Nearly 100 Ontario long-term care homes still don't have air conditioning in all rooms
Nearly 100 long-term care homes in Ontario missed this week's deadline to install air conditioning in all resident rooms.
A spokesperson for the ministry of long-term care said 529 of the province's 627 long-term care homes were fully air-conditioned as of Wednesday.
That leaves 98 homes without air conditioning in every resident's room.
Legislation passed last year required homes to install air conditioning in all resident rooms at long-term care homes by Wednesday.
The ministry said some homes have experienced delays in installing units in all rooms for a variety of reasons, including global supply chain issues, COVID-19 outbreaks and visitor restrictions preventing contractors from entering homes.
It also said electrical upgrades or changes to building structures are required in some cases.
Vivian Stamatopoulos, a long-term care researcher and advocate at Ontario Tech University, said she thinks the number of homes without air conditioning in resident bedrooms is "horrifying."
"There's been a lack of real follow through or pressure on these homes by the government to actually comply and to ... expedite the process, given how detrimental heat-related illness is upon older adults," she said in an interview.
The ministry spokesperson said that all-long term care homes in Ontario have at least one designated cooling area with AC for every 40 residents.
Stamatopoulos said these common areas are often only used by residents for a couple of hours a day.
"And that is only among residents who are able-bodied enough and not bed bound, to be able to get to those common areas," she said.
"So the most, often, sick and bed bound residents are the ones that will be suffering in their rooms without any measure of air conditioning, and that is the most horrifying part."
The ministry of long-term care says on their website that older adults, people with chronic medical conditions or with limited mobility and people on certain medications are among those most at risk of illness during heat waves.
"Heat-related illness among this population (in care homes), which is predominantly older, it could be deadly, and has been deadly," said Stamatopoulos. "People die from this."
A death-panel report recently released by B.C.'s coroners service said 619 people died there last summer when temperatures surpassed 40 C for days during the so-called heat-dome event.
The panel found 98 per cent of the deaths happened indoors and most were elderly and vulnerable people in buildings without air conditioning
The report said 67 per cent of the people who died were aged 70 or older and 90 per cent were at least 60 years old.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.