Nursing homes call for less talk, more action by Gallant government

The provincial government must to take action to address the rising costs of nursing home care rather than continue to delay by studying a problem that isn't going away, according to the group representing nursing homes.

Michael Keating, the executive director of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes, responded on Monday to the latest report by Auditor General Kim MacPherson, who says the growing cost of nursing homes in New Brunswick is unsustainable.

Keating said he agrees with MacPherson that more nursing homes aren't the answer and wasn't surprised by the numbers in the report.

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The New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes represents all 65 nursing homes in the province.

"If we don't change in the near future and get on to where we need to be we're going to end up bankrupt as a province and we're not going to have quality of life for the people that built this province," Keating told Information Morning Moncton.

In her report, MacPherson projected the number of nursing home beds needed in the province will more than double between 2015 and 2036, from 4,428 to 10,776.

'Governments don't move as quickly as we need them to'

Keating is planning to travel to Holland and Denmark in September to see first-hand some other community models for caring for senior citizens that have been successful.

One of the things that we haven't done here in New Brunswick is effect the kind of change that we need.- Michael Keating

"Now we're not suggesting that we could bring a Danish model into New Brunswick but they do have excellent alternatives," he said.

"They utilize technology much better, they have people in homes."

Keating also points to Deep River, Ont. where new approaches to senior care are working.

He said 30 seniors are able to remain in their homes while still being cared for by nursing home workers.

In another program, a group of paramedics visit the homes of vulnerable seniors, a strategy that cut the number of 911 calls in half and also reduced hospital visits by seniors by the same amount.

"One of the things that we haven't done here in New Brunswick is effect the kind of change that we need," Keating said.

"Six years ago we held a summit in Fredericton to deal with these issues and to date they've fallen on deaf ears."

Another report, released in December 2012 by John McLaughlin, who chaired a premier's panel on seniors, looked at "best practices" for the aging population but Keating said these reports are just piling up.

Information Morning - Moncton9:02Nursing homes situation in New Brunswick

Michael Keating is the executive director of the New Brunswick Nursing Home Association."Unfortunately governments don't move as quickly as we need them to sometimes," Keating said.

It's quite a mystery to us to be quite honest with you that this doesn't happen — especially give the huge amount of data that's present."

In February, the Gallant government appointed a 17-member Council on Aging that is tasked with designing an aging strategy for seniors in New Brunswick by the end of the year.

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At the time of the announcement, then Social Development Minister Cathy Rogers said in a statement she was confident the council will foster collaboration, share best practices and make significant improvements.

When Gallant shuffled his cabinet earlier in June, he also appointed Lisa Harris to the newly-created position of seniors and long-term care.

Keating said nursing homes in New Brunswick will continue to make their homes as efficient as possible and to look to other places, including Europe, for new ways to improve care in the province.

"There are so many models — we want to come back with fresh ideas and put them to work just as quickly as possible."