Professor Baines testifies on Long Term Care bill

BeverleyBaines, professor of law, women’s studies and policy studies atQueen’s University, yesterday made a presentation to the provincialStanding Committee on Social Policy on Bill 140, Ontario’s proposedLong-Term Care Homes Act.   The essence of her remarks were published in the Toronto Star as an opinion piece.  Exceprts: 

Bill140, Ontario’s proposed Long-Term Care Homes Act, contains no referenceto women despite the commitment in its preamble to “resident-centredcare.” Since most residents are women, the question arises whethertheir care needs differ from those of their male counterparts.  Theresearch is preliminary but it shows that at least 75 per cent oflong-term care home beds are occupied by women, many of whom have amoderately severe dementing illness.  Dementia is increasinglyfound among our aging population and its impact is quantitatively moredebilitating for women. For example, in 1991 of seniors aged 85 or morewho suffered from dementia, 70 per cent were women.  The nature ofdementia is such that it leads to falls and fractures, which, in turn,call for complex care for the residents of long-term care homes.  SinceBill 140 commits to resident-centred care, the proposed legislationshould articulate the fact that long-term care home residents arepredominantly women whose needs deserve to be recognized and met.

Read the rest in the Star at http://www.thestar.com/article/173711