This week in elder care news - March 29, 2024

The Learn and Earn Accelerated Program is training 90 French-speaking long-term care staff to become personal support workers

The Learn and Earn Accelerated Program is training 90 French-speaking long-term care staff to become personal support workers (PSWs). $2.5 million will be spent on this program to address the labour shortage in the field and to provide an all-encompassing education of online coursework and paid clinicals to allow participants to complete the course without leaving their communities. When care providers can speak the mother tongue of residents it improves their quality of life and independence.

To find care in a language besides English, use Elderado to filter care options by 22 languages best suited to your needs.

Read more about this story on BayToday.ca.

Chartwell Heritage Glen Retirement Residence in Mississauga is closing, leaving 200 seniors looking for a new home

Chartwell Heritage Glen Retirement Residence in Mississauga is closing, leaving 200 seniors looking for a new home. Chartwell claims that due to its aging infrastructure, the residence is unstainable preventing it from operating. Therefore, Chartwell has compensated residents with three months’ rent and will be covering the cost of all relocation within a 50 km radius to help with the transition process. Residents are left devastated and stressed as they face challenges looking for another care home including location, affordability, eligibility, and wait times. This news follows the closing of Cedarvale Terrace long-term care in Toronto, and fears that as many as 7 other long-term care homes in Toronto could shut their doors by the end of 2025.

Read more about this story on CBC.ca.

Ontario Hospitals and Long-term care homes spent almost $1-billion on staffing agencies for nurses and personal support workers last year

In 2023, Ontario Hospitals and Long-term care homes spent almost $1 billion on staffing agencies for nurses and personal support workers. Due to staff shortages, hospitals and long-term care homes have relied on staffing agencies to fill shifts with temporary employees and nurses. Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said Ontario's growing reliance on staffing agencies means more tax dollars are ending up in the hands of agencies that are allowed to charge whatever they want. Despite Health Minister Sylvia Jones claiming that the usage of agencies has reduced in the province, the results continue to display a rise in usage and costs as Ontario’s Healthcare continues to face challenges of labour shortage.

Read more on CP24.com.

Lancaster Care Home Unveils New Bright Mural

In a positive and bright display of art, The Lancaster Long Term Care Residence unveils a newly hand-painted floral mural across the 200 wing of the facility. Artists Sara Leger and Erynn Doherty express the joys of painting the mural and the sense of community it fosters. Residents quickly fell in love with this newly painted space and claimed that, “The bright colours and flowers make me feel at home.”

Find this story on Cornwall Seaway News.

Family struggles to move mother across country to B.C. care home

In Kelowna, B.C., residents Darla Brown and Nikki Drinkwalter face challenges moving their mother from a subsidized care home in Crapaud, P.E.I., to a care home in British Columbia due to the province’s residency requirements. Brown and Drinkwalter’s 71-year-old mother who is blind, partially paralyzed, and depressed, is experiencing declining health. They want to move their mother closer to family but struggle to apply on the waitlists of B.C. care homes due to the province’s three-month residency requirement. The daughters expressed that over their two-year application process, Interior Health declined their application to waive the requirement and left them with the alternative of moving their mother to B.C. and paying for private care until her application gets approved which can be long and costly.

Find this story on CBC.ca.