LTC HOMES, HOSPITAL FEEL SHORTFALLS IN STAFFING

A group advocating for nonprofit, municipally owned and charitable long-term-care homes across Ontario said the government needs to step in as facilities are resorting to expensive agency staff.

"Not-for-profit long-term-care homes are spending a concerning amount of their budgets on temporary staffing agencies, some of which are exploiting the health human resource crisis by taking advantage of homes, according to a survey of 100 Ontario homes," an Advantage Ontario press release reads.

"Our members are spending tens of millions of dollars on temporary staff rather than permanent care," said Lisa Levin, chief executive officer of Advantage Ontario. "We need the government to push out the bad operators who are preying on homes

amid a staffing crisis."

Homes pay an averageof $88 per hour for a temporary RN, more than twice the typical wage of $43 per hour. One agency charged $150 per hour for this same position, 249 per cent more than the typical rate, according to Advantage Ontario.

On top of these high wages, homes are paying agency service fees of up to 35 per cent, premiums for short-notice staff, and travel costs. Rates for rural and northern homes are 30 per cent higher than urban homes.

Advantage Ontario's survey found that temporary direct care staff (which include registered practical nurses, RNs and personal support workers) worked an average of seven per cent of their homes' total hours but were paid 16.4 per cent of all wages.

The 100 homes surveyed are spending $6 million per month on temporary staff. Nearly half, or 44 per cent, said they are now unsure they will meet the government target of four hours of daily direct care.

WHAT IS HAPPENING LOCALLY?

Parry Sound isn't immune from the staffing shortage and reliance on agency staff.

"Locally Belvedere Heights and Lakeland Long Term Care have responded to this shortfall by relying, in part, on agency staff from out of area," according to a written statement provided by West Parry Sound Health Centre communications officer Jess Fargher Lee on behalf of the health centre, Lakelands Long Term Care and Belvedere Heights Home for the

Aged. "This comes with substantial challenges; however, we want to express our appreciation for the agency staff who have stepped in to assist us. They have allowed us to provide continued access to quality care through challenges that have been without parallel in modern health care's history. We also want to express our gratitude to the rest of our team for stepping up to help train and orient agency staff."

Agency staff are used in all three organizations in the direct provision of health care and in "supportive roles, such as housekeeping."

"While this does place a significant financial burden on the organizations, with associated costs often running double or triple the cost of nonagency staff, it is not only the financial hurdle that makes this challenging," the statement reads. "Reliance on agency staff can make planning ahead difficult

and can further complicate hiring additional staff due to budgetary constraints."

LOCAL SOLUTIONS

The health centre and long-term care homes support Advantage Ontario's requests and are pleased by initiatives to encourage more workers to enter the health field in the province. Through the provincial Learn and Stay Grant, tuition and other education costs could be covered in exchange for a student working in a designated area.

In Parry Sound, the health centre and two longterm care homes work collaboratively, and Belvedere Heights Home for the Aged runs a Living Classroom program to train personal support workers.