RELEASE: Giant Rocking Chair Tour: “Rock-in” for Improved Long-Term Care
Posted: May 21, 2014
(May 21, 2014)
The Ontario Health Coalition is working with hundreds of groups to tour the province with a giant 10-foot tall rocking chair. The goal is to raise awareness about levels of care and access to care in Ontario’s long-term care homes.
Almost 80,000 Ontarians, many of them elderly, live in long-term care homes (often known as nursing homes). The giant rocking chair will go to 27 communities over the next two-and-a-half weeks. In each location, we will hold a media event featuring our 10-foot tall rocking chair and press conferences with family councils, residents, seniors’ groups, unions, nurses, careworkers, families and long-term care administrators. Each event will be approx. 1/2 hour.
The Ontario Health Coalition, local health coalitions, friends and allies have identified two key demands of the next Ontario provincial government to address this situation:
1. Set a minimum care staffing standard of 4-hours of hands-on care per day per resident.
2. Improve access to care and reduce wait times.
The coalition will be collecting 20,000 signatures on postcards as they travel with the chair to symbolize the 20,000+ people waiting for long-term care placements.
Please note: the location of the Stratford event this Saturday May 24 at 1:30 p.m. has been changed and is now taking place in front of City Hall (corner of Wellington St. & Downie St.)
Click here for Media Release/Tour Itinerary