PICK A SIDE: Should the government ban for-profit long-term care facilities?

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Published May 29, 2020 at 4:23 pm

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As COVID-19 has ripped through long-term care facilities, the devastation it has caused has affected both residents and staff.

While the effects of the virus have been bad in their own right, they have also exposed an even bigger problem of poor living conditions and neglect among long-term care facilities.

Things have been so bad in certain facilities that the army had to be called in to assist residents and staff.

Additionally, the discovery of the living conditions among certain facilities led to protests as people became furious upon learning about how their loved ones were being treated.

Further, reports have indicated that things are much worse among for-profit long-term care facilities as opposed to non-profit and government-run facilities.

Advocates have said the reason for this is due to the fact for-profit facilities are more concerned with making money as opposed to taking care of their residents.

According to a report from early May, from April 28 to May 5, the death rate for for-profit homes increased by 28.52 per cent, while the death rate for non-profit homes increased by 14.15 per cent, and the death rate for municipal homes declined by 18.46 per cent.

The pandemic has soured many opinions of for-profit care homes, but there are still some who are advocates of them.

Some people feel they should be able to pay more for their relatives—or perhaps for themselves—to receive certain luxuries that non-profit and government-run facilities simply can’t provide.

Further, with the demand for long-term care facilities increasing, for-profit facilities have the potential to ease the burden carried by non-profit and government facilities.

So, Mississauga, what do you think?

Do you think the government should outlaw for-profit long-term care facilities?

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