As presented by Councillor Kirwan:
WHEREAS all long-term care homes in Ontario are now governed by the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 which is designed to help ensure that residents of long-term care homes receive safe, consistent, high-quality, resident-centered care; and
WHEREAS the commissioners will investigate how COVID-19 spread within long-term care homes, how residents, staff and families were impacted and the adequacy of measures taken by the province and other parties to prevent, isolate and contain the virus; and
WHEREAS the commission will provide the government with guidance on how to better protect long-term care home residents and staff from any future outbreaks;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that City Council direct the Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury to submit the following letter to the Long Term Care Commission:
Content of Letter:
The Honourable Justice Frank N. Marrocco, Lead Commissioner Ontario's Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission 24th Floor 700 Bay Street Toronto, ON M5G 1Z6
Telephone: 416-314-4175 Toll free: 1-888-333-2614 email [email protected]
Dear Justice Frank N. Marrocco:
The City of Greater Sudbury’s Seniors’ Advisory Panel to Mayor and Council has played a vital role in advice, education, and awareness in order to keep our most fragile older adults well during COVID-19. On behalf of the Panel membership and as a voice from Northern Ontario, I am pleased, as Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury to share some ideas, concerns and suggestions that have been provided by the Panel and approved by City Council to assist the Province’s Long Term Care Commission on work being done to improve the quality of life and place for our most vulnerable people, namely residents living in long term care homes. COVID-19 has taught us many lessons about frailty in health care around the world, in Canada, in Ontario and in the City of Greater Sudbury. Since the Ontario government established an independent commission into COVID-19 and long-term care, the Senior Advisory Panel and City Council feel the importance to express the voice from the North as we operate in a very different rural and remote environment in which our geography causes further challenges than those faced in Southern Ontario. The City of Greater Sudbury would like to respectfully assist the commission in the preparation of a final report by providing the following recommendations as provided by the Seniors’ Advisory Panel and endorsed by a motion of City Council on December 15, 2020.
1. That funding increase to provide additional Personal Service Worker’s, Registered Practical Nurses and Registered Nurses, along with higher rates of pay for all LTC homes to address the high turnover and burn out rates that take place regularly and were escalated greatly during COVID.
2.That the government enhance training curriculum for PSWs to meet increasing medically complex needs of residents whose care requires intensive resources. Perhaps by having more cooperative placements so that learners gain full experience within the field. Also, ensure a standard curriculum.
3.That PSW curriculum to include conditions of care within LTC act, work load and benefits
4. Recruitment strategies include high school visits to promote this profession, as well as, produce a marketing campaign to attract others searching for career changes.
5. Retention of PSW’s requires pay equity, a strategy to keep immigrants coming to local post-secondary institutions to stay and live within the City of Greater Sudbury and improvements to working conditions to avoid burn out and create a safe and friendly environment.
6. When PSW’s arrive from outside of Canada they should not have to start from the beginning and should be given credit for skills already accrued. Immigrants should be made aware of Canadian laws when entering this career.
7. That the government improve labour force conditions in all long-term care homes to make them comparable to the institutional health care sectors by having Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments working together to improve the state of LTC.
8. That all LTC homes have access to medical professionals who provide specialty services and treatment for residents in need. For example, Pioneer Manor still has physiotherapists as part of the service, however, other LTC homes hire outside of their institution therefore services needed for mobility, etc… were not provided.
9. That additional funding be provided so that sufficient staff can be hired for each LTC home to have more time to engage residents to address non-medical emotional psychological and social needs.
10. That sufficient funding be provided to enable all LTC home staff to work at one home only and require to travel between different facilities.
11. That all LTC homes be provided with resources that will guarantee enhanced francophone services to residents.
12. That LTC homes ensure that regular recreational, cultural and spiritual activities continue during future outbreaks.
13. That LTC home residents retain family physicians while been placed in LTC.
14. In order to recognize the important role of family caregivers in the overall health of loved ones, each resident of a LTC home be allowed to designate up to two essential caregivers who will have continued unlimited access during any future outbreaks.
15. There is a need to increase family participation on Family/Resident Councils. The Panel would like to see each LTC home develop strategies to increase membership in Residents, Family and Family Council Networks to enhance Resident experience, satisfaction and engagement. Also, Family Councils should have more of a role in the management of Long term care homes.
16. That each LTC home be required to develop a more vigorous volunteer recruitment and training program to enhance resident experience and resident engagement. We would like to see high school and post secondary volunteer hours performed within LTC homes.
17. That the government enhance and expand the Inspection Protocol for Infection Control in LTC to protect Residents, Families, Staff and Visitors.
18. That the government reinstate annual unannounced full resident quality inspections of all long-term care homes.
19. That each LTC home be required to develop PPE strategies, practices, protocols in the event of epidemics and/or pandemics.
20. That each LTC home be required to develop friendly visiting strategies for residents who do not have families close by or are lonely, sad or depressed. We suggest that you could perhaps encourage health profession schools to have placements within to simply address social isolation.
21. That the Ministry of Long-Term Care take immediate control of the rebuild program to ensure that new homes are built or rebuilt promptly, in locations that meet the demand for long-term care home services.
22. That the government implement sufficient life safety measures, including installing automatic fire sprinklers in all Ontario long-term care homes as soon as possible.
23. That all staff working in LTC homes be provided with training in how to be more sensitive to cultural traditions as identified by the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. All LTC staff should receive compassionate and cultural sensitivity training as part of the orientation upon hiring.
24. That all medical career programs be required to include modules pertaining to geriatrics. We sincerely hope that the recommendations we have provided will assist the commission in providing guidance to the Ontario government on how to better protect long term care home residents and staff from any outbreaks in the future.
As presented by Mayor Bigger:
WHEREAS the downtown of the City of Greater Sudbury provides all citizens with amenities for leisure, cultural and economic activities;
AND WHEREAS the preservation of a pedestrian friendly, well maintained downtown where citizens can gather for recreation and/or business is a benefit to all citizens of the community;
AND WHEREAS citizens concern for safety and security are of paramount concern;
AND WHEREAS in the interest of safety, security, the environment and economics, the City has recently completed a one for one retrofit of all streetlights from high pressure sodium (HPS) to light emitting diode (LED) including the downtown core;
AND WHEREAS the improved quality of lighting via LED lighting is believed to have a positive impact on crime prevention and an increase in the level of safety and security;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that:
a) City staff produce a business case for the 2021 budget that details the provision of supplementary LED lighting to the downtown core of Greater Sudbury for the purposes of increasing the perceptions of safety and security for the citizens of our community.
b) City staff produce a business case for the 2021 budget that details a one for one replacement of HPS to LED lighting in all current parks, trails and pedestrian pathways.