The BC Care Providers Association has released the following media update:
February 20, 2018 (Victoria, BC) — BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA), the province’s leading organization representing seniors’ care providers, is lauding new investments directed at seniors’ care outlined in BC Budget 2018 as a critical first step toward meeting the growing needs of an aging population.
BCCPA also says the new investments can help address critical labour shortages in the sector and improve quality of life for seniors.
In BC Budget 2018, a total of $548 million in new funding over three years is being provided to the Ministry of Health to improve services for seniors across the continuum, including investments in home and community care, residential care, and assisted living.
“BC Budget 2018 has brought very good news for those who provide seniors’ care,” says Daniel Fontaine, BCCPA CEO. “Through these new investments, the BC government is acknowledging that seniors are an important priority.
“It is absolutely essential that we develop and roll out a robust health human resource strategy to have enough staff to fill vacant positions,” says Fontaine. “So that means government, labour, post-secondary institutions and the sector all need to work collaboratively over the coming months.”
BCCPA has been consulting across the province in recent months in the development of a new industry-led seniors’ care recruitment plan, modeled after the successful BC Cares initiative that ran from 2007-2013.
In January 2018, the BCCPA held the 2nd Annual Continuing Care Collaborative which brought together over 170 stakeholders to discuss the need for a province-wide health human resource strategy. In late 2017, BCCPA established a working group whose focus is to renew and implement strategies to support the BC Cares initiative.
“Through BC Cares, we can secure the workers needed to fill thousands of anticipated vacancies in the sector,” adds Fontaine. “At over 4 per cent projected growth over the coming decade, seniors’ care is the fastest growing part of our economy which highlights the urgent need for us to move quickly.”