TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO:
WHEREAS the province of Ontario requires a minimum but no maximum temperature in long-term-care homes;
WHEREAS temperatures that are too hot can cause emotional and physical distress that may contribute to a decline in a frail senior’s health;
WHEREAS front-line staff in long-term-care homes also suffer when trying to provide care under these conditions with headaches, tiredness, signs of hyperthermia, which directly impacts resident/patient care;
WHEREAS Ontario’s bill of rights for residents of Ontario nursing homes states ‘every resident has the right to be properly sheltered ... in a manner consistent with his or her needs’;
THEREFORE WE, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:
Direct the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations amending O. Reg. 79/10 in the Long-Term Care Homes Act to establish a maximum temperature in Ontario’s long-term-care homes.”