Latest news with #seniorsCare
CBC
03-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Yellowknife long-term care home seeking gov't reimbursement for 2023 evacuation costs
Social Sharing A Yellowknife seniors' care home is still in debt from the 2023 wildfire evacuation and says the N.W.T. government should help pay it off. AVENS, a not-for-profit organization that provides independent living and long-term care for seniors, moved 57 residents from its facility during the evacuation, racking up a bill of more than $1.3 million. Around $900,000 of those costs have been reimbursed by the federal government, and in a news release last week AVENS said it wants the territory to pay the rest. AVENS CEO Daryl Dolynny says the debt has forced the organization to take out a second mortgage on one of its properties in order to keep some cashflow. "This has been gravely overlooked for far too long," said Dolynny. Dolynny said that the organization was severely short-staffed during the evacuation. About a quarter of the staff was on hand to find space for its clients — plus the extra clients the territory put in its care — in Edmonton, without guidance from the territory. He said the territory placed evacuees from Hay River and Fort Smith in AVENS' care days before Yellowknife's evacuation, and up until the day of. "To be in a position where we actually acquired other seniors and elders with severe cases of dementia… We did the right thing and we would do it again. All we're asking is, pay for the fair and reasonable cost that it took us to manage this," Dolynny said. Being short-staffed meant the organization developed an incentive program to pay staff members extra during the evacuation, according to Dolynny. AVENS's news release also notes that it provides care under contracts with Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA), and that those contracts are only for providing services at the AVENS facility in Yellowknife. It says the lack of guidance during the evacuation made an already complicated situation even more so. NTHSSA says costs can't be covered In an email, NTHSSA spokesperson Krystal Pidborochynski said the costs AVENS is trying to claim doesn't meet the standard for reimbursement under the territorial disaster assistance policy. "While incremental staffing costs such as overtime or hiring additional staff may qualify as disaster-related expenses, incentive payments are ineligible as a disaster-related expense," Pidborochynski said. after-action review of the 2023 wildfire emergency is disappointing. NTHSSA said that ensuring claims align with territorial disaster assistance policy is "essential for maximizing federal cost-sharing and ensuring compliance with eligibility requirements."
CBC
25-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Home support should be more accessible for aging residents, says seniors' advocate
Newfoundland and Labrador's seniors' advocate says the province needs to make changes to home support to make it more financially accessible. "In our province, even people on income support, who get home support free when they turn 65, they have to pay a co-pay," Susan Walsh told reporters last week. She added home support is completely free for people over 65 in other provinces. "We know there's many seniors who go ... into personal care homes because they can't afford the co-pay." Walsh recently released a report calling on the province to overhaul seniors' care in the province. Home support in Newfoundland and Labrador is available to those over 65, along with adults or children with disabilities or those who require end of life care, who require assistance with daily living. Walsh says changes need to be made to allow for more people to access care outside of those with a personal care need. She also believes changes could keep more people in their homes. "We have seniors who can't cook for themselves, who are unable to clean their homes, and they don't qualify if they can still bathe themselves, for example. That doesn't make any sense," Walsh said. "What does it take to keep people healthy and home? And that's the way we should be approaching home support." Speaking with reporters outside the House of Assembly on Thursday, Premier John Hogan told reporters allowing seniors to age in their homes is a priority of his government. "If we do manage to keep people at home, it keeps them out of personal care homes. It keeps them out of long-term care homes… it keeps them out of hospitals," Hogan said. Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell says the province is always seeking improvements but did commit to making support more financially accessible. "That's always something that we are working on doing and there are a number of factors that weigh into that," Howell said. "Right now, we've been able to offer significant supports to individuals who need that support in their homes, or in the agencies or personal care homes." However, any legislative change to seniors' care wouldn't happen until at least the fall, as the current House of Assembly sitting closed on Thursday.
CBC
21-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Seniors' advocate calls for protections against skyrocketing personal care home rates
Newfoundland and Labrador's seniors' advocate is calling for changes to protect seniors from personal care home rate increases. Provincial government ministers agree seniors' care must be reformed, but as the CBC's Mark Quinn reports, they haven't yet committed to following Susan Walsh's recommendations.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Seniors' advocate slams ‘broken system,' says seniors afraid to go into long-term care
Newfoundland and Labrador's seniors' advocate Susan Walsh said legislation needs to be created to ensure seniors are guaranteed a standard of care and accountability when they are in home care, long-term care and palliative care.
