Minister Paul Calandra with Ivan Franko Homes CEO Olya Vovnysh (to his left) and Ivan Franko management and stuff on October 5
Yuri Bilinsky, New Pathway – Ukrainian News.
On a beautiful morning of October 5, in a picturesque setting of Ivan Franko LTC Home in Etobicoke, ON, honourable Paul Calandra, Ontario’s Minister of Long-Term Care (LTC) announced a significant investment to improve the province’s LTC system.
Minister Paul Calandra is greeted at Ivan Franko LTC Home on October 5
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed several vulnerabilities in Ontario’s LTC system, exacerbated by the pressures from the growing population of seniors. The ministry picked the Ivan Franko LTC Home for the announcement due to the Home’s successful record in handling the pandemic that both the mainstream media and the Ontario government have previously recognized.
The Ontario government now plans to invest $57.6 million to hire and retain up to 225 more nurse practitioners (NPs) in the LTC sector. This should help improve the system and alleviate the pressures on the LTC homes staff.
Nurse practitioners (NPs) have additional education and nursing experience, which enables them to autonomously diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, prescribe medications and perform medical procedures.
During the announcement, Dr. Doris Grinspun, Chief Executive Officer of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, explained that having an onsite NP will in many cases be “game-changing” for LTC homes as it will greatly relieve an LTC home’s staff from many of their health-related duties.
Having more RNs in LTC homes will also relieve pressure on the province’s hospitals where seniors now need to go for diagnostics and procedures that can be done in LTC homes. This will also improve the seniors’ quality of life as they will not have to undergo a stressful transfer to the hospital and potential health problems associated with a stay at the hospital.
Minister Calandra, answering a question by New Pathway – Ukrainian News, said that this investment is just the first stage in the province’s efforts to ensure that LTC homes have their own NPs. Ontario has 627 long-term care homes and there is hope that all of them will eventually get NPs on their staff.
In total, said Calandra, the province is investing in hiring 27 thousand additional healthcare workers for the LTC sector to reach the goal of four hours of care per resident daily by 2025. He added that these efforts should become “part of the solution for the LTC sector, for the first time in generations”.
In her address, Olya Vovnysh, CEO of Ivan Franko Homes, thanked the Ministry for the new funding, as well as for their support during the pandemic and for the funding for the LTC Home’s air conditioning system that has already been installed. The Ivan Franko Home is grateful for the Ministry’s support of the Home’s redevelopment application to build the Campus of Continuum Care.
MPP for Etobicoke – Lakeshore, Christine Hogarth thanked the Ivan Franko management and staff for their hard work and informed that the Ontario government has invested in creating 376 new long-term care beds in her riding.
Share on Social Media
