Ford himself pointed out the gaps in the requirements listed in the Ontario Long-term Care Home Act.

He said at a press conference in July last year: “Currently, the bill says that public areas are equipped with air conditioning, but imagine someone sitting in a room on the third floor.”

“sometimes [staff] There is no chance to bring these patients (especially now) into these common areas. I can’t imagine sitting in a room at a high temperature of 27 or 28 degrees, which is simply unacceptable. “

Watch | Ford vows to enforce the use of air conditioners in long-term care homes:

The Long-Term Care Department told CBC News that it had “collected information on mechanical cooling systems in all houses” in February.

Spokesperson Mark Nesbitt said in a statement on Tuesday: “We are using this information to work with the industry to ensure that there are sufficient cooling systems this summer to improve the health and well-being of residents.”

The doctor says there is no point in lack of authorization

Dr. Amit Arya of the Palliative Care Center said that the province’s failure to require mandatory changes to the entire system is “unjustified”, especially when army with Long-term Care Committee Regarding the poor condition of the house and the dehydration and neglect of the residents.

Last spring, the COVID-19 case overwhelmed the system, and the military provided medical and humanitarian assistance in seven homes in Ontario.

Aria said: “Whether it is to solve the overcrowding or to ensure that we have air-conditioning innovation, it should have been carried out very well and ready for the summer.”

“I mean, it’s not surprising that we have warm weather now, so I don’t understand why we didn’t do this.”

Ford’s announcement last year Followed report During the confinement related to the pandemic, their residents can only live in sultry rooms, while their families and supporters demand urgent changes.

Family still frustrated

Nick Puopolo was one of those who demanded action. When visiting his 85-year-old mother in the Woodbridge Vista Nursing Community, he measured the temperature of her room and found it was 27 degrees Celsius.

After Ford announced the news in July last year, Puopolo hopes that next summer will be different. Now he is even more depressed.

He said: “Ford said he really cares about it and will fix it.” “And all these are just words. These words have no effect.”

Puopolo said that residents’ families are strongly promoting the installation of air-conditioning throughout the Woodbridge Vista facility for the elderly in Sienna, not just in public areas.

He said that even now, as houses continue to respond to the COVID-19 epidemic, hundreds of residents who have received full vaccination are still confined to hot rooms.

Sienna Senior Living, a for-profit company, sent an e-mail to households in May this year, stating that they are installing air conditioning for the entire family. Puopolo said his home was told that the installation of central air should be completed by the end of June.

For Woodbridge Vista, it was a small victory, but Puopolo wanted to know if this would happen without the enthusiasm of his family. This is why he said that the province needs to enforce the use of air conditioners in all households.

Puopolos said: “We continue to push executives, continue to attract media participation, and put pressure on them, and they are doing this.”

Houses are now cooling in public areas

Donna Duncan, CEO of the Ontario Long-term Care Association, said that Ontario has provided funding for air-conditioning in long-term care homes, and they can now use refrigerated spaces for coding in public areas. The association represents 70% of private rather than private institutions. For-profit, charitable and municipal nursing homes in Ontario.

The house is working hard to install air-conditioning for residents’ rooms, but she said this is not practical for some older facilities.

Duncan said: “Regardless of ownership, everyone is stepping up their efforts to find solutions in the family.” “Overall, we are very happy with the progress made in the past year.”

Extendicare, Chartwell Retirement Residences, and Revera, Ontario’s largest for-profit long-term care service operator, did not answer questions about which of their homes have air-conditioning in their residential rooms. Duncan said she was not sure how many homes in the entire facility had air conditioning.

Sienna Senior Living said it met Ontario’s cooling requirements by providing air-conditioning in public areas and conducted a survey of residential rooms.

Spokesperson Nadia Daniel Corarosi said: “We are actively seeking long-term and short-term solutions to ensure that appropriate mechanical cooling requirements not only meet but, where possible, exceed the minimum requirements.”