homes that need to redevelopto meet new Ministry of Health standards for space and facilities.

More than 300 such homes across Ontario are slated to be rebuilt by 2025, but so far, says the report, "progress is less than slow." The association says thesize of thesubsidy is"one of the biggest issues keeping long-term care operators from moving ahead with redevelopment."

The current subsidy works out to $19.4 million for an average 128-bed nursing home, to be paid out over a 25-year period.

CBC News reported Tuesday that the operators of eight long-term care homes in Toronto with nearly 1,300 residents have told the province they intend to shut down and move their operations elsewhere because the subsidy is not enough, given the cost of rebuilding in the city.

Chartier tried to downplay the risk of the homes leaving.

"We know the cost of land and availability of land and you name it are issues, but we think we can come up with some solutions," she said."What about the vacant school land? What about lease-to-own?"

Health Minister Eric Hoskins is reviewing the OLTCA's proposals.

"The ministry does a lot of work with the Long Term Care Association to forecast what our needs might be with a growing and aging population and how we can best serve those needs," Hoskins told reporters at Queen's Park on Wednesday.

He said during question period that no nursing home can move without his permission. "Whether that is even within the same community, in the same location, I need to approve it in writing," said Hoskins.

He said no long-term care home in Toronto has formally applied to the Health Ministry to move.

The eight homes that indicated they intend to leave the city were responding to a surveyby the Toronto Central Local HealthIntegrationNetwork (LHIN), a regional administration agency that works under the ministry.

The agency considers six other nursing homes, with more than 500 residents, to be "at risk" of leaving the city.Officials at Toronto Central LHIN are declining to identify the homes.