Eatonia Oasis Living Inc., a care home located in Eatonia, has established a new pilot project to help provide financial support to current and future residents of the facility as a way to make it more affordable.
Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
The new Resident Support Program is a pilot project being implemented by Eatonia Oasis Living to help make the care home more affordable for area residents.
Eatonia Oasis Living Inc., a privately-operated non-profit care home, has been struggling to keep its beds full in recent years and the organization has established a pilot project to help remove the barrier of cost for potential residents from the west central region.
The Resident Support Program was launched on Sept. 1 and the home’s board of directors plans to review the program after its first year of operation. The program was developed to help reduce the income barrier as a way to ensure the facility remains a viable option for people and to increase occupancy levels at the home.
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Eatonia Oasis Living celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier in 2018. The facility used to be the community’s health centre before it was taken over as a non-profit entity in February 1998. The home has 24 rooms for residents.
The care home employs continuing care aides among its 24 staff members and the goal is to fill a void for people who cannot, or no longer want to, manage their home and people who have various care needs, but who do not qualify for long-term care residency in government-run facilities.
As per the pilot project, the number of “supported” residents is at the discretion of the care home’s board and the maximum monthly subsidy under the program is $1,000 as outlined in a brochure about the initiative.
Applicants to the Resident Support Program must meet a set of criteria such as having an annual income of less than $35,000. Applicants must also apply for the provincial Personal Care Home Benefit if their monthly income is below what is set by the Ministry of Social Services.
Cora Knuttila, care home administrator, said the home currently has 16 residents and the Resident Support Program has supported two residents over its first three months. One resident was an existing resident of the home.
The organization wanted the program to apply to the home’s current residents in addition to potential residents. Existing residents received letters before the program was launched to make them aware of the support. Since its launch, a new resident has also been approved.
“That’s kind of nice that it’s helping a current resident, plus, it brought in a new resident,” Knuttila said, recognizing the program was opened to current residents in fairness even though the main goal is to attract new residents.
The care home is an important facility for the community in other ways. The Saskatchewan Health Authority rents space in the facility and residents are able to access medical services such as getting blood drawn for analysis. Physicians from Leader also see patients at the home.
Knuttila said money from the health authority goes straight to operations. The facility also receives annual operating grants from municipalities in the area. She said the funding from municipalities just helps to pay the bills.
She noted that the facility is smaller and more intimate than other long-term care facilities, but residents basically get the same level of care. Knuttila said if the facility has too many residents in need of the Level 3 to 4 care, they have to be moved to a long-term care centre.
The administrator said one barrier is the location of the facility because not everyone welcomes the kind of rural living in a place the size of Eatonia, but cost has been a barrier to potential residents. The home is good for people who want to continue living in a small town, but with lower levels of medical needs.
Knuttila said a perfect scenario is to fill the rooms with people who do not require Level 3 or 4 care. She said the home operates with only the staff it needs and it is not set up to handle several people needing more care.
She noted that the organization just wants people to be aware of the Resident Support Program if cost is the only thing keeping them from becoming residents. The RM of Chesterfield is providing funds as part of the pilot project, but Knuttila has to look for funds to sustain the program.
“My goal is to be able to get different organizations or individuals to support the program,” she said, adding that she has been reaching out to potential funding sources and the hope will be to secure multi-year commitments.
Gail Morgan, current chairperson for the home’s board, said she has been a board member for about six years. The RM of Chesterfield has two member on the home’s board including Karrie Derouin, the reeve of Chesterfield, and Morgan said the program was initially Derouin’s idea.
The chairperson said the reeve suggested the idea and it became an ongoing topic of discussion for the board. The board was very skeptical of the idea, but members continued to discuss the option and they decided to give it a shot, she noted.
In total, it took about three months of discussions to plan and refine the idea, Morgan said. The pilot project is running and, aside from other barriers such as people living in their homes longer these days, the board hope people take advantage of the program.
“Our biggest challenge is attracting residents and keeping the business running,” she said, adding that the board has to do its best to manage available funding and the organization is fortunate to have an understanding staff.
Derouin, the reeve, said the program aims to prevent losing current or future residents because they cannot afford to live at the facility and the cost has prevented people from living there in the past. The facility is important to the community and surrounding area due to the health services that are provided there, so it made sense for Chesterfield to support the pilot, the reeve added.
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