The head of the B.C. Care Providers Association hopes $773 million in new federal funding for long-term care in the province will spur more seniors home development.

“I hope this will facilitate the expansion of long-term care construction, because there’s a huge gap between the demand and the current supply,” Terry Lake told Connect following a Vancouver news conference on the funding announcement. “We’ve had a number of announcements through health authority owned and operated sites. But there’s still a lot more that can be done by not for profits and for profit organizations that contract with government.”

Under a new federal-provincial agreement, Ottawa will supply B.C. with the funds over the next five years to help British Columbians age with dignity closer to home through improved access to home and community care and long-term care. 

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland said the deal is the first on dying with dignity in Canada. B.C. counterpart Adrian Dix said the deal will increase both the quality of long-term care and the sector’s workforce in the province.

No funds are allocated for long-term care centre developments. Dix told Connect that the funding is designed for seniors care operations rather than capital projects.

“We’re already massively doing long-term care capital [projects] in a way that’s never been done before,” Dix said. “But this is for the the workforce to provide improving quality of care. You don’t need to build just build the buildings. You’ve got to fill them with people, and that’s what this is about.”

Lake hopes the funding will prompt the province to issue requests for proposals for new long-term care development projects. Previous RFPs issued seven years ago are just coming to fruition now, he added.

Following new developments in the Interior, more projects are need in the Vancouver area and Vancouver Island, he contended

“When [the cost of development] comes in as it does in B.C. at the moment at $1 million per bed, that means taxpayers really are on the on the hook for a very large bill to care for our growing seniors population,” said Lake, who preceded Dix as B.C.’s health minister. “:I think we we need to have a strategy to try to devise the most effective and efficient method of designing and developing long-term care homes.”

The BCCPA represents about 500 of long-term care, assisted living, and commercial seniors home operators across the province. The association also represents independent living and private-pay home health operators through its operating arm, EngAge BC.

Photo: Chartwell