During the first three years in a four-year plan, the province has added 45 full-time positions to Pioneer Manor to boost service levels
In order to boost service levels to provincial targets, the CIty of Greater Sudbury has been cleared to hire more people to work the front line at the Pioneer Manor long-term care home.
The provincially funded positions will boost direct care by 39,000 hours per year, and allied health professional hours by 1,037.
“It’s important to note that with this report, there are no financial implications for the 2023 budget or directly from the levy,” Pioneer Manor director Aaron Archibald clarified to city council at a recent meeting.
This is a point city council gravitated toward during their discussion, at which Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh braced for public criticism regarding the hiring of additional staff.
It’s expected that the government will continue funding these new positions into the long term, Archibald told the city’s elected officials.
“The government hasn’t signalled this, but given that it’s now in legislation, I would anticipate that it would be rolled into the regular funding envelopes,” he said.
Although there’s no guarantee of permanent annual funding, given the cyclical nature of government, he said that if provincial funding were to ever come up short, city council would have a decision to make.
Archibald described the staffing boost as good news for residents.
“More staff on the floor means we’re able to provide a higher level of quality care and spend more time with the residents at Pioneer Manor,” he said, adding that the boost has become particularly important in recent years, with staff noticing a trend of seeing residents coming in with more acute needs.
The staffing boost is part of a four-year plan to achieve the ultimate goal of affording residents four hours of direct care per day, plus 36 minutes of allied health professional care, by next year.
The effort was triggered by the provincial “Long-Term Care Staffing Increase Funding Policy for LTC Homes,” which launched in December 2020.
“At the centre of this plan is the government’s commitment to increase the hours of direct care for residents to an average of four hours per day over four years,” according to a government statement on the plan.
“By addressing these staffing challenges, the government will improve resident quality of care, increase the ability of homes to recruit and retain high caliber staff, eliminate shortages and provide an enhanced workplace experience.”
The City of Greater Sudbury has achieved their annual benchmarked goals thus far, beginning with three hours of direct care and 31 minutes of allied health professional care per day in 2021.
The gradual annual increase reached three hours and 42 minutes of direct care and 37 minutes of allied health professional care this year, with the city now on track to achieving the ultimate goal of four hours of direct care and 36 minutes of allied health professional care by next year.
To date, the boost in provincial funding has allowed the city to fill 45 full-time positions at Pioneer Manor:
Direct care
28 full-time personal support workers
Four full-time registered nurses
Seven full-time registered practical nurses
Allied health professionals
One full-time social worker
One full-time rehabilitation assistance
One full-time coordinator of intake and residential relations
One full-time physiotherapist
One full-time occupational therapist
One full-time dietician
To fill these positions, the province provided the city with $1 million in 2021, followed by $2.6 million in 2022 and $3.4 million in 2023. Next year’s amount is yet to be determined.
As the effort to boost service levels impacts all long-term care in Ontario wide, the provincewide annual total to fund the initiative was $270 million in 2021-22, and is projected to hit $1.82 billion to achieve service level targets in 2024-25.
Pioneer Manor is a long-term health care facility operated by the City of Greater Sudbury, and is home to 433 residents who are provided with 24 hours of supervision.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
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