Will Long Term Care Facilities Finally Receive Appropriate Attention?

Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

In what Prime Minister Trudeau called “extremely troubling,” military reports accused several Quebec and Ontario long-term care (LTC) facilities of negligence and appalling conditions for people living there. The reports detailed first-hand accounts of cockroach infestations, patients crying for help, residents being force fed and not receiving a bath for weeks, while COVID-19 patients were allowed to wander freely. But even before the pandemic, it was evident that LTC homes were a setting stretched far too thin and in need of much better resources. Staffing ratios and tight schedules often prevent staff from providing the quality of care they would like, as they are often overwhelmed by the volume of tasks facing them. Arguably what’s needed, is a system that values the lives of the people living in LTC homes, while also valuing the lives of the people who are providing the care. The speaker will argue that if the COVID-19 pandemic is to bring about improvements to quality of care in LTC homes, it can only be achieved by simultaneously improving the quality of work life for the people who are providing it, and to make changes, political and public pressure will be needed. Speaker: Dr. Sienna Caspar Sienna Caspar has worked in long-term care facilities in both Canada and the US for over 20 years. As a postdoctoral fellow in a cross appointment at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute/University Health Network and the University of Victoria, she conducted an intervention study aimed at improving leadership and collaborative decision making in long-term care settings. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at the University of Lethbridge in the Faculty of Health Sciences—Therapeutic Recreation program. Date and time: Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 11 am YouTube Live link: https://youtu.be/jZ4bCKNO1dk In order to ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. Remember you can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming. Link to SACPA’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFUQ5mUHv1gfmMFVr8d9dNA