Why funding cuts to B.C. care homes could lead to bankruptcies and longer ER waits

Thousands of seniors are facing an uncertain future, with the B.C. government ending funding to some long-term care facilities.

Care homes operators are sounding the alarm that the ending of some provincial funding could lead to disruptions for seniors—but the consequences may actually impact nearly all British Columbians.

The B.C. government is ending funding for overtime and contracted workers implemented to help with pandemic-related staffing issues, even though the number of qualified workers remains so low, operators continue to rely on overtime to keep the doors open.

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“Across the rest of the health-care sector, they are still relying on overtime and agency staffing, just like our people are,” said Mary Polack, CEO of the B.C. Care Providers Association. “There’s no reason to end this (stream of funding on) Oct. 31.”

In B.C., some care homes are operated by health authorities, but the majority are run by private companies and charities paid by the province. The not-for-profit entities generally house seniors too poor to pay for housing with the meals, room maintenance, and health-care monitoring they get in care.

“The challenge now is that these (funding) changes will literally bankrupt us,” said Janice Boyle, CEO of the Three Links Housing Society, which operates a low-rise facility in East Vancouver. “The absolute worst case scenario that 90 seniors would have to find somewhere else to live.”

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Other not-for-profit care home operators who were on site to support Three Links said it’s very likely they will gradually reduce the number of usable beds as they become available, since they won’t have the budget to staff them.

The bigger impact

Polack, a former health minister, agrees with CTV’s analysis that a reduction of available beds—whether gradual or sudden, in the event of a bankruptcy—will have implications for any British Columbian attending a hospital.

A major factor in the long waits in the province’s emergency departments is due to the number of seniors admitted for hospitalization who’ve improved to the point they can leave, but cannot live independently. As they wait for a space in long-term care, those beds cannot be used for those needing hospitalization, prompting delays in the emergency department and temporary beds in hallways and supply closets.

“All these different things intersect,” Polack pointed out. “You cannot reduce funding in one area and not have it impact everywhere else.”

The minister responds

Care home operators face the first round of funding cuts in the spring, with the next at the end of this month, and the last by the end of the year. While the cuts are not a surprise, they’ve continued to advocate for a reprieve or alternative approach and are now ramping up the pressure.

The health minister, however, says the funding was only ever intended to be temporary and the government has already implemented more training spaces for care aides and other staff needed to care for frail seniors.

“We can’t build a sustainable system of long-term care that’s based on temporary measures, and that’s why we’ve been so focused on enabling more people to be trained as health care assistants,” said Josie Osborne. “Health authorities are working with operators directly to and seeing what the impacts of changes in that removing temporary funding is.”