Public demand led to improvements in long-term care homes

So, what accounts for this metamorphosis? According to Pat Ordowich, administrator of The WillowGrove in Ancaster, it is public demand. Simply put, she says, people have demanded that things improve.

Pat, who has worked in long-term care for 31 years, remembers the homes of days-past – and not exactly with fondness.

“I remember my husband saying they were like mini-hospitals, and he was right.” They had a cold, institutional atmosphere, she says.

She recalls they were dark, with concrete walls, drab furniture, dull colours, few pictures, and harsh hospital lighting. They were noisy, with narrow hallways and no carpeting.

She also remembers the chaos of activity times. The hallway in front of the elevator would be absolutely congested with residents, many in wheelchairs, who were waiting to get down to the activity.

As Pat explains, back then, most homes only had one elevator, and most activities took place in only one location.

“Sometimes, by the time all the residents made it to the activity room, the activity would be over,” she said. “Or, they’d have to get there extra-early and wait and wait for the activity to start. And then they’d have to go through the whole thing again to get back up to their rooms. It was ridiculous.”

It was no secret that long-term care homes were not cozy, comforting, or home-like – but not much was done to change them, until the baby boomers began to sit up and take notice.

According to Pat, as baby boomers began helping their parents move into long-term care, they began thinking longer and harder about what their parents were experiencing – and, what they too would ultimately experience when their time came to enter long-term care.

They didn’t like what they saw, so they made their opinions known. And, slowly but surely, long-term care began to change for the better.

“I think we’ve always wanted it (improvements in long-term care homes), but it wasn’t until the baby boomers began aging that things started changing,” says Pat. “We (baby boomers) are thinking about how we want long-term care to be, so we are the ones advocating for those changes. And, older adults don’t always have a strong voice, so we are advocating for them.”

Also, adds Pat, people today are better educated, which has resulted in the realization that “the way things were was not acceptable.”

The positive changes in long-term care homes have ultimately led to happier residents, families and staff, she notes.

“When your home is nice, you take pride in it and you want to be a part of it. You want to share it with others,” says Pat.