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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1991-02-27, Page 4i Page 4 Times -Advocate, February 27, 1991 Critical bed shortage at Villa EXETER - Support from the community is being sought to back a request from the Exeter Villa for more extendicare beds from the provincial government. Villa president Tom Kannampu- zha reports the bed shortage at his facility on John street east in Exeter is trittcal. The villa opened in 1986 with an allotment of 30 beds which were transferred from Seaforth. Recently 17 beds have been added from a similar home in Fordwich on a tem- porary basis. When a new facility is completed in Fordwich near the end of 1991, this 17 bed allocation must be re- turned. Only a week ago, a letter from Geoffey Quirt of the Ministry of Health outlined how the transfer of beds back to the Fordwich facility must be handled. He said, "In order to meet region- al demands and ensure continuity of care to the residents of Exeter Villa, I am prepared to license the new facility in Fordwich for 50 beds and at the same time, approve reduction of the 17 bed overbed- ding at Exeter Villa through an at- trition process. Reduction of the overbedding at Exeter Villa is to begin on the date of licensing of the new nursing home in Fordwich. Nursing home admissions are to be frozen at Exet- er Villa until such time as this facil- ity returns to the licensed capacity of 30 beds." In addition to the actual reduction of bed allotment by 17, 21 residents in the lodge section of the Villa are needing nursing home care and there is a waiting list of 49 from the community at large. Kannamphuza has plans ready for an addition to the Villa to ac- commodate 30 more beds and says he could have the building complet- ed within 10 months of receiving the necessary approval. A paper from the Ontario Nurs- ing Home Association says Onta- rio's extended health care system faces serious challenges as Ontari- ans are living longer and the inci- dence of debilitating Alzheimer's is increasing. A portion of the Exeter Economic Development Strategy reveals that the number of older people in our community will continue to rise over the next 20 years. In this current year of 1991, there are 372 residents in the town of Ex- eter over the age of 75 years for an average of 9.8 percent of the total population. Projected figures in this over 75 years category rise to 440 in 1996, 465 in 2001, 472 in 2006 and 462 in the year 2011. The percentage increase is pro- jected from 9.8 this year to 12.6 in 20 years hence. The Ontario Nursing Home Asso- ciation points out and this is con - fumed by Kannamphuza that the provincial government funding is out of touch with the needs of the province's nursing home residents. The burden on limited funding re- sources available to Ontario's 333 nursing home, two-thirds of the province's extended care beds, is growing heavier. However, under the current dis- criminatory funding system, nurs- ing homes receive 40 percent less operational funding than residents in municipally -run homes for the Toronto man fined EXETER - Using a IP validation sticker dimumkother than the one issued for the ve- hicle in question, and driving with- out a licence re- sulted in two fines of $153.75 and $303.75, with 30 days to pay for Mark D. Coffin of Toron- to, in Justice of the Peace court with Doug Wedlake presiding, last Tuesday. Exeter OPP said they stopped Coffin for speeding on January 8. Police said Coffin produced an invalid temporary driver's licence which had expired on September 26. CPIC showed Coffin was an unlicensed driver. Coffin told the court he knew he was an unlicensed driver, and he told the judge he had been charged with the same offence three weeks earlier in London. Police said Coffin produced an ownership with an expired vali- dation sticker. The court heard Coffin's vehicle did have a valid sticker on its plate. Coffin claimed he found the sucker blowing around in his parking lot. Police said the stick- er had been pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle, and part of the number was missing so it could not be traced. The judge heard it was Goffm's fourth conviction for driving without a licence, aad his third conviction for operating a vehicle without a validation sticker. Fine and suspension Driving while under suspension resulted in a $250 fine with two months to pay and a six-month li- cence suspension for John P. Ro- manoff of 12 Victoria St. W., Crediton. The court heard Romanoff was stopped on January 15 for a traf- fic violation in Exeter. Police said Romanoff could not produce a licence and CPIC showed an indefinite suspension for unpaid fines. Speedlrig Driving 25 km/h over the post- ed speed limit netted Carla Downs of Glencoe, a $97.50 fine with 15 days to pay. The court heard Downs was stopped in Stephen Township on October 15, when an officer spot- ted the vehicle which radar clocked at 124 km/h. Police said Downs car gradual- ly slowed down to 112 km/h, as it approached the cruiser. Fine Doing 100 km/h in an 80 km/h zone resulted in a $78.75 fine for William J. Ashwood of 63 Knightsbridge Rd., London. Police said they spotted a north- bound vehicle on Highway 23, and clocked it at speeds of up to 110 km/h. Police said the radar locked in at 107 km/h. aged and the system is unfair to Ontario's 30,000 nursing home resi- dents. Ontario's nursing home care load is considered one of the heaviest in Canada. Yet, Ontario is the lowest funder of nursing home services in the country. Unlike Ontario, most provinces in Canada fund nursing home in a fair and equitable manner. They do not distinguish between privately - owned and goverment -operated homes. Since Ontario's nursing homes re- ceive substantially less funding than municipal homes for the aged, they can't afford the extra staff that homes for the aged can to ensure quality of life for residents. Equal funding is needed as soon as possible. The per diem rate es- tablished for nursing homes is sim- ply not adequate and has not even kept pace with inflation. Since nursing homes cannot charge more than the per diem set by the government, they have no way of funding better care for their residents. As a result, current levels of care in nursin8 homes are barely ade- quate. This means only a minimum level of care: residents are fed, sheltered, and have their medical needs and security of person attend- ed to. One nursing home employee said anonymously, "Staff are increasing- ly burdened with heavy physical care and no added resources. As a result, residents are hurried and lit- tle supporting care offered beyond basic care. A cycle is established that is neither satisfying to the resi- dent nor the staff." By not funding nursing homes based on individual needs of resi- dents, the government may be tak- ing risks with resident care. Re- sponsible owners will continue to sell their facilities because they do not wish to be associated with low- er standards of care. New, inexperi- enced buyers will be unfamiliar with the special role nursing homes play in long term care delivery. The ONHA brief continues, "The provincial government must act im- mediately: first, to correct the fund- ing inequities that now exist; and second,to move quickly toward se- rious reform of the extended care system. Ontario's seniors have contribut- ed greatly to the fibre of the society we enjoy. They deserve the best care possi a apfl,,merii, more than the discriminatory ,treatment re- ceived to date. It is the responsibili- ty of everyone including policy- makers and health care providers to make sure they get it. They have waited too long already." All municipalities in the area served by the Exeter Villa will be receiving requests in the very near future to support the Villa's need for more extendicare bed alloca- tions. A community committee includ- ing Barbara Sharpe, Ross Haugh and Morley Hall is assisting in ef- forts to get extra bed allocations and changes in place as suggested by the Ontario Nursing Home As- sociation. Any individual wishing to add their support should forward letters to Ontario's Minister of Health Eve- lyn and Huron MPP Paul PP Public spankers - At the zone two finals for public speaking at St. Boniface Separate School in Zurich last Tuesday, these students emerged as the top contenders. 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