Ms. Monik discussed the 2017 Sun Parlor Home operations and budget as well as the 2018 operational plan and budget. She noted that resident care was at the forefront of the ever-changing landscape of long-term care at Sun Parlor Home. She explained that a focus on the residents that are older and have more complex health issues when they arrive means that often times, their needs are intricate and more comprehensive resulting in more complex one-on-one care more frequently. She further stated that finding a balance for achieving efficient patient care with correct staff levels is the challenge.
Ms. Monik noted that there was a potential for increased funding for personal support workers, as discussed recently by the provincial government.
She commented on the benefits of having tenured senior staff, however, she recognized that there are issues that impact those same workers as they form part of the generation that looks after their urgent family obligations, which result in high instances of leaves and absences that impact performance and their availability to work.
Mr. McNamara discussed the 10% staff absence statistic. Mr. Schlosser indicated that the 10% is a very high statistic and that the County has an attendance management program in place across the Corporation. He further stated that implementing a new sick plan across the entire Corporation should help to reduce that statistic while still accommodating the needs of the employees. Ms. Monik explained that certain positions can be left unfilled during an employee absence, however with the required level of care and compliance with standards, most are back-filled with other available qualified staff.
Mr. Santos questioned the need for a service delivery review by a consultant and what was the aspiration of Administration with that undertaking?
Mr. Maisonville indicated that the costs for the Sun Parlor Home were among the highest of any municipality with a long-term care home. The goal of the review is to analyse and assess the operations and funding to see whether efficiencies can be found or if there is a potential for increasing the funding from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.