Hastings County may soon be heading to the province on the issue of the cost of increased care in Long Term Care facilities.
The issue before the Hastings-Quinte Long Term Care committee on Wednesday was the need to meet the province’s goal of an average of four hours of resident care per day per resident.
At present the two local facilities are below three hours.
Director Debbie Rollins’ report indicated it would cost $532,127 a year, over five years.
If stretched over 10 years it would cost $226,063 a year.
This is based on the current Personal Service Workers wage rate.
Following a lengthy discussion on the merits or difficulties of each of those options, the committee is recommending to county council thqt the county go with the five year plan.
Looking at the cost to taxpayers, Warden Rick Phillips indicated it would cost his municipality of Tyendinaga Township $10,000.
Phillips said “It’s imperative the province fund us.”
Quinte West Councillor Terry Cassidy told the committee “It’s a provincial program. We have to go to the province as strong as we can and say ‘step up'”
Rollins also told the committee there is a shortage of PSW workers, that Hastings County hires Personal Service Workers from both Loyalist and Loyola colleges, but getting more of them “is going to be a challenge.”
