The BC Government and the Minister of Health announced Thursday significant funding investments in seniors care.
Donna Barnett, MLA for the Cariboo-Chilcotin and Minister of State for Rural Economic Development who calls it as good news says $500 million will be invested over the next 4 years.
“The budget has just been passed that is why the Plecas report (action plan drafted by Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors Dr. Darryl Plecas) was done and it’s due in part to the recent signing the Federal-Provincial accord because included in that accord is a planned increased of $200 million by 2020/21.”
Highlights of the announcement include:
-the hiring of over 1,500 new frontline staff including nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, licensed practical nurses, and health care aides
-$10 million for BCCPA (BC Care Providers Association) to address the immediate need for the purchase of equipment such as wheelchairs and ceiling lifts
-by July 2017, introduce a standardized definition of “direct care hours” across the province
-by 2018, move toward a more open and transparent province-wide standard residential care funding model, with a lens to incorporate resident complexity (using RUGs and case mix index from RAI assessments), quality of care and flexibility
Barnett says although the investment will benefit the whole province, she cannot answer how much of that will be coming be the Cariboo-Chilcotin.