(Quebec) Faced with the outcry caused by a dizzying increase in rent, which could reach 30 to 50%, the owner of the CHSLD Domaine Saint-Dominique, in Quebec, suspends his decision while finding “a way through” with the CIUSSS of the Capitale-Nationale.
The president of the CHSLD Domaine Saint-Dominique, Patrick Gilbert, confirmed on Friday that he was suspending his decision to increase the rents which he explains because of the new orientations of the Legault government. Mr. Gilbert says he agreed to do so after discussions with the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale and the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS).
La Presse reported on Friday that families of seniors housed in this private CHSLD are “scandalized” by announced rent increases of 30 to 50%, which will make them pay up to $97,000 per year.
“I proposed a moratorium. I don’t want to be in the same place in two or three weeks. I gave them the chance to find a way through,” Mr. Gilbert explained. In return, he hopes to obtain financial support from the public network while the government converts private CHSLDs into approved establishments, that is to say subsidized for their activities.
“My demands from the beginning are that I am ready to operate without profit while we [do the convention project], but I cannot be in the negative. I understand the residents, I saw the same thing on my side. It is not a model that holds. I am not a public institution, I cannot record losses like this indefinitely,” he told La Presse on Friday.
Feedback will be given to families who saw their rates explode on April 1, the date the increases took effect, said Mr. Gilbert. “We are in communication with the families. We are also in contact with the users’ committee,” he added. A total of 64 of the 179 permanent residents (those whose lease is renewed between April 1 and August 1, 2023) were affected by these increases.
According to Mr. Gilbert, obtaining the status of approved establishment “results in a significant increase in the supply of care” which “supposes a significant addition of resources, human and material, throughout the residence”. “And these additions, until our establishment is officially contracted, are not supported or absorbed by the ministry,” he wrote Thursday.
Mr. Gilbert’s explanations “jumped” the Minister for Health and Seniors, Sonia Bélanger. “There is no question that the agreement process will be assumed by the elders,” she assured La Presse on Thursday. The Minister reiterated Friday on Twitter that “the rent increase sent to several residents under the agreement is completely unacceptable! »
To be approved, and therefore subsidized by the State, the establishment must “achieve a certain level of standards” in terms of quality of services, underlines the minister. Quebec can offer support, but there are no amounts allocated to allow them to reach these new standards.
The CHSLD Domaine Saint-Dominique has been facing an average monthly deficit of around $245,000 since October. The establishment has also been under the supervision of the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale since the fall due to “significant and worrying shortcomings relating to the quality of care and services to residents”, underlines the MSSS. Although the “efforts made since [have] made it possible to considerably improve the quality of the living environment”, the guardianship is maintained until September 2023.
According to the latest Girard budget, Quebec is giving itself five years to contract the quarantine of private CHSLDs with the aim of “harmonizing the care offer” between the public and the private sector. The pandemic has revealed disparities between the two categories of establishments. The Legault government would have “significant progress” in the agreement of 16 CHSLDs, it is indicated in the budget document.
