The city of Toronto is recommending dramatic changes to the way people live in its 10 long-term care homes, with a proposal for more staff and a new style of care that focuses on empathy, friendship and purpose.The plan released Wednesday calls for in-depth training that could change the lives of residents, allowing staff to connect with vulnerable people in their care by learning empathy, creating friendships and connecting an older person with activities that give their life purpose. In traditional homes, residents spend most of their days alone while staff focus on tasks.The proposal calls for extra staff members, beginning with six new front line workers in a 2020 pilot project at Lakeshore Lodge in Etobicoke.Starting in 2021, roughly 55 additional workers would be hired each year until 2025, when a total of 281 new staff members would be in place throughout the city’s 10 facilities.“This is an evolution of the industry and the care of the people in our homes,” said Paul Raftis, interim general manager of Toronto’s department of seniors services and long-term care.The plan was spurred by a unanimous council vote last April, after a motion by Coun. Josh Matlow asked city staff to find ways to offer residents a happier, less-isolated lifestyle. Matlow, who serves as the city’s seniors’ advocate, said he was inspired by “The Fix,” a 2018 Star series on the transformation of care in a dementia unit in Peel Region’s Malton Village.After reading the series, Mayor John Tory expressed interest in offering city-operated homes programs like the “Butterfly” model that Peel used.The report, which estimates the annual cost for new workers at $24 million by 2025, already has the support of city budget chief Gary Crawford. “City staff have come forward with a proposal that will help us start to implement the emotion focused care model in the city’s long-term care facilities,” Crawford said ...
|
