Burnbrae gets 100 campaign postcards signed
Administrator underscores importance of one-on-one time
Tuesday March 4, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
Thanks to the efforts of residents, their families and staff members at Burnbrae Gardens, the Campbellford long-term care home was able to get about 100 postcards signed in support of an increased financial earmark for the long-term care sector in this year’s provincial budget.

The postcards were sent to the office of Northumberland-Quinte West MPP Lou Rinaldi on March 3.

Administrator Susan Cymbaluk says the postcard-signing campaign, which is an annual event hosted by the Ontario Long-Term Care Association (OLTCA), is an important event because it pushes for more one-to-one visits between staff members and residents in long-term care.

The OLTCA and its membership homes are seeking $513 million to be set aside in the 2008 provincial budget for the long-term care sector. Among other things, a $513-million injection will help long-term care homes increase one-on-one time from 2.6 hours per resident per day to three.

This increase in staff-to-resident visitation is much needed, especially this time of year when a lot of families leave the country for warmer climates, notes Cymbaluk.

“It’s really needed because more and more families are not able to visit every day and they can’t provide the extra one-on-one visiting time, so it would be greatly appreciated,” she says.

During the campaign, staff members explained to residents and their families the importance of the campaign and what it meant to the sector. The home also displayed signs on the front door as a reminder for people coming into the home to sign a postcard.

In addition to raising the number of one-on-one hours, the OLTCA says a $513-million earmark for the long-term care sector would:

• Provide an additional 24 minutes of daily care to help residents get to meals, go to the bathroom, etc., by adding more personal support workers
• Increase the average number of daily incontinence changes from 3 1/2 to approximately five for those who need it
• Increase programs and activities during the evening and on weekends by adding an activity aide per home seven days a week
• Improve dietary assessments by increasing the time for consultation with clinical dieticians
• Improve meal services by adding food service workers
• Improve clinical assessments be adding more registered nursing staff
• Stop the four-year erosion in housekeeping, laundry, maintenance and other services

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