Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services. How does moving elders from the Mackenzie Delta communities to Inuvik for long-term care fit with the government’s priority to foster healthy and independent communities?
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu. Members, Mr. Beaulieu has the floor. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The closure of the Joe Greenland building coincides with the government’s plan to provide long-term care where the care can be provided best, where there were services available with doctors and nurses and so on. However, with the closure of the Joe Greenland building, the department has increased their support for elders in the community as well.
Is the Minister willing to at least review the decision to end long-term care at the Joe Greenland Centre and come up with a plan that meets the needs of elders in the delta communities?
The department is always looking at better ways to provide services to the elders in the communities. An example is coinciding with the closure of the Joe Greenland Centre in Fort McPherson, we’ve upgraded the services that are being provided to the elders in – I’m sorry, not Fort McPherson but, rather, Aklavik. We used to do 139 visits annually and we’ve increased those visits to almost 700 visits to the elders and we added a nurse to work with home care and one licensed practical nurse as well.
At this time I have no further questions.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
