A new five-storey long-term care facility will be coming to Abbotsford and is expected to complete construction in 2027. Fraser Health, First Nations and community partners and the Fraser Valley Regional Hospital District will build the new facility, which will be located on vacant land adjacent to the Maplewood House long-term care home and the Abbotsford Hospital and Cancer Centre at 1919 Jackson St. The facility will replace 109 beds at Cottage and Worthington Pavilion and add 91 net new beds.
Home-care workers in Vermont have filed a union grievance with the state Agency of Human Services. Two rounds of bonuses have been paid out so far, with a third and final round scheduled to be added to paychecks in July. The union analyzed pay data and found that more than 700 employees in each of the first two rounds did not receive their bonuses, which ranged between $1,000 and $2,500 each.
Two more Rhode Island nursing homes have been placed into receivership. This week, Superior Court Judge Brian Stern named Jeremy Savage the receiver of Hebert Health in Smithfield and Trinity Health and Rehabilitation Center in Woonsocket. The two companies and related real estate companies are owned by two men, Jeffrey Barnhill and James Flanagan. Savage, in an interview with GoLocal, said that the industry faces serious economic and workforce challenges.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for the family of a nursing home resident with dementia that had sued over his care. The man’s family went to court alleging that he was given drugs to keep him easier to manage in violation of his rights. The justices had been asked to use his case to limit the ability of people to use a federal law to sue for civil rights violations.
Nursing homes and long-term care facilities could see penalties for violating newly enacted financial accountability laws rolled back before they even begin. A pending bill with broad support in the Legislature gives a break on fines to facilities that reduce their reliance on temporary staffing agencies — which charge facilities as much as four times the usual rate — presumably enabling them to hire more full-time, permanent staff.
Although Chardon Healthcare Center is run by CommuniCare, SEIU workers say that the problems caused by unsafe staffing ratios are industry-wide. Ohio’s nursing home industry performs poorly compared to other states and was ranked 39th in the country by Medicare. With low wages, long hours and chronic understaffing, some in the nursing home industry are pursuing other careers.