EXCLUSIVE: Waiting for long-term care?

As the population ages, the length of waiting lists to get into long-term care homes in the Glengarry-Prescott-Russell region just keeps growing and growing.

According to statistics compiled by the Ontario Health Quality Council, wait times for long-term care beds in Ontario have tripled over the past five years.

The council states that the average wait time for a long-term care bed in Ontario is more than three months and up to 173 days for people waiting at home. For those waiting in hospital to be moved to a long-term care home, the average wait is 53 days, resulting in 16 per cent of expensive acute-care beds being taken up by people who do not need them.

Locally, the situation isn't much better. Suzanne Charest, senior communications manager with the Champlain Community Care Access Centre (CCAC), told The Review there are 20 long-term care homes in the united countries of Prescott-Russell and Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry.

She said there are 1,704 long-term care beds in the region and the number of unique clients waiting to be placed in long-term care homes is 1,089.

"The average wait time to be placed is 118 days," she stated. "That represents only those who have been placed, not the length of time for all those on the list and this number is skewed by the number of clients moving from hospitals when they are in bed crises. Due to the high number of clients in crisis being admitted to long-term care, the average person is most likely waiting much longer than 118 days."

Charest noted that if a person on the waiting list gets to a "crisis point," they will move higher up the list.

"For example, if someone is suffering from dementia and their in-home caregiver dies, that's considered a crisis situation," she explained. "That person would then take higher priority and be moved further up the waiting list."

Not only is the long-term care waiting list impacting seniors citizens and long-term care homes, it is also having a negative impact on local hospitals.

Marc Lariviere, discharge planner at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital, said the waiting list is a "big issue" for the hospital.

He said the hospital has 66 beds in total, including 48 acute-care beds and 18 rehabilitation beds. He said often, those beds are being taken up by people who do not need them, which means space is limited for those who do.

"This is a huge issue for us," he stated. "Some of these patients do not need an acute or rehab bed, but if we have nowhere else to send them, we have no choice."

At the time of the interview, Lariviere said there were seven patients waiting to be transferred to a long-term care home. He said clients can wait anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to be transferred.

"It just depends on the situation at the time," he remarked. "This certainly isn't ideal and it's very challenging. But, at this point, there's not much that can be done."

Lariviere said these challenges are made even worse when there is an outbreak of illness at a long-term care home and patients cannot be transferred because the home is closed.

"We are currently in the midst of an outbreak of illness right now so that makes things even more difficult than they normally are," he explained. "The waiting time to be transferred is even longer because no patients will be accepted until the outbreak has passed."

Kim Peterson, vice-president of client services with the Champlain CCAC, said the agency's goal is to connect people in the community with the care they need.

"We help people with a variety of different care needs," she explained. "We work a lot with senior citizens and we help them determine what their options are and which options would best suit their needs."

She said the CCAC is responsible for handling applications to long-term care homes and housing for seniors and noted that as the population continues to age, waiting lists to get into these facilities will likely keep growing.

"This is certainly an issue for the future as we move forward," Peterson commented. "This is a need that isn't going to go away and we have to be creative and inventive in finding solutions."

Peterson said the CCAC has a number of programs, some of them recently launched, aimed at keeping seniors in their homes for as long as possible.

She said often, long-term care is a last resort for many seniors and insisted that many seniors do much better at home.

"Not every senior citizen needs to be in a long-term care home," she stressed. "There are many cases where seniors come to us thinking they're going to end up in a long-term care home, but once they see the programs available to them, they realize they can stay in their own home. Seniors usually do best when they are at home in their own environment."

For example, Peterson said, the Home First program was recently launched and aims to give seniors the opportunity to wait for long-term care in their homes.

"This program allows seniors to go home to recuperate after an acute episode," Peterson outlined. "Once they have recovered they decide whether they want to stay at home or go to long-term care. A significant number of these seniors end up staying in their homes."

She said out of 235 patients who tried the Home First program, only four ended up going to a long-term care facility.

"The rest of those people were able to remain in their homes," she said. "That's the overall goal of the program and it helps take some of the stress off an already very stressed out system."

The CCAC also provides a number of other in-home services such as nursing, personal support, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work and medical supplies and equipment.

"It's really all about putting together a comprehensive plan that examines all options available," Peterson noted. "Long-term care placement is not the only solution. In a way, we're hoping to make it a last resort for many people."

Peterson said a lot of emphasis is being placed on the crisis situation in many hospitals as a result of bed shortages, but noted the CCAC is doing the best it can to help people in the community.

"We know this is a difficult situation and it is impacting everyone," she said. "We do the best we can to make sure people know the options available and get the best care they need."

The ins and outs of seniors' care

Despite the fact that waiting lists to get in to many long-term care homes in the region are long, seniors have a number of options when it comes to their personal and health care, according to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Long-term care homes, the ministry explains, are designed for people who need the availability of 24-hour nursing care, supervision or higher levels of personal care.

These government-regulated homes are also known as nursing homes, municipal homes for the aged, or charitable homes.

Residents pay for accommodation charges and the care is funded by the ministry.

There are two different terms used to define the length a person stays in a home; long stay refers to accommodations that are obtained for an indefinite period of time, while short stay refers to temporary stays at a home. The maximum number of days a person can stay is 90 days per year.

The cost of a long stay ranges from $1,600 to $2,200 per month.

Retirement homes are privately owned rental accommodations for seniors who are able to manage and pay for their own care. Generally, retirement homes are designed for seniors who need minimal to moderate support with their daily living activities.

These settings enable residents to live as independently as possible, while providing certain services and social activities. Retirement homes are also called "retirement residences."

Anyone can apply to a retirement home. Residents do not need to provide medical evidence that they need a minimum level of care.

The retirement home, however, may assess your needs to ensure that it can provide you with appropriate support, or that you do not need more support than it can provide.

Most retirement homes offer meals, housekeeping, laundry, and recreational and social programs. The types and levels of homemaking help, personal care, and health services offered by retirement homes vary significantly, as do their costs.

Retirement homes can be an appropriate option for people who do not require 24-hour nursing care.

Since retirement homes are not subsidized by the government, residents are responsible for the entire cost of both their accommodation and care.

Typically, retirement homes offer packages that include accommodation and services.

Fees can range from approximately $1,500 to $5,000 per month for a private room.

Supportive housing is designed for people who only need minimal to moderate care, such as homemaking or personal care, and support to live independently.

Accommodations usually consist of rental units within an apartment building. In a few cases, the accommodation is a small group residence.

Supportive housing buildings are owned and operated by municipal governments or non-profit groups including faith groups, seniors' organizations, service clubs, and cultural groups.

Accommodations, on-site services, costs, and the availability of government subsidies vary with each building. The care arrangements between a tenant and a service provider are usually defined through a contract between the two parties.

Accommodation costs are based on market rent for similar apartments. They can range from $600 to $1,200 per month.

For those eligible, the government may subsidize rent so that tenants only pay up to 30 per cent of the household's monthly income.

Those who only need a bit of assistance with every day can arrange for personal support services though Community Care Access Centre's (CCAC) by calling 613-745-5525.