Bill Kelly's April 12, 2023 Commentary
Ontario’s beleaguered Long Term Care system appears to be going from bad to worse.
Ontario’s beleaguered Long Term Care system appears to be going from bad to worse. After numerous reports of substandard care and run down facilities, especially in the for-profit long-term care homes, the Ford government finally mandated that those outdated facilities had to modernize and meet new provincial standards.
That’s a good thing, but shockingly, many of those privately run facilities are choosing to shut down their operation and sell their properties to housing developers. A Globe and Mail investigation found that there are about 20 for-profit homes that are planning to shut down rather than do the much needed upgrades for frail and elderly residents and analysts suggest that more for-profits will follow suite. That’s a big problem.
For-profit companies own almost 60% of Ontario’s long-term care homes, and there’s no way that the Province could build newer facilities to counteract this privatized care exodus. In fact, this puts in doubt the Province’s promise to add 60,000 new and upgraded beds by 2028.
The cold, hard reality here is these for-profit operations have decided that instead of repairing and upgrading their facilities to improve quality of life for their residents, they’d rather take advantage of a hot real estate market and sell their properties for a handsome profit.
It seems the critics were right all along; it was never about quality care for aging seniors, it was always about making money for shareholders and boards of directors.
How sad. Canadian elders deserve dignified, quality care. Unconditionally.