What is Long-Term Care?
Long-term care centres provide care for adults experiencing a decrease in autonomy that prevents them from living independently. A long-term care centre generally provides:
- furnished accommodation, assistance, support and/or supervision;
- social and recreational services;
- nursing care; and
- medical, rehabilitation (depending on the needs and capacity of the resident) and drug administration services.
How to access long-term care?
A request for admission to Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Centre, or to another long-term care facility, must be made through the CLSC (or with the hospital if the person is hospitalized); if you are unsure how to contact your CLSC, call 811 and select option 3.
Requests for long-term care are submitted to the Mécanisme d’accès à l’hébergement (MAH) [Access mechanism to housing for adults with a loss of autonomy], a central body responsible for orienting requests for placement.
Once the request has been accepted, the name of the future resident is added to the wait list of a centre of his or her choice. Preferences regarding a permanent long-term care centre are respected, as long as you meet the admission criteria and a bed is available. If your permanent bed is not available, you will most likely be provided a bed on a temporary basis (transit bed) at another site, until a bed becomes available in the long-term care centre of your choice.
How long is the wait?
The waiting period begins once the MAH orients your request. Depending on bed availability, the wait time may to be admitted to a long-term care centre could range from a few days to several months. Many factors can affect the length of the waiting period. To avoid disappointment, it is best not to have any specific expectations about the wait time.
How much does long-term care cost?
As of January 1, 2024, room rates are as follows:
- private room: $ 2,142.30 per month
- semi-private room: $ 1789.80 per month
Room rates are determined on an annual basis by the government and based upon the type of accommodation. Partial or full rate reduction from the maximum fees is available under certain circumstances and is dependent upon the income and/or assets of the resident and their spouse. The Admissions Officer at your long-term care centre will help you to complete the application for a rate reduction request, if needed. In order to ensure the renewal of exonerated room rates, the resident or their legal representative must ensure that income taxes are filed with the government on an annual basis.
In addition to Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Centre, there are six other long-term care sites within the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, each with their own unique history and culture:
