On April 30, 2021, Ontario's Long-Term Care (LTC) COVID-19 Commission released its final report with 84 recommendations for change in a sector that has found itself grappling with challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. The commission, announced on May 19, 2020 by Merrilee Fullerton, then Minister of Long-Term Care, was led by former Associate Chief Justice Frank Marrocco and co-commissioners Angela Coke, a former senior executive of the Ontario Public Service and Dr. Jack Kitts, former president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital. Their mandate was to investigate how and why COVID-19 spread in LTC homes, what was done to prevent the spread, and the impact of key elements of the existing system on the spread. 

RNAO applauded the commission’s recommendations, noting they address the systemic issues on which the association has raised red flags for more than two decades. These include, but are not limited to: the severe, chronic underfunding of the sector; an inadequate skill mix with insufficient regulated staff; and infection prevention and control (IPAC) deficiencies due to lack of dedicated staff to lead IPAC. The recommendations also address the need to never again separate residents from their loved ones, an issue RNAO advocated for in its reuniting LTC residents and their loved ones initiative in July 2020.

RNJ is proud to bring readers this candid discussion with Justice Marrocco.

• Read RNAO's full response to the report. 

• You can also read RNAO's response to the LTC staffing study report, released by the provincial government in July 2020.