Local long-term care homes receiving $238K in provincial funding

NEWS RELEASE
MPP EFFIE TRIANTAFILOPOULOS
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OAKVILLE – This afternoon, MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos joined the exceptional team at Extendicare Northridge, to announce that the Ontario government is investing in local long-term care homes in Oakville North-Burlington to ensure that residents with complex health needs like dementia and bariatric care are receiving the right care in the right place, while also reducing avoidable emergency department visits and hospital stays.

“Our government is continuing to take action to ensure long-term care residents in our community of Oakville North-Burlington and across Ontario receive the right care in the right place,” said Effie Triantafilopoulos, MPP for Oakville North-Burlington. “This funding will expand specialized staffing, equipment and other services at homes across the province so long-term care residents with complex care needs can receive the care they need, when and where they need it. Seniors built our great province and we have a moral obligation to ensure they receive compassionate and quality care.”

As part of the funding, 3 homes in Oakville North-Burlington are receiving $238,646.

The funding will help long-term care homes purchase essential items such as IV equipment, bariatrics equipment bed support, bladder scanners, and ECGs. The funding can be applied towards important everyday items like slip-proof floor mats, wrap around bed rails, and grab bars.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Government of Ontario and to MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos for the investment Extendicare Northridge has received through the Local Priorities Fund, enabling our residents to receive more of the care they need here on-site, and limiting unnecessary visits to hospital. Through these funds, we have been able to purchase new supplies to offer expanded training to our registered staff, enabling them to deliver antibiotic therapy to residents here at the home, as well as specialized equipment to help residents stay as comfortable as possible through end of life care. “

-Juliana Jeffrey, Executive Director, Extendicare Northridge

Launched in 2022, the Local Priorities Fund invested $20 million in 2022-23 to help long-term care homes purchase specialized equipment and train staff to provide more specialized care, so more homes can welcome residents who have complex needs but no longer require acute care in hospital. The fund also helped current residents who have new, or increasingly complex medical or specialized equipment needs which could not be previously accommodated in their long-term care home, helping to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.

“Through the Local Priorities Fund, our government is continuing to ensure that Ontarians, at every stage of life, have access to the care and support they need, when they need it,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This investment builds on the historic work our government is doing to provide people with the right care, in settings most convenient to them, whether in their community or in their home.”

The Local Priorities Fund is part of a broader investment of over $120 million in 2022-23 and complements the recently launched Equipment and Training Fund, which helps long-term care homes purchase more diagnostic equipment and train staff to better manage and treat residents’ conditions that often lead to preventable hospital visits, such as urinary tract infections, falls, pneumonia and congestive heart failure.

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