By Mary Polak & Lisa Dawson
As British Columbians decorate their homes for the holiday season and look forward to gathering with friends and family, many long-term care residents are facing a quieter, more isolated holiday season.
Due to recent funding cuts, many long-term care operators are concerned they will be unable to schedule the staff needed to support celebrations and holiday meals. These are the very experiences that transform a care facility into a home.
The removal of funding for overtime and agency staffing at more than 300 long-term care and assisted living homes across the province is forcing operators to divert staff from non-essential activities to fill gaps in hands-on care.
Workforce shortages have long been a challenge in the health sector. The onset of the COVID pandemic compounded the problem, making it difficult to find permanent full-time staff. Despite the end of the pandemic, the shortage of health-care workers remains.
Hospitals and other government-owned facilities rely on the use of overtime and agency workers paid for through their general budget. Government-funded long-term care and assisted living providers were funded for the same additional staffing through a targeted payment envelope that the province has decided to eliminate. The loss of this funding leaves providers unable to afford the additional costs for overtime and agency workers while still unable to find permanent full-time staff.
Without the necessary staff to provide safe care, admissions will slow, and hundreds of beds are at risk of closure. Ironically, the money the province intends to save, about $35 million, will be quickly eclipsed by the cost of increasing numbers of seniors consigned to more expensive emergency rooms or other acute care beds while they wait to find an appropriate home.
Recent news reports highlight the unintended consequences already being experienced in daily operations. Some residents are missing showers, more seniors are being served meals in their rooms rather than in the dining room, and programs that bring joy and connection are being reduced or cancelled.
This decision is particularly damaging during the holiday season, when care homes already struggle to maintain adequate staffing levels due to vacation time and the prevalence of respiratory illness. Historically, overtime and agency staffing have been essential tools, especially in rural and remote communities, to ensure uninterrupted care for seniors despite these seasonal pressures.
Daily programs such as celebrations, music therapy, arts and crafts, and themed dinners reduce social isolation, build community, and support emotional and cognitive well-being. During the holidays, these experiences hold even greater meaning.
Family councils hear this every day through feedback from residents and caregivers about meals, dining, and recreation. They remind us that quality of life is built on these everyday connections, not just clinical outcomes. Recreation is one of the most cost-effective tools available for improving quality of life. It requires neither new buildings nor expensive equipment, relying instead on people. However, current policies make it challenging to schedule, fund and retain adequate staff.
If we are committed to providing seniors with the dignity, comfort, and joy they deserve, then recreational programming and traditional holiday celebrations must be designated as essential services, not treated as luxuries.
As policymakers continue to refine staffing and funding models, it is crucial that they listen to those closest to the work: residents, recreation professionals, care home operators, frontline staff, and family councils.
They see the daily realities and the moments of joy lost when resources are stretched too thin. Seniors are not simply losing services, they are missing out on connection, purpose, and the traditions that make life meaningful.
We must ensure long-term care homes have the staffing, funding, and support to deliver joy not only during the holidays, but every day of the year.
Mary Polak is CEO of the B.C. Care Providers Association. Lisa Dawson is president of the Independent Long-Term Care Councils Association B.C.
This Op-Ed was published by the BC Care Providers Association and the Vancouver Sun.
BCCPA: Opinion: The cost of cutting care — Seniors deserve joy, not isolation, at Christmas
Vancouver SUN: Opinion: The cost of cutting care: Seniors deserve joy, not isolation, at Christmas
