Posted at 1:00 p.m.
Philippe Mercure’s editorial of February 6, “A minimum of decency for seniors”, deserves context. We cannot take one or two cases and use them to describe all seniors’ residences. One should not extrapolate from a few cases. The reality is more nuanced.
First clarification: there is a marked difference between residences for the elderly (RPA) and CHSLDs. In the first case, we are talking about people who have chosen to live there. It is their home. In the second, there are accommodation centers for people with little or no autonomy for whom daily health care is necessary.
The 150,000 people who have chosen to live in one of the approximately 1,600 RPAs are generally happy with their decision.
A Léger survey of residents tells us that 98% of them say they feel safe, 94% are satisfied with their residence, 91% would recommend it to a friend, 98% say they are satisfied with the care provided by the employees, etc
Second clarification: RPAs are very regulated. They must all receive certification from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, which ensures that they comply with the numerous criteria and standards found in the Regulation respecting the certification of private residences for seniors. This one, which has 32 pages, is accompanied by a 130-page “application manual”.
In fact, they are so supervised that their sector was one of the few that was specifically targeted during the consultation process aimed at developing the Government Action Plan for Regulatory and Administrative Streamlining.
Broken business model
Third clarification: RPA managers who choose to decertify, to change the status of their building so that it ceases to be an RPA and becomes a simple apartment building, generally make this choice reluctantly. It’s a decision that stems from the fact that the current business model is broken. They feel torn between increasing costs (salaries, health care, etc.) and incomes that do not follow (because they are limited by the rent fixing grid imposed by the Administrative Housing Tribunal).
“The method of setting rent is not suited to the operating cost structure of RPAs, particularly with regard to the remuneration of employees who provide services. We are not the ones saying this, it is the Quebec government on page B.28 of its most recent budget.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: modernizing the rent-setting grid is an emergency for RPAs. This was designed for apartment buildings and has not been substantially modified for over 40 years.
Know, Mr. Mercure, that our door is always open to you and we will be happy to collaborate in any new approach dealing with RPA.