We have roughly 40 personal care homes in Winnipeg. About half of them are for profit. Apparently, there is money in taking care of people who need our care. The residents of these facilities have often worked and paid taxes for decades. Most people don't realize that residents actually pay for their care while residing in a personal care home. There is a sliding scale for how much this care costs to the residents. Essentially, the personal care home takes everything (their pensions) and leaves them about $200/month, more or less. That sounds fair considering the personal care home provides all the services they need. Except, a couple of hundred dollars per month doesn't cover telephone services, TV cable services, or a newspaper. It also doesn't cover the cost of a walker or wheelchair if needed. If you require a mechanical lift for your transfers, you will be required to purchase your own slings. You may need a haircut every couple of months. You may need clothes. You may want to buy your grandchild a chocolate bar every now and then. Personal care homes will require you to open a trust account with them for incidentals and then charge you monthly for administering the account and also charge you for each transaction. If you require a wander guard, you will have to pay a monthly fee even after you have paid for this guard in a few months. It is not an issue right now, but if you want to go on a recreational outing, you will be charged for that. The point is that there is profit in personal care homes. There must be. Private companies continue to operate these homes. Like I said, the cost for residents is public record. What is not public knowledge is how much the for profit homes make or what is their percentage of profit. Even though residents pay what they can, Manitoba Health pays an overwhelming percentage of the actual cost of providing care. Health Care is expensive.
Overall, I don't have a problem with companies making profits on the backs of our vulnerable as long as they keep the profits in Manitoba. That way, the profits still benefit Manitoba and are recycled into our economy.
Companies like Extendicare and Revera take their profits outside of Manitoba. I just don't think that is right. At a minimum, they should disclose how much profit they are making. I think taxpayers have a right to know.
I note that one for profit company has been responsible for providing care for those who have died in care as a result of the Coronavirus and that one home has an outbreak right now. When we don't know how much profit they are making, it makes me wonder about the standard of care. Could they be compromised for the sake of profits? I would hope not, but, we simply don't know. I also note that the spokesperson for Revera is a physician in Ontario. Do they not have any local management that can speak to the care they provide? How can we be assured that their residents and staff are being treated fairly when the spokesperson has no first-hand knowledge of the homes. How can we evaluate the level of compassion or caring when the questions are responded to by someone out of province.
As a Manitoban, I have questions and concerns.
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