Toronto’s smart plan to fix long-term care homes

For residents to feel that long-term care facilities are a “home” they must have their “social, emotional and psychological needs” supported, the report notes. “When our emotional needs are met, we can face life and enjoy it.”

There’s no question this is the right approach.

Mayor John Tory is to be commended for pushing for this report to improve the lives of seniors in care and backing its recommendations, even though they call for additional workers to be hired at a cost of $24 million by 2025.

Now the Ford government should sit up and take notice to ensure that this model of care is integrated into all nursing homes in the province.

And what better time to do it as the province plans to open 15,000 new long term care beds in the next few years?

This is especially so in light of pilot programs and studies that have shown the benefits, both emotional and economic, of creating friendships with residents and connecting them with activities that give them purpose and pleasure.

After the British-based “Butterfly” program, which focused on friendship, laughter and connection, was put in place in the Malton Village Redstone dementia unit, for example, residents came back to life. They experienced less depression, had fewer falls and needed less antipsychotic drugs.

That’s good for them, and for government budgets too.

Antipsychotic drugs in long-term care cost the taxpayer-funded Ontario Drug Benefit program $17.4 million in 2017-18. And a single hip fracture costs the public health-care system between $24,000 to $28,000 in direct costs.

At the same time, workers gained a sense of purpose and costly staff sick days declined.

Redstone, in fact, says its programs create $110,000 in overall annual savings, based on homes with 30 to 60 residents. That’s $10,000 more in savings than the program cost to implement.

Further, if long-term care homes offer warm decors, attentive staff, and stimulating programs, people who need to be in care are less likely to try to stay in their own homes to the point where they are putting themselves in danger of becoming critically ill or falling. That is not only the compassionate thing to encourage, but it will save health care costs in the long run.

And, it could be argued that patients who are holding onto hospital beds because they are reluctant to be transferred into nursing homes, might welcome the chance to move into one if they knew they would experience emotion-centred care, friendship and purpose, rather than being plopped in front of a TV all day in a communal hall with other residents.

That would open up hospital beds for those who truly need them and help to end so-called hallway medicine.

But most of all, if city council adopts the program and the province follows suit, everyone will benefit from knowing their loved ones (and eventually many of us) will be cared for in transformative ways.

Treating the elderly with simple love and respect is long past due.

City council and Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott must make sure all long-term homes get the staff and the training they need to put that kind of care into place in all nursing homes as quickly as possible.