Care to Chat BC – Debunking the Myths and Misconceptions of BC’s Continuing Care Sector

karen-baillieKaren Baillie, CEO of Menno Place (2nd from right beside Colin Hansen) weighs in on the conversation that was started by the BC Care Providers Association when they commissioned a public opinion poll to discover what more than 800 British Columbians believe at seniors care in our province.

The results included in the presentation are based on an online study conducted from March 25 to March 29th by Insights West and BC Care Providers Association.

Karen shared that her biggest surprise from the survey results were that most British Columbians believe care homes are allocated $69 on average to provide meals to residents on a daily basis. In fact, care homes are allocated between $6-$7 per day to provide residents with meals.

Other myths that are believed by British Columbians include:

  1. Myth: Wait times for residential care in BC have increase or are increasing. In reality, the median wait time has decreased in the past decade from 1 year to 45 days.
  2. Myth: Seniors are more likely to be abused in residential care facilities than while receiving care at home. Although the public hears more reports about senior abuse, there is no quantifiable data to prove that incidents of physical of financial abuse has increased in the past decade. All care providers record, investigate and track all incidents of abuse reported in their facility.
  3. Myth: Most of the food at residential care homes is cooked offsite and brought into care homes each day. Menno Place has five kitchens on campus. We are cooking every meal here in our kitchens and asking our residents for their feedback through Resident Choice meals and menu planning.

For the complete survey results, click here.

Global BC1 Covered the story of the Myths and Realities of Senior Care in British Columbia.

Click here to see the media coverage surround the survey and the Care to Chat session.