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Councillor wants temperature controls in long-term care homes by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff 37 | Thursday, October 20, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com An Oakville Town councillor is pushing for improved legislation governing temperature and humidity limits in long-term care facility patient rooms. His call comes after visiting seniors during the record-breaking hot summer. Ward 3 Town Councillor Nick Hutchins claims he was shocked to find individual room temperatures hovered around 30C. He said when he raised concerns, portable air conditioners were moved into nearby hallways to help keep temperatures down. Hutchins believes a more permanent solution should exist. The councillor claimed while the central core where people congregate and staff were, is air conditioned, patient rooms were not. "There are all sorts of serious negative heatrelated consequences when elderly people are forced to endure high temperatures, from heat exhaustion to heat strokes. When such conditions have to be treated, all of these add significantly to the costs of Ontario health care. As such, I would have thought that through pure economics alone there should be high temperature room limits in the legislation governing nursing homes and long-term care." Hutchins has approached the Province with a view to securing improved legislation. While the Long-Term Care Homes Act lists a minimum temperature limit of 22C, Hutchins said Ontario needs a maximum limit for both temperature and humidity within long-term care facility patient rooms. The Oakville councillor said long-term care facilities in jurisdictions outside Ontario have a maximum temperature limit around 25C for their patient rooms and would like to see Ontario adopt something similar. The Act states under, Cooling Requirements, that a "written hot weather-related illness prevention and management plan that meets the needs of the residents must be developed and implemented when required to address the adverse effects on residents related to heat. The plan must be consistent with evidence-based practices and, if there are none, in accordance with prevailing practices. Any home without central air-conditioning is required to have at least one separate designated cooling area for every 40 residents." Halton Region, which operates three longterm care facilities, including one in Oakville, confirms its facilities' rooms have individual thermostats that residents can adjust. Revera Inc., which operates several longterm care facilities in Oakville and Burlington, commented through Director of External Communications Alison Steeves. "In our newer long-term care homes, including those in Oakville and Burlington, we have full air conditioning in all common areas as well as cooling and dehumidification to resident rooms. Our elderly residents are generally sensitive to cold environments," she stated in an email. "Temperature is not controlled by thermostats in the resident rooms. All of our buildings are built in conformance with Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Design Standards, the Ontario Building Code, the Ontario Fire Code and municipal standards." Natural Approaches to Helping Digestive Disorders Free Informational Health Session Especially important for people suffering from Crohn's, Colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Acid Reflux, etc. Featured Speaker: Dr. Sebastian Guarnaccia As a result of his commitment and dedication for the past 19 years, Dr Guarnaccia has enhanced the quality of 100's of individuals' lives and alleviated their chronic conditions naturally. 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