NDVA Committee Report

RECOMMENDATION 1

Veterans Affairs Canada review its policies on waiting lists to ensure that it has the necessary level of information in all provinces to be as up to date as possible on the number of veterans in priority beds and those waiting to have access to such beds.

RECOMMENDATION 2

Veterans Affairs Canada review its procedures in order to ensure that it can effectively monitor conditions in all the facilities across Canada providing long-term care to veterans and that it can take corrective measures in a timely fashion if and when a situation develops which threatens to reduce the access of veterans to priority beds or the quality of care given to them.

RECOMMENDATION 3

Veterans Affairs Canada explore with regional and provincial health authorities ways of standardizing, as much as possible, the gerontological assessment process used to determine the level of care required by veterans seeking a place in a long-term care facility to reduce discrepancies from one region or province to another in terms of access.

RECOMMENDATION 4

Veterans Affairs Canada ensure that veterans seeking access to a long-term care facility are not taken off the waiting list or relegated to the bottom of the line if they refuse to accept a placement at a facility because it is not the one they requested or because they were given less than three days to agree to and move to the location offered to them.

RECOMMENDATION 5

Veterans Affairs Canada explore with regional and provincial health authorities ways to quickly identify veterans among individuals seeking access to long-term care facilities, including a box on the application forms asking if the applicant is a Veteran, so that the onus will not be mostly on the veterans themselves to determine what services they are entitled to.

RECOMMENDATION 6

Veterans Affairs Canada proceed as quickly as possible to help the Caribou Memorial Veterans Pavilion, part of the Dr. Leonard A. Miller Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, significantly improve its capacity to provide long-term care to its residents dealing with some form of dementia.

RECOMMENDATION 7

Veterans Affairs Canada, in cooperation with the Caribou Pavilion, the Dr. Leonard A. Miller Centre and the Health Care Corporation of St. John’s, ensure that in the process of increasing the Pavilion’s dementia capabilities, the rooms with three or more residents are replaced by private or double-occupancy rooms without reducing the total number of priority access beds.

RECOMMENDATION 8

Veterans Affairs Canada establish clear accommodation standards to ensure that all major veterans long-term facilities and, as much as possible, all other facilities with priority access beds for veterans are able to provide private rooms, or at least a mix of private and double-occupancy rooms for residents, and to meet the needs of female veterans.

RECOMMENDATION 9

Veterans Affairs Canada explore options such as alternative housing and enhanced home care to limit as much as possible the separation of couples and consider, on a case-by-case basis, providing some level of reimbursement to spouses of veterans in long-term care facilities for the costs of transportation between their homes and the facilities.

RECOMMENDATION 10

Veterans Affairs Canada, in cooperation with the administrators of the facilities and regional and provincial health authorities, develop standards for the quality, preparation and delivery of meals in veterans long-term care facilities to clearly indicate the level of quality and satisfaction that should be maintained.

RECOMMENDATION 11

Veterans Affairs Canada ensure that the standards established pursuant to recommendation 10 are met by monitoring on a regular basis the quality, preparation and presentation of meals provided in all veterans long-term care facilities, utilizing not only questionnaires asking the level of satisfaction of veterans, but also regular inspections by departmental officials or, at the behest of the Department, members of veterans groups.

RECOMMENDATION 12

Veterans Affairs Canada undertake consultations with the facility administrators and regional and provincial health authorities to increase as quickly as possible the quality of and the level of satisfaction with the meals served to veterans at the Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg and the Caribou Memorial Veterans Pavilion in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

RECOMMENDATION 13

In the development of standards for the quality, preparation and delivery of meals, pursuant to recommendation 10, Veterans Affairs Canada should encourage all veterans long-term care facilities to develop menus which occasionally feature regional recipes and special meals and which cater as much as possible to the eating habits and tastes of elderly individuals.

RECOMMENDATION 14

Veterans Affairs Canada, in cooperation and in agreement with facility administrators and regional and provincial health authorities, develop guidelines for the construction or renovation of dining areas to ensure easy wheelchair accessibility, a more home-like atmosphere and improved security.

RECOMMENDATION 15

Veterans Affairs Canada continue to support, possibly in partnership with private enterprise, the reconstituted food program at Ste. Anne’s Hospital designed to help individuals with chewing and swallowing difficulties with the aim of making such food available to all other veterans long-term care facilities and possibly to non-veterans centres as well.

RECOMMENDATION 16

Veterans Affairs Canada, in cooperation with the administrators of the Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre and the veterans and Community Residents Council, explore ways to increase the profile of the veterans community within the Sunnybrook campus, including more prominent signboards.

RECOMMENDATION 17

Veterans Affairs Canada establish clear guidelines for its representatives across the country so that they can monitor conditions in facilities providing long-term care to veterans under contract with the Department on a regular basis and in a consistent fashion.

RECOMMENDATION 18

Veterans Affairs Canada, in cooperation with all the parties involved, develop guidelines to govern consultations between the administrators of facilities providing long-term care to veterans, councils of residents, including veterans, and departmental officials to ensure that all veterans long-term care facilities have a significant level of consultations and that the interests of residents dealing with some form of dementia or otherwise unable to speak for themselves are well served.

RECOMMENDATION 19

Veterans Affairs Canada, in cooperation with administrators of veterans long-term care facilities, regional and provincial health authorities and residents councils, review security policies to ensure the protection of residents and staff and to prevent the loss or theft of personal property.

RECOMMENDATION 20

Veterans Affairs Canada give a high priority to music therapy programs in veterans long-term care facilities and cooperate with provincial and regional health authorities as well as with administrators of facilities to find ways to ensure adequate and steady funding for these valuable services.

RECOMMENDATION 21

Veterans Affairs Canada ensure that all veterans long-term care facilities are kept up to date on departmental programs designed to assist Canadian Forces veterans, including those dealing with post- traumatic stress disorder or other stress-related injuries, so that they can provide some guidance to new veterans and help them find the help they need within their communities.

RECOMMENDATION 22

Veterans Affairs Canada, in cooperation with administrators of veterans long-term care facilities, regional and provincial health authorities, and federal government officials, review the decision-making process concerning funding for renovations and equipment for veterans long-term care facilities to reduce delays as much as possible.

RECOMMENDATION 23

Veterans Affairs Canada maintain its strong commitment to its Canada Remembers program and explore the possibility of providing more information in its community engagement and other activities aimed at young Canadians on the types of volunteer work which can be done in veterans long-term care facilities.

RECOMMENDATION 24

Veterans Affairs Canada explore the possibility of establishing a new commendation program to salute the significant contribution made by a volunteer or a group of volunteers, including non-veterans, to the quality of life of veterans in long-term care facilities.

RECOMMENDATION 25

Veterans Affairs Canada submit an annual report on the progress made in dealing with the issues and problems raised concerning long-term care for veterans and that the report be tabled in Parliament.