scholarly journals Long-Term Care Regulations in Ontario, Canada during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (23) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Steve Hunt ◽  
Elena Hunt

The Ontario, Canada statutory requirements of Nurse Patient ratios and other Health care professionals’ activities are discussed following a descriptive, analytical and investigative approach. Using OECD Statistics and evaluating the impact on population health during COVID-19, as well as drawing from constitutional law and administrative law, the authors apply, explain and clarify opinions of jurists, rulings of judges and arbitrators and pull comparisons to statutory and statistical data from international jurisdictions such as Australia and USA. Recommendations for improvement of the Ontario Health Care system are conferred.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 18-18
Author(s):  
Yi Cai ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
Bei Wu

Abstract The impact of the COVID-19 infection on older residents and the direct frontline workers in long-term care (LTC) facilities in Wuhan, China deserves close attention. The fatality rate for older residents infected by the COVID-19 is among the highest in China Viral outbreaks are likely to occur in LTC facilities due to group-living arrangements, lack of precautionary measures, and older residents’ vulnerability to diseases. In this study, we aimed to explore different stakeholders’ experiences and challenges in the midst of the spread of the virus in LTC facilities. We conducted telephone interviews with four groups from two LTC facilities and two hospitals: twelve older residents (Four suspected cases and two infected), ten family members, four direct frontline workers (two infected), two nursing home managers, and four health care professionals working in the two hospitals that infected older residents were transferred to. We found that the gap in the transition of care quality between LTC facilities and local hospitals was widened during the COVID-19 outbreak. LTC facilities were slow to take precautionary measures and underprepared to handle the crisis after the infections occurred. The wellbeing of older residents was significantly impacted during the transition, particularly for those with dementia. Health care professionals in local hospitals were under tremendous stress providing treatments for older residents while ensuring their safety. There is an urgent need to improve transitional care and the capacity in preventing and handling this type of crisis for older residents in LTC.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph L. Durand

This study examines the impact of surveillant care managerialism upon the practice of three social workers employed within the community support sector in Ontario health care. It applies the “Foucauldian Toolkit” of Jason L. Powell to examine the nature of the discourse shaping their practice and how they are both complicit and resistant to these discourses. It introduces recognition theory as counter discourse and argues that through the unique knowledge gained through relationships of respectful recognition that social workers act justly. Moreover it is argued that the relationships between social workers and their clients is the source of our unique knowledges as practitioners. Finally, this study examines the implications of social workers integrating a Foucauldian understanding of the reflexive relationship of power/knowledge and how through intersubjective relationships, we practice, create identities and serve the needs of justice even in a system and profession which does not acknowledge it as a requirement.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Chicoine

Seasonal influenza is a serious public health problem that contributes to significant morbidity and mortality locally, nationally, and globally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that influenza has caused between 9.2 million and 60.8 million illnesses, between 140,000 and 710,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 and 56,000 deaths annually since 2010, and approximately 80- 90 percent of influenza related deaths occurred in people 65 years and older. In 2012, prompted by the mounting\ evidence of the risk of nosocomial influenza infection for patients and low influenza vaccination rates of health care workers, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) amended its Rules and Regulations for Immunization and Testing for Healthcare Workers. This amendment included mandatory influenza vaccinations for all health care workers, students, volunteers, and trainees who have direct patient contact within a health care facility. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the regulation of mandating influenza vaccination for health care workers in Rhode Island on influenza incidence, hospitalizations, and deaths of residents of long-term care facilities (LTCF). Surveillance data for influenza incidence, hospitalizations, and deaths among residents of LTCF pre and post the policy implementation are analyzed and results presented. Policy and practice implications for public health nursing are discussed.


CJEM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 844-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran L. Grant ◽  
Daniel Dongjoo Lee ◽  
Ivy Cheng ◽  
G. Ross Baker

ABSTRACTBackgroundIn Canada, there were over 60,000 long-term care facility patient transfers to emergency departments (EDs) in 2014, with up to a quarter of them being potentially preventable. Each preventable transfer exposes the patient to transport- and hospital-related complications, contributes to ED crowding, and adds significant costs to the health care system. There have been many proposed and studied interventions aimed at alleviating the issue, but few attempts to assess and evaluate different interventions across institutions.MethodsA systematic search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, and EMBASE for studies describing the impact of interventions aimed at reducing preventable transfers from long-term care facilities to EDs on ED transfer rate. Two independent reviewers screened the studies for inclusion and completed a quality assessment. A tabular and narrative synthesis was then completed. This study adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines.ResultsA total of 26 studies were included (Cohen's k = 0.68). One was of low quality (Cohen's k = 0.58). Studies were summarized into five themes based on intervention type: Telemedicine, Outreach Teams, Interdisciplinary Care, Integrated Approaches, and Other. Effective interventions reported reductions in ED transfer rates post intervention ranging from 10 to 70%. Interdisciplinary health care teams staffed within long-term care facilities were the most effective interventions.ConclusionThere are several promising interventions that have successfully reduced the number of preventable transfers from long-term care facilities to EDs in a variety of health care settings. Widespread implementation of these interventions has the potential to reduce ED crowding in Canada.


Author(s):  
Thuy Thi Thanh Hoang

Over the past decade there has been a tremendous spread of computerized systems in hospitals. The advancement provided an opportunity for hospitals to gain access to computerized clinical, financial, and statistical data. Case costing information is the integration of clinical, financial, and statistical data to provide costing information at the patient level. Ontario Case Costing Initiative (OCCI) is an undertaking of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). This chapter focuses on the implementation of case costing using OCCI as a guideline for a hospital. It addresses the process of implementation by discussing proposals for planning, implementing, transitioning, and evaluation of case costing. The adoption of the OCCI allows health care professionals to analyze integrated health information and further enables evidence-based decision making.


Dementia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther-Ruth Beck ◽  
Sonja McIlfatrick ◽  
Felicity Hasson ◽  
Gerry Leavey

This paper provides an overview of the evidence on the perspective of health care professionals (HCPs) in relation to advance care planning (ACP) for people with dementia, residing in long-term care settings. A narrative approach was adopted to provide a comprehensive synthesis of previously published literature in the area. A systematic literature search identified 14 papers for inclusion. Following review of the studies four themes were identified for discussion; Early integration and planning for palliative care in dementia; HCPs ethical and moral concerns regarding ACP; Communication challenges when interacting with the person with dementia and their families and HCPs need for education and training. Despite evidence, that HCPs recognise the potential benefits of ACP, they struggle with its implementation in this setting. Greater understanding of dementia and the concept of ACP is required to improve consistency in practice. Synthesising the existing evidence will allow for further understanding of the key issues, potentially resulting in improved implementation in practice.


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