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Nearly 100 of Ontario’s embattled care homes are run by third-party operators. Analysis by The Local has found that death rates at facilities outsourced to Extendicare, the largest operator in Ontario, are 81 percent higher than the industry average. https://thelocal.to/whos-actually-running-ontarios-long-term-care-homes/
While much has been written about the disparity between private and public homes, the role of outsourcing has mostly gone unexamined—in part because the management structure at these homes isn’t transparent, even to the family of residents. https://thelocal.to/whos-actually-running-ontarios-long-term-care-homes/
The Local’s investigation, by @royinori and @taimhuynh, reveals that as of January 12, there have been at least 506 COVID-19 deaths in the 96 outsourced homes in Ontario. That’s a rate 34 percent higher than homes that have not been outsourced. https://thelocal.to/whos-actually-running-ontarios-long-term-care-homes/
Extendicare Assist is the province’s largest outsourcing operation by far, with almost half of all of Ontario’s outsourced facilities. It also has the highest mortality rate: 6.7 deaths per 100 beds, as opposed to the provincial average of 3.69. https://thelocal.to/whos-actually-running-ontarios-long-term-care-homes/
The two homes in Ontario that have seen the most deaths from COVID-19 were both managed by Extendicare Assist—Tendercare, with 73 deaths, and Orchard Villa, with 70 deaths. https://thelocal.to/whos-actually-running-ontarios-long-term-care-homes/
Residents’ family members say the use of third-party operators needs to be more transparent. “Why isn't this plastered on their door and forced on their website? says James Ha, the son of a Tendercare resident. https://thelocal.to/whos-actually-running-ontarios-long-term-care-homes/
Extendicare has been named in a number of class-action lawsuits since the pandemic began. It has also paid $29 million in dividends to its investors. https://thelocal.to/whos-actually-running-ontarios-long-term-care-homes/
The Local’s reporting shows that outsourcing blurs the lines separating for-profit, non-profit and municipal homes. It’s not enough to ask who owns the homes; it’s also a question of who operates them. https://thelocal.to/whos-actually-running-ontarios-long-term-care-homes/
