Across Canada there is a new and growing form of marriage breakup.
It’s not your average trial separation,
It’s not your average dissolution of marriage by divorce,
It’s of elderly couples being challenged, stressed, and being forced to separate from each other because of how our long-term health care facilities have limited and restricted availability.
Because the baby boomer generation has added a substantial number of health challenged elderly to our heath care system, which has not grown and developed fast enough, it is now causing an unprecedented concern for splitting up, long-term married elderly couples.
One might say that this is no big deal.
The healthier spouse can just go and visit the unhealthy one in their care facility.
But the fact is, some of the unhealthy spouses are being relocated to a different town or city because there is no current availability in their own community.
These couples have been married and lived together most of their lives, some for more than 60 years.
This kind of forced separation is unconscionable.
The Provincial and Federal governments have not been keeping pace with the funding for long-term care for the aging population.
It has been reported that in Ontario there are over 36,000 elderly on a wait-list to get into the proper long-term care facility.
Also, the individual costs associated with a spouse trying to stay united and supportive, in these health challenged times, is another factor that financially limits the separated couples’ companionship.
It’s not cheap to use a taxi to visit your spouse on a long-term basis.
It’s not cheap to drive hundreds of kilometers, then get a motel, then feed yourself, and to bring treats and snacks to your spouse, on a long-term basis.
You can only imagine the stress and despair if the healthy spouse does not drive or have access through a friend or relative to get to the care facility for visitation.
These couples have always had a strong bond with each other and deserve that same right until they both pass away.
Why should their lives end in despair, depression, and financial stress?
More action and funding are required to address the long-term health care requirements for our aging population, across Canada.
Doing a Google search, I can find information, mostly for Ontario and British Columbia, that has identified the problem of preparing for the future demands for long-term care for the elderly.
I’m quite sure that the other provinces also recognize the same problems and I hope we start hearing more from them on how they are moving forward with addressing and resolving the elderly health challenges.
Unfortunately, attempts to secure government funding and to increase the training and numbers to staff the facilities are not keeping pace with the yearly increases for demand.
There are many community and corporate advocates across Canada, but there doesn’t seem to be any serious priority within Provincial or Federal Governments to address this problem.
So, what can we do?
Well, whenever we here of a couple going through stressful times, due to long-term care and health challenges, then we need to tell their story to everyone involved with the healthcare, the media, and the seniors’ departments within the Provincial and Federal Governments.
Our voices need to be heard, and acknowledged, and acted on.
