Do you agree that North Hastings urgently needs more Long Term Care / Nursing Home Beds? Please consider this……. There is a two year wait for admission to Hastings Centennial Manor, the 110 bed LTC Home operated by the County of Hastings, which services approximately 13,000 residents of the North Hastings area, a large portion of whom are seniors. Local seniors who can no longer live alone and seniors whose families can no longer provide the necessary health care that may be needed are limited in choices and if beds are available have to move into LTC / Nursing Homes in Picton, Marmora and Tweed. It is very difficult for families to visit our seniors when they are in LTC / Nursing Home which are out of our rural area. There are a number of contributing factors: the travel time of two to four hour return trip; the travel costs for gas or a transport service; and the poor travel weather during the winter months. The seniors who are forced to leave their local rural areas, which can often restricts family visits, can become lonely and depressed which can be harmful to their health. The Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care “Not to be Forgotten”, Care of Vulnerable Canadians states: “If there is a form of “two tiered” health care in Canada it would be the distinction between urban and rural areas in terms of health care delivery. Canada’s health policy has emphasized urban centres, attempting to adopt urban models of health care to rural health care delivery.” Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care released January 2012 wants to provide “The right care, at the right time, in the right place” and “ensure that seniors receive the care they need as close to home as possible.” Is the Provincial government prepared to address our needs for RURAL care to be provided in the North Hastings area?