Alberta’s funding models for long-term care and designated supportive are designed to ensure each resident receives sufficient care time per 24-hour period. A typical LTC resident is allotted a certain amount of direct nursing care time from each staff type, plus some additional time from rehabilitation professionals and dietitians.
For example, for the last 12 years, long-term care residents were funded to provide 3.02 hours of nursing care per 24-hour period — two hours of which are normally provided by a health care aide (HCA).
When overall care time is adequate, there’s a buffer that gives staff a little more time for residents who may be feeling especially confused or agitated at times during the day. Offering those few extra moments of care and compassion to redirect or calm residents with dementia can make a world of difference.
As staff care time discussions continue in Alberta, CHAA operators, our residents and families continue to support efforts to ensure funded hours of care align with the care needs of today’s higher resident acuity.
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