News and Media Releases
McCormick Home Statement on Ministry Air Conditioning Compliance Order
Our residents’ quality of life is our top priority, and we work diligently every day to ensure their comfort, safety and wellbeing. We provide cooled air to our residents’ rooms using a tempered air system with enhanced cooling, which enables us to remain within the ministry’s temperature guidelines. We have been working with the Ministry of Long-Term Care and Infrastructure Ontario since April 2021 to review the question of our current air cooling system’s compliance with the ministry’s definition of air conditioning under the Fixing Long-Term Care Homes Act 2021, which came into effect on April 11, 2022. On August 19, 2022, McCormick Home received a compliance order from the Ministry of Long-Term Care relating to their decision. The board of the McCormick Care Group, which owns and operates McCormick Home, is currently reviewing its options on how best to respond to this order. Further information will be provided once this decision has been made.
Caregiving doesn’t necessarily stop when your spouse goes to live in a long-term care home. It just looks a little different, according to Joanne Nancekivell, a social worker at McCormick Home. She leads a support group for people whose spouses live in long-term care homes in London, Ontario.
It seems counterintuitive that the use of a mobility aid, such as a cane or a walker, can actually increase the risk of falls in older adults. Yet in individuals with dementia, that’s exactly the case. In fact, people with dementia are three times more likely to suffer a fall when using a mobility aid versus not using one at all.
