Business View Magazine
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Regina Mitchell is Providence Manor’s Director of Care.
She elaborates upon Nowlan’s depiction: “At times we
also do see younger residents coming to the Home –
individuals who are younger than the age of 65. This
is becoming a lot more common. These individuals re-
quire care and a place to live often as a result of an
acquired brain injury. One of the changes we are start-
ing to notice, especially in the last five years, is the
increased level of care needs of the residents coming
into the Home. Because of their increased care needs,
our staff requires more skills to help residents with
complicated behavioral needs.” Nowlan adds, “The
changing face of long-term care is dramatic. A couple
of years ago, we had a resident who had lived here for
40 years, pass away. That’s not happening, anymore.
The average length of stay, now, is about two years.
People come in - often at the end of their life and are
staying for a much shorter period of time.”
Because the care for the vulnerable elderly has be-
come more complex, Nowlan relates that the Manor
has recently joined a program called “Behavioral Sup-
ports Ontario,” a $40 million provincial investment in
partnership with all Ontario Local Health Integration
Networks (LHINs), designed to enhance healthcare
services for older Ontarians who are at risk of, or expe-
riencing, “responsive” behaviors. (Responsive behav-
iors may include wandering, aggression, resistance, or
many other types of behaviors occurring as a result of
an unmet need or desire that can no longer be com-
municated by the individual, such as pain, confusion
within their environment, or other social triggers.)
