Are Saskatchewan’s non-profit long-term care homes at risk?
Media release by Care Collaboratory
View the “Getting Results” full research report – LINK – see Page 4 & 5 of the report for summary and recommendations
About one third of Canadians will need long-term care in the last two years of their lives.
A new report published by the Care Collaboratory, a research group based at St. Thomas More College, provides insight about Saskatchewan’s non-profit long-term care sector, including its distinctive role and the pressures it is currently facing.
According to the report – entitled “Getting Results for Long Term Care” – non-profit long-term care homes were built to serve their surrounding communities.
Kim Schmidt, CEO of Sherbrooke Community Centre, an internationally recognized long-term care home in Saskatoon explains, “our mission is to create a community where each person can live a full and abundant life, and our vision is to be ‘the best place to live and work’.”
Schmidt is also CEO of Central Haven, which shares a vision of fostering fulfilling life, work, and volunteer roles in the Saskatoon community.
Across Canada, the mix of government, for-profit, and non-profit homes varies widely from one jurisdiction to another. In Saskatchewan, the number of non-profit homes (including municipally-owned homes) has decreased from more than 160 in the early 1990s to fewer than 40 today.
Schmidt explains that the sector has seen a steady increase in the complexity of care needs over the last few decades because of population aging. Yet, “funding for long term care has generally remained stagnant over the past 30 years, with the exception of increases related to collective bargaining agreements and small targeted initiatives.” She says this situation is creating increasingly difficult operational challenges for most non-profit homes.
Jyllenna Landry, the University of Saskatchewan clinical psychology student who led the Care Collaboratory report, worries that on top of this trend, pandemic work strain and cost inflation could lead to more non-profit homes exiting the sector.
Wayne Nogier, the Chief Executive Officer of Mont St. Joseph’s Home in Prince Albert, thinks constructive dialogue and sound planning can turn this situation around. He voiced support for the Ministry of Health’s 2021 update of standards for long-term care and advocated aligning long-term care staffing and funding with these standards.
The Care Collaboratory report makes additional recommendations to support the non-profit sector, guided by interviews with 23 provincial non-profit long-term care leaders.
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