Page 16 - Newcom

holistic planning
It’s unusual for a source to cry during an
Advisor’s Edge interview. Then again, these are unusual times. And when the interview is about long- term care (LTC) for seniors in the age of Covid-19, shedding a few tears seems like a logical response. Of the more than 14,000 Canadian deaths attributed to the pandemic (as of early January), a heartbreaking 73% were in long-term care and retirement homes.
For Karen Henderson, a specialist in aging and LTC planning, the numbers — and the attitudes and
circumstances that led to them — are unconscion- able. “Ageism has always been around, and it has really reared its ugly head because of Covid-19,” she said, her voice breaking. “People are dying, alone, of starvation, and it’s because we’ve neglected them. It’s unfair. It’s wrong. But it’s happening.”
Deficits in long-term care are nothing new: prov- inces have long struggled with shortages of beds and staff. But the pandemic’s toll, and the sight of the Canadian Armed Forces intervening in long-term care
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FEBRUARY 2021
Long-term care in the age of Covid, and beyond
The pandemic has made clients think about care options for themselves and their parents
by Susan Goldberg
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM / FG TRADE