The Liberal government has committed major dollars to address care homes staffing problems in Delta and elsewhere.
Health Minister Terry Lake last week announced $500 million for a four-year action plan to hire an additional 1,500 care aides, nurses and other caregivers to assist seniors in need.
The goal is for care home residents in each health authority to receive an average of 3.36 directcare hours per day, which is a benchmark recommended by the ministry.
It was a key recommendation of a recent review of residential-care services by Parliamentary Secretary Darryl Plecas and has been recommended by Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie.
The Hospital Employees Union welcomed the news, saying more staff means that proper, unrushed care and greater dignity for seniors is possible.
According to the seniors advocate's comprehensive directory of the 292 publicly-funded licensed care facilities in B.C., more than 90 per cent failed to meet the benchmark for hours of care.
The survey found that of the six facilities operating in Delta, only Mountain View Manor, which is attached to Delta Hospital, met or exceeded the benchmark for minimum direct care hours per resident per day at 3.49.
The others - Delta View Life Enrichment (3.13), KinVillage West Court (2.89), West Shore Laylum (2.63) and Northcrest Care Centre (3.24) - fell short, while numbers weren't available for Delta View Habilitation.
Noting her facility's accreditation status is listed as exemplary, KinVillage CEO Donna Ellis told the Optimist the benchmark was a recommendation, and not a requirement, from the province, but it's something eagerly welcomed if health authorities get funding for additional staff.
"We're very excited and I think it's really encouraging that the government is going to put some money into this to try and get care homes funded to a level that they can provide more care for their residents. It's great for the residents, it's great for the staff and it's great for the families of the residents too, who will feel more confident that there's more staff there being able to spend more time with their loved ones," said Ellis.
She added the KinVillage facility has been adding staff over the past six years.
According to Delta's recently released social profile, the municipality's population is aging and seniors will make up 41 per cent by 2024. The average age of Delta's residents continues to be higher than the average for both Metro Vancouver and the province. The majority of Delta's seniors reside in Ladner and Tsawwassen.
Mountain View Manor has 90 beds but the Delta Hospital Foundation is planning to replace it with a new facility that could accommodate anywhere from 120 to 200 residents.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit society behind KinVillage has a new long-term master plan for a major site redevelopment that could eventually see additional buildings added, including an expansion of its current 100 care beds. Ellis noted the care home expansion is just a vision for now as Fraser Health's priority is focused on the Mountain View plan.
The government last week said it would also spearhead a number of other measures to improve supports for seniors.
