PERSONAL SUPPORT WORKERS (PSW) – 9.5 FTE (9 Full-time, 1 Part-time)

The Personal Support Worker (PSW) position assists residents with all activities of daily living to meet the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the residents of Huron Lodge; participates in restorative care programs to ensure that residents are given the opportunity to reach their optimal potential and well-being; maintains accurate documentation reflecting the residents’ condition and care; observes and reports changes in a resident’s physical and emotional condition promptly to the Registered Staff; assists in the formation of the resident care plans; performs personal care such as feeding and bathing; promotes the comfort and safety of the resident; and assists in maintaining a tidy and clean home environment.

As the nursing needs of residents have risen drastically, as proven in the CMI increase, the addition of 9.5 FTE is required to maintain the appropriate level of care. Without an increase to the staff establishment, Huron Lodge will be at risk of neglecting residents by not providing appropriate and documented care.

NURSING RECORDS ASSISTANTS – 1 FTE (2 Part-time)

On the evening and weekend shifts, staff replacement duties rest with one registered nurse that is taken from their nursing related duties to call out and replace all absence calls. This is a manual, time consuming duty that takes several hours. This practice interferes with the RN duties as required under the Long Term Care Homes Act and is noted in the Public Inquiry into Safety & Security of Residents in the Long-Term Care system. Registered staff must monitor for the prevention of resident abuse and neglect and ensure reporting obligations, follow new requirements for the reporting of residents’ deaths to the Office of the Chief Coroner, and participate in a revised medication process for the tracking and reporting of medications related to lowering blood sugar.

Timekeeping and staff scheduling takes the Registered staff away from these critical duties. In order to ensure that all staff are performing their duties as required, and in order to carry out the function of organizing the replacement shifts for staff who are absent during the evening and weekend shifts, additional Nursing Records Assistant positions are needed.

As per the Long Term Care Homes Act, reg. 31(3) staff are to be assigned to promote continuity of care by minimizing the different staff members who provide nursing and personal support services to each resident. Licensees are also responsible to have a staffing plan in place and implemented for its organized program of nursing services and organized program of personal support services (s. 31 of O. Reg. 79/10). Further, the September Communication from the Deputy Minister, Ministry of Long-Term Care specifically asked homes to review their approaches to scheduling, particularly in relation to weekends and long weekends.

Huron Lodge requires timekeeping for staff in a 24/7 environment. Duties are completed daily and therefore require vacation and sick replacement hours. Currently there is 1 Full-time Nursing Records Assistant in the staff establishment who works weekdays. The addition of two permanent, part-time Nursing Records Assistants will allow for required coverage on evening and weekends.