UPFRONT
Local residents take action to improve nursing home care
Santa Day cancelled The COVID pandemic has even affected Santa. Fenelon Falls’ muchloved Santa Day, usually held in late November, has been cancelled. Concerned residents from Haliburton County and Kawartha Lakes have banded together to form the Haliburton-CKL Long-Term Care Coalition to campaign for changes to nursing homes, both in Ontario and nationally. Bonnie Roe, co-chair of the group, notes the coalition supports and includes front-line long-term care workers. The group took action following the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in local nursing homes in Kawartha Lakes this past spring and evacuation of a Haliburton nursing home due to a leaking roof last year. Members want to see long-term care included in the Canada Health Act to ensure public funding and apply national standards. They want the recommendations of the Registered Nursing Association of Ontario implemented. These include things like increasing staffing to ensure at least four hours per day of direct care per resident; improving workloads, working conditions, and conditions for care; increasing infection prevention and control and nurse practitioner expertise in care; and enhancing specialized expertise in long-term care leadership. The coalition also says the culture of long-term care needs to become more resident-centred and rights-based. Finally, members of the coalition are calling for an end to using private sector, for-profit companies for new nursing homes in Ontario. They would also like longterm care homes to consider using other models of care for older adults, such as the feelings-focused “butterfly” model. Local residents who would like to take action to improve long-term care can contact Bonnie Roe by emailing her at hckllongtermcarecoalition@gmail.com or calling 705-286-2414. Join the Coalition’s Facebook Group by searching Haliburton-CKL Long-Term Care Coalition.
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The Santa Day Committee stated in a news release that its members appreciate the event’s “many wonderful supporters through the years.” “We hope our event will return Saturday, November 27, 2021, as amazing as ever. We will continue to help decorate the village with lights, wreaths, our huge Christmas tree at the Locks and our Enbridge Christmas tree between Home Hardware and Canadian Tire.”
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