{"id":16136,"date":"2021-02-02T05:12:57","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T10:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/?p=16136"},"modified":"2021-02-15T05:16:20","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T10:16:20","slug":"declaration-to-fix-long-term-care-made-by-local-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/index.php\/declaration-to-fix-long-term-care-made-by-local-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Declaration to fix long-term care made by local group"},"content":{"rendered":"

(February 1, 2021)<\/p>\n

By: Lindsay Advocate<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, residents from across Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes, and friends, gathered together virtually, declare that we are of consensus that to fix long-term care, we need to\u2026\u201d so begins the Haliburton-City of Kawartha Lakes Declaration to Fix Long-Term Care, passed unanimously by some 50 residents from communities across the area at a virtual town hall meeting last week.<\/p>\n

Hosted by the recently formed Haliburton-City of Kawartha Lakes Long-Term Coalition, the meeting included a presentation by Cathy Parkes of Canadians 4 National Standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Haliburton-CKL Long Term-Care Coalition represents an important part of Ontario and hopefully all rural communities will follow their lead.\u00a0 We need to hear more from regions outside of major cities in Ontario, as long-term care affects the whole province.\u00a0 The awareness and dedication of this local Coalition will help boost awareness for much needed reform in long-term care,\u201d stated Parkes in opening the meeting.<\/p>\n

Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition was also a guest speaker stated,\u00a0 \u201cthe percentage of long-term care COVID-19 deaths in Canada is the highest in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The purpose of the meeting was to bring local residents together to share stories and ideas to fix long-term care and build power together for change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have known there have been problems with the long-term care system for years. COVID-19 has really shed a tragic light on the crisis, the issues across our communities and across our province and throughout Canada,\u201d noted Bonnie Roe of Haliburton, co-chair of the coalition, who welcomed the meetings\u2019 participants.<\/p>\n

At the meeting, participants confirmed their unanimous support for a list of measures they feel are needed to fix long-term care crisis in Ontario, including:<\/p>\n