Residential care facilities

Residential care facilities in Canada had a maximum capacity of 188,357 beds in 2001/02, about 74% of the total maximum bed capacity in the health care sector. The remaining 64,681 beds are found in hospitals. These data exclude Quebec due to differences in reporting.

Over the last five years, costs climbed annually by an average of 3.7% in Canada's residential care facilities for the aged. Cost per resident-day in reporting residential care facilities for the aged rose to $115 in 2001/02 from $96 in 1996/97. This climb is mostly attributable to the rising costs in public facilities, which went from $105 per resident-day in 1996/97 to $130 in 2001/02, an average annual increase of 4.4%. Costs in private facilities increased 3.5% annually, from $80 to $95, in the same time frame.

The direct care costs in facilities for the aged accounted for 51% of total expenses in 2001/02, up from 46% in 1991/92. Direct care costs include nursing services, therapeutic services and medications, but exclude meals and administrative expenses.

Occupancy rates at residential care facilities for the aged have been relatively stable over the last ten years, ranging from 97% to 98% of the beds in service. Residential care facilities for the aged represented 77% of the total approved bed complement of all residential care facilities in 2001/02.

The costs per resident-day of other residential care facilities (those for persons with physical disabilities, developmental delays, psychiatric disabilities, alcohol and drug addictions, or for children with emotional disturbances, delinquents, transients, other groups) went from $134 in 1996/97 to $158 in 2001/02, an average annual increase of 3.2%. Direct care costs in these facilities accounted for 69% of total expenses in 2001/02, up from 58% in 1991/92.

The maximum bed capacity of residential care facilities fell 6%, from 201,009 beds in 1991/02 to 188,357 beds in 2001/02. Most of the drop is attributable to the decrease in maximum bed capacity of facilities for the mentally challenged and psychiatrically disabled.

These results are based on data reported by 82% of responding units representing 86% of the maximum capacity of 188,357 beds in all provinces except Quebec. Quebec facilities do not report to the Residential Care Facilities Survey and recent changes in how the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services submits data for the purposes of this survey prevent us from including Quebec data in our analysis at this time.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3210.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Richard Trudeau (613-951-8782) or the Information Requests Unit (613-951-1746), Health Statistics Division.