Ontario Retirement Homes Act – Implications for Your Business
With the passage of the Retirement Homes Act, seniors in Ontario living in retirement homes will be protected for the first time under provincial legislation. The goal of the Retirement Homes Act is to increase the quality of life for seniors in retirement homes – obviously a worthwhile objective.
However, for many retirement communities, the Act will force significant changes in process, procedure, documentation and reporting requirements. While 80% of the Act covers procedures and processes that most well-operated homes already address, additional documentation and audit requirements have the potential to add increased costs and administrative burden to the operation of a retirement community.
For example, retirement homes will need to redefine many of their current procedures to ensure that they accommodate the requirements of the new Act. Many existing hard copy reports and computer printouts will have to be redesigned and possibly reworked to match the requirements of the Act. The Act also mandates that specific new documentation be maintained and stored at the community level, and be accessible whenever homes are called upon by certified inspectors. Like any significant change to existing operating processes, this change, if not managed appropriately, carries with it the risk of placing additional pressure and administrative workload on the important caregivers in your retirement home or senior care community.
The good news is that the Ontario Retirement Communities Association (ORCA) has been well ahead of this legislation, working with its members to prepare them for this change. An excellent source of information on these new reports and processes will be available in the upcoming ORCA Tool Kit.
In the coming months we will examine in greater detail the implications of the Ontario Retirement Homes Act on your business. We will also review how technology solutions can help you maintain compliance with the Act. Specifically, we will address the extensive reporting requirements now demanded by the Act and discuss how technology and systems can improve reporting efficiency and ease the transition.
Quick Links
Our Website:www.RetirementHomeSoftware.com
Ontario Retirement Homes Act – Bill 21
Ontario Retirement Home Market Analysis
Ontario Retirement Home Market Analysis – Supplementary Charts
Ontario Retirement Communities Association
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