MPP Paul Calandra announces funding for long-term staffing

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Ontario Taking Action to Immediately Increase Staffing in LTC, Leading to More Direct Care for Residents in Markham-Stouffville

As part of its plan to fix long-term care, the Ontario government will provide up to $673 million this year to long-term care homes across the province to increase staffing levels, leading to more direct care for residents. This includes $6,357,888 for long-term care homes in Markham-Stouffville. This is part of the province’s commitment to ensure long-term care residents receive—on average—four hours of direct care per day by 2024-25.

These funds will increase care for residents at:

• Bloomington Cove Care Community, in Whitchurch-Stouffville, will receive up to $985,524 for additional staffing this year to increase the hours of direct care for residents.

• Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care, in Markham, will receive up to $1,744,272 for additional staffing this year to increase the hours of direct care for residents.

• Chartwell Woodhaven, in Markham, will receive up to $1,674,504 for additional staffing this year to increase the hours of direct care for residents.

• Parkview Home, in Stouffville, will receive up to $1,116,336 for additional staffing this year to increase the hours of direct care for residents.

• MARKHAVEN INC, in Markham, will receive up to $837,252 for additional staffing this year to increase the hours of direct care for residents.

“This funding will allow homes in our community to hire and retain more staff so they can provide more care to residents, every day,” said Paul Calandra, MPP for Markham-Stouffville and Minister of Long-Term Care. “This is part of our government’s plan to hire thousands of new staff over the next four years to ensure those living in long-term care get the high-quality care they need and deserve.”

Seniors entering long-term care today are older and have more complex medical needs than they did just a decade ago. The level of care residents need has increased dramatically, but the amount of care they receive each day has not. In the nine years, between 2009 and 2018, the amount of care each resident received, by all providers, per day increased by only 22 minutes. This government, over the span of four years, will increase direct hours of care by 1 hour and 21 minutes.

Ontario is investing $4.9 billion over four years to boost direct resident care to an average of four hours daily by increasing care staff by more than 27,000 people. Hiring thousands of new staff at long-term homes and increasing the amount of care they deliver each year will be made possible by annual funding increases to homes:

• $270 million in 2021-22

• $673 million in 2022-23

• $1.25 billion in 2023-24

• $1.82 billion in 2024-25 QUICK FACTS

▪ Ontario now has over 24,000 new and 19,000 upgraded beds in the development pipeline — which means more than 80 percent of the 30,000 net new beds being delivered are in the planning, construction and opening stages of the development process.

▪ In 2021-22, the province invested $200 million to train up to 16,200 additional personal support workers through publicly-assisted colleges, private career colleges and district school boards.

▪ In 2021-22, the province also invested $35M to add up to 2,000 additional nursing students at publicly-assisted colleges and universities across the province, for the Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 incoming cohorts.