Long-term care homes in the county are getting a provincial funding boost

Four long-term care homes in Simcoe County will share the spoils of new provincial core funds that are earmarked to increase medical and personal care.

The funding will increase nursing and personal care staff by a total of 47.3 full-time equivalents (FTEs) at the facilities, which include Georgian Manor in Penetanguishene, Simcoe Manor in Beeton, Sunset Manor in Collingwood and Trillium Manor in Orillia .

According to the staffing report included in Tuesday’s committee of the whole agenda, on March 24, the Ministry of Long-Term Care announced funding for 2024-2025 to support the continuation of staffing programs to achieve a combined provincial average of four nurse hours registered (RN), registered nurse (RPN), and personal assistant (PSW) care per resident, per day, by 2025.

On May 3, the 2024-2025 annual level of care casemix index funding results for the county’s long-term care homes were announced, with the county receiving a net increase of $311,000.

On May 23, Ontario Health announced that the ministry had confirmed a 6.6 per cent annual cost-of-living funding increase, leading to a $2.6 million surplus over the county’s 2024 budget.

“The overall impact of the grant funding is an increase of $6.35 million compared to the 2024 operating budget,” said the report to the county board, which also recommended the allocation of $3.9 million of that funding to support increases in Directly Responsible Care (DCR) hours.

These additional hours of service will move all of the county’s long-term care homes to an average of four hours of DRC in 2024-25, meaning they will all meet the provincial recommendation.

In addition to the increased hours of direct care, the report says the ministry has provided funding to increase direct “allied health professional” (AHP) care for residents to 36 minutes per resident per day by March 31, 2025.

This additional funding for 2024-2025 meant an increase to $158.82 per bed per month compared to a budget of $150.50 per bed per month, which equates to an additional $41,000 for care homes per long term from the county.

The ministry’s annual level of care funding is based on the case mix index (CMI), which is a calculation by the ministry of the average level of care for each long-term care home, assessed annually and compared to the provincial average. – 2024-25 care outcomes for all long-term care homes in Ontario.

The provincial average CMI in the 2024-25 report was 1.0218. Locally, CMI exceeded the provincial average for each of the county’s four long-term care homes, and three increased in CMI from the previous year.

The ministry also announced a 6.6% increase in the level of day care associated with core funding, which the staff report described as a “significant increase” compared to previous years, from 195.69 USD to USD 208.65 and resulting in additional funding. for 2024 being another $2.6 million.

“With a net increase in overall funding for nursing and personal care, including RDC, CMI, and level-of-care funding programs, staff recommends that nursing hours be added to each of the (long-term care) homes for to reach the four hours per resident, per day, in the areas that have been determined to be the highest priority,” the report said.

Incremental funding for the programs is about $6.35 million compared to the 2024 operating budget, while the cost associated with recommended staffing is about $3.9 million, the report states.