RNAO organized a path breaking Cross Country Meeting to engage Collective Action for Long-Term Care Reform in Canada on Monday, November 9. The overwhelming response and active engagement is indicative of the urgency and opportunity for collective action. To this end, we are hosting another Cross-Country Meeting. We will continue the conversation on Monday, December 14.

IPAC is a critical issue in long-term care (LTC) homes at all times and more so in the midst of a pandemic. With the rising death toll and insufficient nursing and other resources, IPAC is even more important. RNAO issued today a report and a media release with a survey on this life-and-death matter.

We were thrilled to host a media conference today Friday, alongside Sinai Health System geriatrician and powerful advocate Dr. Nathan Stall. This virtual event was crucial in our ongoing efforts to raise red flags and push for action that we hope will stop an evolving disaster in long-term care (LTC) homes similar to the one we saw during the first wave of COVID-19.

RNAO is shocked by the lack of urgency in Monday’s announcement from the provincial government that they intend to meet minimum quality care standards in Ontario’s nursing homes by 2025. Urgent action and not an election promise is needed to protect the lives of nursing home residents as the province is now in the grips of a ferocious resurgence of COVID-19.

As our readers are aware, RNAO has been at the forefront of the demand to establish national standards in LTC, given the failure of provincial governments to act – for two decades – and the tragedy brought by the pandemic as a result. This week, RNAO wrote again to the prime minister and to Premier Doug Ford in anticipation of their meeting reiterating the urgency to establish standards. See the October 14 letter below.

RNAO has been increasingly alarmed at the rise of cases and the timid measures advanced by the Ontario government to flatten the second wave. Simply said, the later we act, the larger the price we will pay – both in illness, death, an overwhelmed healthcare system, and in economic costs. This is a basic lesson we learned during the first wave, and we are extremely worried. Today, RNAO issued a press release, reproduced below. We have also been intensively in the media making a call for immediate action. Our presence is also being felt in Twitter.

Wednesday’s federal Throne Speech was an important policy moment in Canada. Please see below RNAO’s press release issued after the Speech. RNAO was successful in achieving two major asks in our Vision for A Just Recovery for All: 1) the federal government will work with the provinces and territories to set National Standards for Long-Term Care (LTC) so that seniors get the best support possible, with funding attached to those standards, and 2) strengthening the National Housing Strategy announced in 2017 by increasing investments to rapid housing in the short term, and partnering with not-for-profits and co-ops in the mid- to long-term. The commitment is to end chronic homelessness.