Pierce calls on government to respect campaign
Thursday, April 15, 2004 Roderick Benns
Village Green Administrator Linda Pierce hopes the Province respects the results of the Ontario Long Term Care Association's campaign.

Linda says the sector must be supported with funds to enable long-term care to succeed. To that end, the Selby long-term care home has done a number of things to bring the campaign into focus for everyone who works there or enters the home.

"We have completed several lines of communication, a discussion with the staff and then a communication to the...groups that came to our home at a special diners' day," explains Linda.

"We have also done a lot of one-on-one with family and guests in the home and have set up a flip chart in the lobby to promote the top five (priorities for the sector) and the ballot box is in place," she adds. Linda says there are also posters all over the home showcasing the campaign.

The campaign has an online poll, found at www.oltca.com, that asks participants to select their top five priorities in the sector from a provided list. As well, there are pamphlets available in member long-term care homes. OLTCA’s goal is to get 50,000 participants before the campaign ends April 16.

Although staff members to date have not taken ballots home, Linda sees this as a possibility. "We have promoted the different methods of voting. We are attempting to have all of our ballots complete for this wonderful campaign," she says.

Linda says her "hope is that the campaign will be taken seriously by the powers that be, and that the people are respected for their valuable input on their top five concerns."

"I also hope that we will continue to be supported with funds that can continue our growth and the well-being of our residents and staff. We are an aging population and the majority of caregivers in our homes are reaching the over-40 age group. We need to recognize this and support the people who are working in long term care."