Legislative Assembly briefs
No business case for private long-term care
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, June 17, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Despite a critical shortage of long-term care beds in Yellowknife and across the NWT, it is not likely that a for-profit nursing home operator will be setting up shop here.
So said Health and Social Services Minister Glen Abernethy as he appeared in front of regular MLAs at a standing committee on social development meeting held at the legislative assembly on Wednesday. Abernethy and several bureaucrats from the Department of Health and Social Services gave the MLAs a detailed briefing on the NWT's long-term care program review final report.
"I don't think there is a business case in the NWT for a private provider. But do we want to slam that door shut or do we want to be responsible? I think we want to be responsible," Abernethy said. "A purely private provider would have to charge a fortune. They would probably only be able to deal with small numbers. The economies of scale here, and I hate to use that term when we are talking about our parents and our friends, but larger makes more sense."
Abernethy said the territorial government still needs to be prepared for when and if a private operator does come forward. That is why standard-of-care legislation needs to be clear, he said.
MLAs heard that Yellowknife could see a long-term-care-bed shortfall of 123 beds by 2026 unless new space for seniors who can not live on their own are created. Part of the reason for the crunch is that demographically, the territory's number of elderly people continues to rise and people are generally living longer.
Abernethy estimates that it will cost between $800,000 and $1.2 million for each bed to be constructed.
He indicated that some of that construction is to start within the next year.
Stephen Jackson, chief executive officer at Avens Seniors Community in Yellowknife, said that he hopes that Abernethy is referring to a planned expansion at Avens. Jackson said Avens is ready to go. They have blasted rock and created a foundation area behind the existing campus. All they need now is funding.
"There's the funding to actually build the facility itself and then there's the commitment to fund for the additional staff," Jackson said, adding he could not give a dollar amount because those numbers have not yet been crunched.
He said the department has recently been sending staff to Avens to fact-find on the logistics of adding beds and other facilities like a dining room. He thinks that is a good sign but at this point can only say that he is cautiously optimistic that funding for the construction of new long term care beds at Avens is forthcoming.
MLAs mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
The discussion over what to do about Yellowknife's aging population just happened to occur on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
Several senior's advocates were among those in the public gallery as leaders, including Yellowknife North MLA Cory Vanthuyne, spoke out against all forms of elder abuse including physical, sexual, psychological and financial.
"World Health Organization data indicates that between four and six per cent of elders around the world suffer some sort of abuse, a large part of which goes unreported," Vanthuyne said. "In the NWT, we can make a difference in our own communities by celebrating and honouring our elders to make sure that those elders are safe, secure and protected."
Health and Social Services Minister Glen Abernethy wanted to assure seniors that if they are being abused - there is help out there for them.
"If you are an elder who is being abused, talk with a trusted friend or family member. Help is also available from the RCMP and other professionals in your community," Abernethy told the house.
Sound returns to assembly re-broadcasts
The glitch was that was causing the legislative assembly rebroadcasts to be aired without audio has been fixed.
The rebroadcasts had been going to air on the Northwestel cable channel in silence since the first sitting of the 18th Legislative Assembly, earlier this year.
The problem persisted during this latest sitting. According to Barbara Abramchuk, spokesperson for the legislative assembly, the latest problem was caused by a specific hardware issue.
It was apparently fixed, as there have been audio on the rebroadcasts this week.
