For the past decade, the provincial government strategy for seniors care has been to promote the development of largely unregulated assisted living facilities built and operated by private, for-profit and non-profit organizations rather than on providing publicly funded and operated facilities.

The government has gone so far as to pay operators of long-term care facilities to downgrade them to assisted living – in the process downloading costs of care onto seniors and their families.

Such re-classification has already happened in Lethbridge, Hinton and Pincher Creek, leaving seniors in these communities unable to access the quality, affordable long-term care they require.

For instance, in one assisted living facility in Lethbridge, a 380 square foot studio suite costs $1585 per month. In addition to being responsible for their own medication and medical supplies, seniors who require assistance because of limited mobility or medical conditions must pay additional fees for personal care services, which can be a significant expense:

Laundry Service (once a week)	$35.00 per month
Bath – 30 minutes	$9.00 per bath
1 bath per week	$36.00 per month
Dressing (AM or PM) - 15 minutes per	$135.00 per month
Dressing (AM and PM) - 15 minutes per	$270.00 per month for both
Feeding - 20 minutes x 3 daily	$360.00 per month
Medication Management	$50.00 per month
Mobility (to dining room/return x 3 daily)	$270.00 per month
Toileting - 10 minutes	$90.00 per month

For seniors in communities which have seen their long-term care facilities down-graded to assisted living, the choice is a stark one: pay for the services you need at an assisted living facility, or go without.

We want action now:
The provincial government should declare a moratorium on the re-classification of long-term care facilities into assisted living facilities.

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