Long Term Care for Seniors and Retirement Homes

Long-term Care

• Consists of nursing homes, homes for the aged and charitable institutions.
• These homes are provincially regulated by the Ministry of Health and Long-term care (MOHLTC).
• As policy, they have mandated reporting of all ‘unusual occurrences’ to the Director for investigation under Section 25 of the Nursing Homes Act

A person other than a resident who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a resident has suffered or may suffer harm as a result of unlawful conduct, improper or incompetent treatment or care or neglect shall forthwith report the suspicion to the Director (MOHLTC)

Retirement Homes

• Consist of Care home and Lodging homes
• They are privately owned and operated as a business
• They are not regulated by any Provincial body/legislation
• Reporting is not mandated
• It is considered a “tenancy agreement” between the owner and senior

If abuse is suspected, a senior or family member/Power of Attorney can use a hidden camera in their room to capture evidence of the abuse. Elder abuse is often referred to as a “hidden crime” because there are often no witnesses and it is largely under-reported.

In a seniors residence, the senior pays rent and as a result, their “room” is essentially their home. The senior would have all the same rights and privileges as they would in their own private home.

Note: one thing to remember is that if the senior shares a room with another person, they require the other persons permission to put a camera in (respecting their roommate’s privacy throughout).