At Exquisicare, All We Want For Christmas Is To Be Treated With Equality
As 2020 draws to a close, I am reflecting on the challenges as well as the high points of this “brutal year” and asking for one thing for Christmas – that the residents and staff at all licensed supportive living sites are treated with the same care and respect as those in government funded sites.
ExquisiCare, like many other private senior care operators, has not received the same level of support from the government of Alberta or Canada when compared to designated supportive living facilities. We did not receive PPE and our staff were not eligible for the wage top up. Now, with the vaccine on the horizon, our seniors and staff are not being prioritized.
The Exquisicare model of senior living is different from any other model in the province. Exquisicare homes are large purpose-built houses located in residential communities where the residents have their own bedroom, bathroom, and remain active participants in the community. With this operating model already in place for years before COVID-19 took its toll on long-term care homes, Exquisicare was able to keep its seniors safe (private bedrooms and bathrooms meant much less chance of transmission) and its regular staffing levels consistent.
Throughout the pandemic our fulsome recreation programming has continued, safely. The ability to safely maintain our consistent staff while adhering to AHS guidelines is a major benefit of our care model. And we have done all these things while adhering to all the MOH orders.
Despite this, Exquisicare’s seniors are not on the priority list for the initial vaccine run – and they aren’t the only ones being left out. It’s all the private care and private living lodges in Alberta along with the care staff.
I urge the government to reconsider their roll out and include all licensed providers, not just designated providers. Licensed means both private and government funded facilities – and all of those seniors are just as important as the other. All of the seniors in care, and the staff, should be included in the January rollout and not be punished for choosing private instead of relying on government care. Our government is saying all seniors will be included, but when you take a good look at the wording of their PRs, it’s clear that the designated (funded) homes will take priority. In fact, an AHS representative recently confirmed to one of our family members that his mom would not be prioritized in Phase 1A in January, but would be pushed to Phase 1B in February. This is unacceptable.
There are about 12,000 seniors in private supportive living homes in the province. What happens if private care ceases to operate because our Conservative government didn’t provide us any support? We could see 1000’s of seniors flooding the publicly funded system. Alberta is not prepared to provide adequate care to those seniors if that were to happen. Having access to private facilities gives Albertan seniors and their families a choice – and “choice” is a word we often hear from Premier Kenny. Our government says it supports long term care; the average age of my seniors is 93. Exquisicare is long term care, and we have followed the rules and done our part.
Despite the frustration, I am also celebrating several things this holiday season. Exquisicare has not only been spared from the outbreaks sweeping across long-term care homes in Alberta, we also opened our new location in West Edmonton and it is already at 80% capacity. Our residential model of care is one that is sought out by seniors and their families and we continue to be immensely proud of the work we do. We have retained staff, protected clients, and operated safely despite being in one of the most vulnerable sectors of the population. We are incredibly grateful to all the essential workers and medical care teams going above and beyond to help others during this pandemic. We are grateful that a vaccine has been developed and we are thankful that there is an end in sight for COVID-19.
So, this Christmas, the residents and team at ExquisiCare have one wish – equality for all licensed supportive care homes. We are all in this together, so let’s act together for the benefit of all.