On April 11th, 2023, at its Regular Council Meeting, the City of Stratford received my delegation entitled,
A Citizen’s Voice For Long Term Care In Stratford. Two recommendations were contained in my presentation:
1.) That the City advocate with the Ministry of Long Term Care to redirect current ministry Beds in Abeyance funding from peopleCare Stratford Inc. towards enhanced community driven home care services for Stratford. The current agreement was extended to April 18, 2023…next Tuesday.
2.) That the City of Stratford consider a home care hub as part of the Grand Trunk development.
During a subsequent agenda item Huron Perth Health Alliance CEO, Andrew Williams stated HPHA’s support for the above presentation and recommendations. The City Council passed the following motion.
Motion by Councillor Burbach
Seconded by Councillor Hunter
That staff be requested to send a letter to the provincial government to endorse the redirect of current ministry beds in abeyance funding towards support of community care services.
Later in the Council’s meeting, under New Business
13.1 Homecare Hub
In follow-up to Mr. Brown’s delegation, a member questioned whether it would be appropriate to have staff investigate a homecare hub on the Grand Trunk site or whether it should wait until the correspondence is sent. Another member suggested the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) begin engaging with other communities to form a coalition. The Mayor noted the resolution previously adopted could be circulated for enforcement by other municipalities. The CAO advised staff would review past practices and could leverage the Association for Municipalities Ontario for support.
On the following Saturday April 15th, the front page headline of the Stratford Beacon Herald read,
“Stratford to lead push for more home-care funding from the province”
… accompanied by impressive coverage of the Stratford City Council’s meeting.