New online portal lets families search assisted living vacancies in Alberta
CBC
The Alberta government launched a new online portal for families to see vacant assisted living spots in their community, something Premier Danielle Smith compared to websites that show a full range of available vacation bookings or rental properties.
Families can access the Assisted Living Navigation Portal to search an interactive map for nearby options. The portal also shows the number of potential vacancies at that facility, costs, and what amenities and services are provided.
Albertans can also fill out a questionnaire to be matched with suggested spaces that could meet their needs.
Smith said the first step was to determine how many of the province’s 30,000 spaces were being used at any given time, similar to how the government tracks the bed count for homeless shelters and rental openings.
“Why couldn't we do that for something as important as the final home for our seniors, and we're managing 30,000 spaces. It made no sense,” she said Wednesday.
Unlike some of those other sites, bookings are not currently available directly through the portal, although Seniors, Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon said that will become an option in the future.
For now, people will need to call 811 or their local Continuing Care Access Centre to apply.
The portal will also eventually be updated to display home and community care provider options.
The Alberta government says the province is currently home to about 865,000 seniors, with that number expected to break one million by 2035.
CBC News recently reported on a family frustrated by the Alternative Level of Care Accommodation Charge of about $70 daily as they wait for a spot in a supportive living facility for their 92-year-old father.
Nixon said while the portal would not help with that particular complaint, the government is taking other steps to move patients out of hospital and into appropriate care facilities.
"In the last five months, through dedicated efforts, we've been able to reduce the number of Albertans who no longer require acute care in Alberta’s 16 largest hospitals by more than 30 per cent," Nixon said.
Smith said there are 3,700 more continuing care spaces set to be added to the province's inventory in the near future, thanks to construction, renovation and a $400 million investment announced in December to build more capacity.
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