FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Safe, Secure, Quality Care for
Ontario’s Seniors Wherever They Live: OANHSS
Toronto, Ontario (May 10,
2010) – The care and services provided to seniors, regardless
of where they are delivered, must meet a consistent, minimum standard.
This was the message delivered today by the Ontario Association of
Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors (OANHSS) to the Standing
Committee on Social Policy during hearings on the government’s
proposed Retirement Homes Act (Bill 21).
“Action to protect seniors
in retirement home settings has been a long time coming and we applaud
this government for taking concrete steps with the introduction of this
Bill,” said Donna Rubin, CEO of OANHSS. “We are signaling,
however, that the draft legislation still won’t cover a wide of
variety of housing settings that provide care and accommodate
seniors.”
“We support the spirit and
intent of the Bill to provide accountability through a regulatory
framework so that seniors can access quality care. We believe, however,
that care and services provided to seniors should be regulated
regardless of the type of setting in which they are delivered,”
said Rubin.
As it is currently drafted, the
Act will apply to premises that meet the definition of a retirement home
as specified in the Bill. It excludes settings that are governed by or
funded under existing legislation, such as social housing, where care
services are also delivered to seniors.
“We recognize that it would
be a significant undertaking to regulate care and services wherever they
are delivered, but it is the right thing to do,” said Rubin.
“The government cannot be constrained in its ability to protect
vulnerable seniors by the type of setting they live in. All seniors
deserve the same protections.”
OANHSS also raised concerns about
the cost of implementing the requirements of the Act for not-for-profit
providers and the impact it will have on their ability to offer an
affordable care option for seniors, as well as the absence of a
requirement ensuring consumer representation on the Regulatory
Authority, the body that will administer the Act and the
regulations.
OANHSS is the
provincial association representing not-for-profit providers of long
term care, services and housing for seniors. Housing provider members
offer social housing, supportive housing, life lease housing and
non-profit retirement homes.
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For further
information, contact:
Debbie Humphreys
(W) 905-851-8821 ext 233
(C) 416-553-7401
