“JUST SAY NO” KIT AVAILABLE FOR LONG-TERM CARE RESIDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

A joint release from the BC Health Coalition and the Seniors' Network BC

[Vancouver] - A “just say no” kit is now available to B.C. seniors facing uncertainty about their future in long-term care facilities.

The kit includes “notice of no consent” forms for long-term care residents and their families that holds Premier Campbell and his long-term care minister to their commitments that no resident will be moved from a long-term care facility without an individual care plan that’s agreed upon by the family.

Developed by the B.C. Health Coalition and the Seniors’ Network BC, the kit also includes a poster that states simply: “I’m not moving. This is my home.”

“Seniors can’t be moved around like luggage,” says Seniors’ Network BC co-chair Joyce Jones. “Every move can be detrimental to their health. And splitting up elderly couples is unconscionable.”

“This government is about to spend millions of taxpayers dollars on a ad campaign to convince us that they have a workable plan for looking after our seniors,” says B.C. Health Coalition spokesperson Colleen Fuller.

“But in communities where seniors have been shown the door it’s becoming increasingly clear that the only plan is to cut costs.”

The no consent form and poster were first used by seniors and their families at Moberly Manor in Revelstoke and Noric House in Vernon to fight Victoria’s new seniors care policy that will result in the closure of at least 3,000 long-term care beds.

The forms and poster are available to be downloaded from the Seniors’ Network BC website under the link for the “Just Say No” campaign at http://www.vcn.bc.ca/srsnetbc/.

-30- Contact: Joyce Jones, 604-987-0168

Just Say No Kit No Consent form No. 1 No Consent form No. 2 My home colour poster My home black and white poster To access these pdf files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader which is available for free from adobe.com