"Ontario legislation that mandated air conditioning in all resident rooms in long-term care (LTC) homes has saved dozens of lives, according to a new study. "Air conditioning is no longer a luxury. It is actually an essential health need," said lead author Nathan Stall, the geriatrics lead at Sinai Health, whose study was published this week in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The two year study looked at 73,578 resident deaths in Ontario between 2010 and 2023."
"It found residents in nursing homes without air conditioning in their rooms had an eight per cent higher chance of dying in extreme heat days compared with residents of homes with air conditioning, especially as as extreme heat poses a serious health risk to older adults. Using data collected from those 13 years, researchers conducted a simulation that found the policy change averted 33 resident deaths between 2020 and 2023."
"The number of observed deaths in that time period was 308 while the simulated deaths in cases where air conditioning was not installed was 341. In 2021, the province mandated all LTC resident rooms have air conditioning installed by June 2022. Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised the change during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, after CBC News pressed him about reported sweltering conditions in LTC rooms."
Analysis of 73,578 resident deaths in Ontario between 2010 and 2023 found residents in nursing homes without in-room air conditioning had an eight percent higher chance of dying on extreme heat days compared with residents in homes with air conditioning. A simulation using those data estimated the policy mandating in-room air conditioning averted 33 resident deaths between 2020 and 2023 (308 observed vs 341 simulated without AC). Ontario mandated installation by June 2022 and requires AC operation when outside temperatures reach 26 C or higher; two homes remain exempt due to redevelopment.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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