Tens of thousands of long-term beds will be needed to meet the growing demand, says a report by the B.C. Care Providers Association.
It projects demand will be so high that around 45,000 new long-term care beds will be required by 2042, based on data provided by the Ministry of Health. The increase in demand, the report says, is due to the number of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, and lack of investment.
Ernie Daykin, administrator for Maple Towers – a 93-suite independent living building owned and operated by the Baptist Housing Society, with rent subsidies provided by B.C. Housing – said the lack of long-term care for aging seniors means a backlog of patients for other types of housing.
“So [if] there are not enough long-term residential care beds, that backs it up into assisted living and people end up staying there longer than they should, which backs up into [independent living facilities),” said Daykin.
He also said people wait too long to get into such buildings, then when they get there, the wait is too long to get into assisted living.
“It almost becomes a crisis.”
Maple Ridge has a variety of subsidized and private care facilities, including Chartwell Willow Retirement Community, Holyrood Manor is a fully funded facility, as is Baillie House at Ridge Meadows Hospital.
Maple Ridge Senior’s Village has 90 publicly funded and 18 privately paid units, which are all fully occupied, and have been for a number of years, said Jennie Deneka, chief operating officer, Pacific Reach Senior’s Housing Management.
There is currently a five-person wait list for privately paid units, she said.
Fraser Health manages the wait list for publicly funded units. It provides a variety of subsidized services and supports to adults and seniors who qualify to help them continue living in the community, said spokesperson Tasleem Juma.
She said Fraser Health has 8,049 long-term care beds across the region, of which 360 are in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. There are also 148 long-term care beds in owned and operated facilities and 212 in contracted facilities.
In terms of assisted living beds, she said, Fraser Health has 1,361 units across the region, with 46 in contracted facilities in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.