July 8th, 2021
Nursing homes with horrible COVID-19 records should not have licenses renewed: Horwath
PICKERING— NDP leader Andrea Horwath has laid out a plan to get the profits out of long-term care — and until then, she says Doug Ford must refuse license renewal applications from homes that failed seniors during the pandemic.
Horwath made that call in Pickering Thursday alongside families devastated by the rampant COVID-19 outbreaks at Orchard Villa. In that for-profit long-term care facility owned by Southbridge, at least 70 people died of COVID, and the Canadian Armed Forces reported a lack of infection control practices on top of infestations of cockroaches and flies, and inhumane neglect of residents.
Yet, despite being cited again, twice, for infection control violations since then, Orchard Villa has applied for an 87-bed expansion and a 30-year license extension.
“I’m calling for the Ford government to refuse to hand out license renewals to the very companies that failed our loved ones,” said Horwath. “Nearly 4,000 families are still grieving the loss of a loved one who died without anyone to comfort them in their final hours. Handing out license extensions to the companies that allowed this to happen insults the memory of those who have died, and threatens the well-being of the survivors. Corporations should not be rewarded while the families they hurt continue to pay the price.”
According to the government’s own Science Table, for-profit long-term care homes had twice as many COVID infections and 78 per cent more deaths than non-profit and public homes during the pandemic. Nearly 60 per cent of all long-term care homes in Ontario are for-profit, thanks to years of Liberal and Conservative privatization.
Horwath and the NDP have released a comprehensive platform for long-term care and home care, which commits to building an entirely public and non-profit system to replace for-profit homes, plus adding space for 50,000 more people.
“For-profit corporations are motivated by profits and the bottom line,” said Horwath. “Imagine instead, long-term care entirely focused on your loved one’s wellbeing and quality of life. We can have enough staff in nursing homes to give our loved ones dignified care that isn’t rushed. We can give families the peace of mind that comes with knowing dad or grandma is looked after and kept company when we can’t be there. Our families deserve nothing less.”
Quotes
Sherri Zielinski, whose mother Margaret Simpson was an Orchard Villa resident who died June 19, 2021:
“The nurses and PSWs were mom’s lifeline in all of this. They were understaffed and running around — sometimes with just one or two staff to a whole wing, working so hard and dealing with the stress that the management and owners left them with. As my Mother can no longer be heard, I am her voice to continue the fight to remove for-profit homes in all long-term care homes in Ontario.”
Fred Cramer, whose mother was an Orchard Villa resident who died of COVID-19:
“I would never have put my Mom into a 'for-profit' long-term care home had I known the CEOs are making huge profits while, in my opinion, they are cutting services for the residents to make those profits.”
Background
Horwath and the NDP have released a comprehensive home care and long-term care platform, which lays out a detailed plan to make the entire system public and not-for-profit, create 50,000 new spaces, and end the wait for home care and long-term care. Horwath and the NDP’s home care and long-term care platform, Aging Ontarians Deserve the Best, includes concrete plans to:
Overhaul home care to help people live at home longer
The NDP will end the for-profit, understaffed patchwork of home care companies that make seniors wait and fail to address inequities
Make all long-term care public and not-for-profit
The NDP will stop greedy profit-making at the expense of quality of care
Build small, modern, family-like homes
The gloom of being warehoused in institution-like facilities is over
Staff up with full-time, well-paid, well-trained caregivers
Instead of the revolving door of staff run off their feet
Make family caregivers partners
The NDP will guarantee that loved ones are treated like more than just visitors
Create culturally responsive, inclusive and affirming care
The NDP will make sure seniors feel at home, surrounded by their language and culture, and make sure 2SLGBTQIA+ seniors can always live with Pride
Clear the wait list
Instead of 38,000 people waiting years for a bed, and even longer for a culturally appropriate home, Horwath and the NDP will end the waits completely
Guarantee new and stronger protections
The NDP is committed to comprehensive inspections, a Seniors’ Advocate, and more.