Bacon Scrapins – “The Cost of Freedom to Care!”

by Barry S. Wolfe

Bacon Scrapins are the little bits of meat left in the greasy fry pan. They’re tasty, but the ‘nutrition’ needs searching for. This tale is a bacon scrapin.

“Did you see that the province announced that it was increasing how much it’s putting toward Long-Term Care homes?”

Dan, my neighbour and walking buddy, and I were strolling along on one of our regular walks around our ‘9-stop-signs’ sized community.

“Yes. I saw it the first time they announced it last October.” I replied. “It’s great news, even if it is old news. This time it’s pre-election media saturation, but it is still terrific that they are taking some of the $16.7 billion they get in Canada Health Transfers this year and are putting it to excellent use.”

“Is it your sister who’s in a LTC home?” he asked.

“Yes. There are 626 licensed homes in Ontario, 58% are private for profit, 24% are non-profit/charitable and 16% are municipal. My sister’s in a municipal home.”

“She’s younger than you, isn’t she? Why is she there?” he probed.

“She’s almost 7 years younger. She had a ‘difficult’ forceps birth, and now has multiple needs – intellectual and physical, including Parkinson’s which now puts her into a wheelchair and it’s hard to understand her speech. She lived at home, all her life, right up until our mother physically and emotionally couldn’t provide care anymore. Our mother, ironically, ended up living in the same long-term care home, so the two were still together until mom died.”

“How is the level of care?” he worried.

“The staff are superb. Every one of those who work with her know and ‘love’ her, can joke with her, are patient and consoling when she screams out in frustration. They use a special lift to get her to toileting, perform all the sanitary diaper changes, rub cream into any chaffing areas, help dress her, feed her individually, give limited physical exercise, and try to keep her occupied. The last two have been challenges for them.” I noted.

“Keep her occupied? Doesn’t she keep herself occupied? he wondered.

“No. There are tens of thousands of residents in these Ontario homes. There are not enough staff to meet all of their needs. My sister has had Parkinson’s for over 30 years. She’s only 67 and much younger than other residents in the home. She doesn’t sit in front of a TV all day. She doesn’t have a long attention span – so puzzles are hard. She wheels herself around the home and used to get into the kitchen and steal applesauce out of the huge jars. She often gets the chair caught up against a wall because she can’t wheel herself straight due to Parkinson’s. She gets frustrated and starts screaming for attention. She can’t help it. She’s got major challenges.”

“I can see why she has to be in special care. What did you do?” he asked.

“Because the home didn’t have enough staff, and couldn’t provide enough hours she needed, they were getting frustrated. As her Power of Attorney, I spent months researching and investigating supports.  I eventually found the Ontario Disability Support Program. I figured out the bureaucratic processes, completed a lot of paperwork, and applied for a special grant for her. We had to get special diagnostic assessments by medical specialists, and psychologists, to submit. Because of her specialized needs we were successful, and I have contracted with a non-profit social services organization to provide additional support time for her – and the home – and to manage the funding legalities.  When she turned 65, the provincial program funding ended, so I applied for an increase in her federal pensions to cover the lost income. So, with federal and provincial money, they’re doing an adequate job of trying to meet her individual needs. But, it’s hard to get qualified help. There is a lot of turnover of staff.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because the long-term care homes and provincially funded support contractors don’t pay enough, nor provide benefits. These excellent people are being hired away by school boards who also desperately need qualified support staff. Public school boards have union negotiated contracts and thus provide a living wage with benefits.” I said.

“What is the answer?” Dan asked.

“The province needs to match the grants to LTC homes with the school boards’ grants. Provide all care givers with a living wage and benefits. I’m thankful that our family does not have to care for her, as it would be impossible. I’m thankful that the federal government and province are putting in as much as they do. We are fortunate to live in Canada, and have the freedom from some responsibilities to provide for all our various cares individually. But, like everything, it’s still not enough money.”

“Thankfully, I’m in good health. I guess we have to decide how much we care – in dollars.” Dan commented.

“There’s a tendency for folks who don’t need services like cancer treatment or long-term residential care to take that ‘freedom from concern’ for granted, until they need it themselves. Some want to be free of their social responsibilities to their fellows entirely.” I opined.

“Yup. ‘Freedom isn’t free!’ In the big picture, I think my complaints are really petty at this time of year – tax filing time!” he concluded.

We walked on.