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Retirement Concepts is committed to transparency. We see no reason why anyone should need to use a Freedom of Information request to get important information about a seniors’ care home.
Over the past year there has been a concerted campaign to discredit Retirement Concepts by publicizing licensing investigations of our seniors’ housing communities alone even though there have been similar investigations at most other seniors’ care providers as well. This has created a completely distorted impression of the level of care at our facilities.
We believe the public deserves a more balanced view. The incidents at our facilities – some of which happened up to five years ago ‑ need to be seen in context. We have over 1,500 staff at 15 seniors’ housing communities across the province looking after over 2,200 residents every day. The number of substantiated incidents investigated by the licensing authorities in any given year is a fraction of a percentage point of the total number of care days provided by our staff.
Caring for elderly residents is extremely challenging, but our staff is committed to providing the best care possible. We know better than anyone that seniors care is a difficult job. Mistakes can and do happen in the private as well as the public systems, not just at our facilities, but across the board. This is inevitable in a system where we have people looking after other people.
But what’s important is to have checks and balances in place to reduce mistakes to an absolute minimum, and also to have procedures to deal with them when they happen. At Retirement Concepts we have both.
The licensing summaries contained in this section are based on information from licensing reports and cover a rolling 12-month period for each of our seniors’ communities in B.C.
To our knowledge, we are the only seniors’ housing company in Canada that provides this information. The current disclosure model used in Ontario gives details of unresolved issues only. We have provided a full list of all alleged contraventions, most of which have been resolved. By doing so, we believe we are now the most transparent seniors’ housing company in the country.
We have been advised that the B.C. Ministry of Health is working towards a provincial model for licensing report disclosure. When this model is developed and available, we anticipate that we will adopt and conform to the new provincial structure. We believe this will provide a more balanced and fair perspective of the seniors’ housing industry in the province and we applaud the Ministry’s initiative.
In the interim, we have worked with the Ministry and the Licensing authorities to ensure that the information we have posted conforms to applicable regulations and does not contravene privacy laws.
It should be noted that legislation governing seniors’ care makes it mandatory for us to report virtually any incident that could have an impact on the health and safety of our residents. These range from procedural oversights such as failing to properly record the dispensing of medicine, to facility maintenance emergencies such as backed up toilets. While residents and family members do sometimes lodge complaints with the licensing authorities, the vast majority of incidents are reported directly by us.
If anyone wants additional information on the reports we have posted below, they are welcome to contact the Retirement Concepts Ombudsman at 604-662-4969 (ext 234) and we will try to help you, or you can contact the Licensing authority.
In addition to the licensing report summaries, we will also be posting any staffing level changes at our facilities on our website so that people can see for themselves what changes we make and not have to rely on politically-biased information from critics with ulterior motives. In the past, we have maintained or increased permanent staffing levels at all our facilities.
Regulatory oversight of seniors’ care facilities in B.C.
The Community Care Facilities Branch is part of the Health Protection Division of the Ministry of Health, and is responsible for the development and implementation of legislation, policy and guidelines to protect the health and safety of people being cared for in licensed facilities in B.C. Licensing Officers working for the Health Protection Division monitor facilities covered by the Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Adult Care Regulations. Assisted Living facilities are monitored by the Assisted Living Registrar. Complaints are reported to these officials, and all complaints are investigated. All facilities are also inspected annually.
Listed below is a summery of the licensing reports indicating whether the issue is active or resolved. Summaries cover a rolling 12-month period. A description of the Adult Care Regulations can be found at http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/reg/C/CommuCareAssisted/536_80.htm
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