Long-Term Care Staffing Policies Pre-COVID-19 and Pandemic Responses: A Case Comparison of Ontario and British Columbia, With Dr. Patrick Patterson

Daniel Smiley, Research & Logistics Specialist, is your new host as Jenna takes on more responsibilities at the APPTA Hub. He welcomes Dr. Patrick Patterson to discuss his recent publications on long-term care policies pre- and post-COVID-19.

 

We’re all aging, and everyone’s talking about it!

 

Key Takeaways

 

[:41] Daniel Smiley introduces himself as your new host and welcomes Dr. Patrick Patterson and asks him to share a top-level summary of his paper.

 

[1:38] Dr. Patterson talks about how Canadian differences in pandemic responses guided the focus of this research paper.

 

[2:51] The BC vs. Ontario choice came down to demographics and the existing long-term care framework.

 

[6:10] Hours per resident per day — or HPRD — is a data point that has existed for decades, Dr. Patterson shares what it actually measures.

 

[9:25] Dr. Patterson talks about two pre-pandemic initiatives to increase hiring in LTC in Ontario and BC as well as their results.

 

[13:16] The challenges of long-term care support differ from that of other healthcare sectors, Dr. Patterson explains how.

 

[18:06] Pandemic single-site orders for LTCs had different impacts on different provinces, with Ontario being far more heavily disrupted than BC. Dr. Patterson untangles some of the reasons for this.

 

[24:14] Varying types of LTC also were vulnerable in different ways to single-site orders.

 

[26:49] Recapping the factors discussed, Dr. Patterson talks about how BC and Ontario each fared during the first wave of the pandemic.

 

[31:33] Dr. Patterson adds geography, demographics, and occupancy as factors that aggravated Ontario’s situation.

 

[33:16] Dr. Patterson talks about what he thinks the future holds for the long-term care sector. He also offers some thoughts on what should be done to strengthen the system.

 

[42:02] Find Dr. Patrick Patterson’s paper here: https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/cpp.2022-011.

 

[43:05] Daniel thanks Dr. Patrick B. Patterson for sharing the findings from his latest research. Thank you to all listeners!

 

If you enjoyed today’s episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

 

Project Team Biography

 

Dr. Patrick B. Patterson is a Knowledge Broker for the APPTA Hub. Patrick is a social anthropologist, with a background in using qualitative research methods to study organizations and policy formation. Within the APPTA Hub, his primary focus is supporting research and knowledge translation activities by looking at contexts, people, and processes that lead to policy decisions.

 

Mentioned in this episode

 

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project

Dr. Patrick Patterson at APPTA

Long-Term Care Staffing Policies Pre-COVID-19 and Pandemic Responses: A Case Comparison of Ontario and British Columbia

 

More about your host

 

Daniel Smiley at APPTA

Daniel Smiley on LinkedIn

 

Tweetables (edited)

 

“Turnover is really high in long-term care. In Ontario, recent numbers show that pre-pandemic up to 25% of experienced support staff would leave the long-term care workforce in any given year.”

 

“Folks in long-term care are doing really important work, taking care of our loved ones when they can’t take care of themselves anymore.”

 

“A hundred percent of long-term care workers lose 100% of their patients, that can’t be easy.”

 

“The care center operators need to take it on board to reduce the turnover, converting part-time positions to full-time can give stability and career opportunity for workers.”

 

“The best long-term solution may be to proactively invest in building health and disease prevention throughout adulthood before people reach old age so that when people are older adults, they are healthy older adults who can stay in their homes longer.”