AUPE Cochrane rally to target senior care cuts

The Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) is holding a rally Saturday, May 4, with the aim of drawhing attention to "debilitating" cuts to seniors care funding in the province.
The rally will take place at Bethany Care Society's Cochrane centre, 302 Quigley Drive, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"Bethany Care Society is only one of the providers that has been forced to reduce staffing – both in terms of hours and actual employees – because of the cuts to seniors care funding in Alberta," said AUPE vice-president Susan Slade.
"In a province with an economy that's the envy of most of North America, it's baffling that our seniors, who have worked all their lives to make Alberta the success it is now, are bearing the brunt of this government's poor decision making."
According to the AUPE, funding reductions to seniors care providers like Bethany are a result of Alberta Health Services' new "Patient Care-Based Funding" model, said to be reducing patient care levels in non-profit and publicly operated seniors care facilities throughout the province.
"AHS says they are just reducing money to overfunded seniors homes, but despite what AHS says, our seniors care system is not overfunded," said Slade. "In fact, I think most people who have experienced the system would say that it is underfunded."
The union states that Bethany Care Society has encouraged families to hold their local MLAs accountable for the funding cuts and it is encouraging its members to do the same.