Letters to the Editor...Province ignoring long-term care residents

Dear editor, Re: Call for better living conditions for long-term care residents echoed. The letter writer of February 28 raises an issue which has occupied the Bennett Centre Board of Directors. Provincial funding for long-term care homes in this province is well below the Canadian average. Can anyone live on $5.46 per day for food? Our board and staff constantly look for creative ways to make the most of the funding we receive. We note with interest that hospitals receive funding that, per patient, is many times what we receive, yet our requirements for staffing and services are not that different from hospitals. Further, we pay for all capital upgrades ourselves, a very different scenario than for hospitals, with whom we compete for donor dollars. Our 66 residents at the Bennett Centre helped to build this community and this country. They deserve better from a government which has expressed its commitment to giving them top quality care. We are proud that residents, families and donors recognize the Bennett Centre as a fine and caring place that "feels like home."