Wildrose Party seniors’ issues critic Kerry Towle was at the Cochrane RancheHouse early March 2 for an informal discussion about the issues facing seniors and their caregivers in Alberta communities.
Nine people showed up for the session, many of who had concerns about the care of seniors in Cochrane and the surrounding areas. Towle, MLA for the Innisfail/Sylvan Lake riding, was all ears.
“The intention of this visit is to hear from seniors about how care is affecting them, what the problems are and what’s working,” she said. “I’m here to listen.
“Unfortunately, today we didn’t hear a lot about what is working.”
Many of the concerns heard were surrounding the quality of care being provided by professionals in care homes, the lack of family involvement in the decision-making processes for the patients and the challenges of a centralized health care system.
“A cow has more rights than our seniors do in these facilities,” said Connie Beaton, who has a friend who resides in Airdrie’s Bethany Care Society.
“It’s total frustration,” added Mae Bateman, a private caregiver from Sundre.
While Towle was clear that she was unable to come to any solutions to these concerns during the two-hour-long session, she did present Bill 208, a Seniors’ Advocate Act that is currently being reviewed by legislature.
If it passes, Bill 208 will allow the seniors health care system to be audited by an independent seniors advocate.
“These advocates can take a look at the system, identify shortfalls, identify successes and present these findings to legislature,” Towle explained. “Anyone can initiate a full-blown investigation by proposing to the seniors advocate.”
This proposal was met with some worry. As Duane Bailey, a concerned resident pointed out, the conservative government could choose an advocate with a bias towards Alberta Health Services. Towle responded that the Wildrose opposition party would have to work hard to encourage transparency and hold the advocate accountable.
“It’s going to be difficult, but we have to start somewhere,” she said. “It’s better to have an auditor and hold them accountable, than have no one to audit the system.”
Towle pointed out the biggest problem with the current system is centralized health care, although she said she recognizes that there are challenges to every system.
“It’s the biggest failure in our health care system,” she said. “Different solutions apply to different communities. The system needs to be re-evaluated.”
The Cochrane stop was part of Towle’s two-week-long, 23-town Seniors Tour. When the tour wraps up, she plans on reporting back to the government with the information and issues addressed during the informal sessions.
Towle has had her own personal experiences within the health care system — as both a worker for David Thompson Health Region, and as a caregiver for her brother, who was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, a terminal illness that put him into long-term care bed.
