National Institute on Ageing
DONATE JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
ABOUT US Our Team Fellows Advisory Board Partners Contact
Reports Ageing in the Right Place Ageing Beyond Borders Decade of Healthy Ageing Resources National Seniors Strategy Pension Centre of Excellence Centre d’excellence des pensions Slaight Foundation Partners
Media Releases & Announcements Commentary Newsletters The NIA & Toronto Star's Third Act Featured News
Upcoming Events Past Events
Current Openings Canadian Leadership in Ageing Awards Journalism in Ageing Fellowships Journalism in Ageing Project
ABOUT NIA ABOUT US Our Team Fellows Advisory Board Partners Contact OUR WORK Reports Ageing in the Right Place Ageing Beyond Borders Decade of Healthy Ageing Resources National Seniors Strategy Pension Centre of Excellence Centre d’excellence des pensions Slaight Foundation Partners News Media Releases & Announcements Commentary Newsletters The NIA & Toronto Star's Third Act Featured News EVENTS Upcoming Events Past Events
National Institute on Ageing
Opportunities Current Openings Canadian Leadership in Ageing Awards Journalism in Ageing Fellowships Journalism in Ageing Project DONATEJOIN OUR MAILING LIST
Scroll
 
Winter 2020
Spring 2020
Summer 2020
Fall / Winter 2020

 

Featured
August 24, 2020 – The Globe and Mail
August 24, 2020 – The Globe and Mail

COVID-19 layoffs have workers wondering: Should I take a lump sum now or a future pension later?

By: Doug Chandler and Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald

Defined benefit pension plan members facing pandemic-related permanent layoffs will have to make an important financial decision: take the lump sum now or the future pension later. Canadian pension plans must give terminating employees who are not eligible to start drawing their pensions yet the option of portability. That means giving up their lifetime monthly retirement pension for a lump sum settlement, known as the commuted value.

Learn More>

August 21, 2020 – Zoomer
August 21, 2020 – Zoomer

Canada’s Hidden Shame: How COVID-19 Exposed Years of Systemic Neglect in Long-Term Care

By: Alex Roslin

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research and Co-Chair of the NIA, said they include more widespread COVID-19 testing in homes, staff wearing masks around all residents, curbing non-essential visits and barring employees from working at more than one home. In his role as co-chair of Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing and an adviser on seniors to federal and provincial authorities, he has been pleading for these four protective measures since late March.

Learn More>

August 20, 2020 – Global News
August 20, 2020 – Global News

Rally calls for easing of strict visitor rules at Nova Scotia long-term care homes

By: Jesse Thomas

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research and Co-Chair of the NIA in Toronto, says protecting patients and allowing them the freedom to see their family is a fine balance. Sinha says the pandemic has revealed just how integral the role of a family caregiver is inside a long-term care home. “I think now we started realizing very quickly on, as we locked these homes down, that my goodness, we might have lost 50 per cent of the care that was actually occurring in these homes on an unpaid basis by family caregivers and friends,” said Sinha.

Learn More>

August 19, 2020 – The Chronicle Herald
August 19, 2020 – The Chronicle Herald

Expert blasts N.S. for withholding COVID-19 long term care data

By: Andrew Rankin

“If Nova Scotia is not willing to be transparent about their data then I ask the questions - what are you hiding and why are you hiding it?" said Dr. Samir Sinha, director of health policy research and co-chair of the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) at Ryerson University in Toronto.

Learn More>

August 19, 2020 – Toronto Life
August 19, 2020 – Toronto Life

The post-pandemic future: We will stop warehousing older people in care homes

By: Dr. Samir Sinha

In a country of 84,000 doctors, I’m one of only 304 geriatricians. Canada is not prepared to meet the needs of an aging population, and this is clear when we look at the physical set-up of our long-term care homes. Covid provides an opportunity to reimagine how we look after our aging population.

LEARN MORE >

August 13, 2020 – Huff Post Canada
August 13, 2020 – Huff Post Canada

Ontario Families Fight For More Long-Term Care Visits Before 2nd Wave Hits

By: Sherina Harris

Now is the right time to allow families to visit loved ones in long-term care homes, said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research and Co-Chair of the NIA. Although it had some promising signs, Ontario’s most recent guidance on visiting policies doesn’t go far.enough to find a balance between the risks the virus poses and the benefits of family visits, Sinha said.

LEARN MORE >

August 11, 2020 – The Globe and Mail
August 11, 2020 – The Globe and Mail

More than 1,000 long-term care residents died of COVID-19 in older, multibed homes, analysis shows

By: Karen Howlett

During the pandemic, physical distancing kept the coronavirus in check for the most part in the community. But Ontario’s emergency plan did not include measures to reduce crowding in nursing homes. Once the virus found its way into older homes, it was impossible for residents sleeping in ward rooms separated by nothing but a cloth curtain to practise distancing, leaving them acutely susceptible to becoming ill. “They would have known beforehand that four-bed rooms are a bad idea,” said Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA in Toronto. “It was almost as if the house was lit on fire, we locked the door and told them to fend for themselves.”

LEARN MORE >

August 6, 2020 - The Globe and Mail
August 6, 2020 - The Globe and Mail

One in nine newly admitted long-term care residents could be cared for at home, report says

By: Jill Mahoney

Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA in Toronto, said even modest investments in the home care system would divert a substantial number of seniors from more expensive nursing home beds. “The return on investment is obvious and profound when it comes to investing in home care and being able to avoid the need for long-term care,” he said.

LEARN MORE >

July 30, 2020 – Wealth Professional
July 30, 2020 – Wealth Professional

Should more Canadians put off taking CPP payments?

By Leo Almazora

Prepared by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and the Society of Actuaries, the report titled The CPP Take-Up Decision focused on workers retiring at age 65 with plans to use some portion of their RRSP or RRIF savings to augment their retirement consumption. It relied on an analytical framework that compares two financial strategy options which differ only in the timing of the choice to take CPP.

LEARN MORE >

July 30, 2020 – Benefits Canada
July 30, 2020 – Benefits Canada

New report highlights financial considerations of delaying CPP payments

A retiree faces a 50 per cent probability of receiving more income by delaying Canada Pension Plan payments, according to a new report by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

The report, authored by Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, director of financial security research at Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing, investigated the financial considerations of delaying CPP payments and looked at the risks and opportunities associated with the delay.

LEARN MORE >

July 29, 2020 – Investment Executive
July 29, 2020 – Investment Executive

Most clients should wait to claim CPP payments: report

By: Michelle Schriver

Should your client delay claiming their Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payments? A new report commissioned by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and the Society of Actuaries provides insight to help answer that question.

The CPP Take-Up Decision investigated the financial consequences of delaying CPP payments for five years by looking at workers retiring at age 65 who had sufficient savings to begin drawing CPP pension income at age 70 instead.

LEARN MORE >

July 29, 2020 – The Globe and Mail
July 29, 2020 – The Globe and Mail

Here’s a way Canadians with RRSP savings can get the most out of their CPP benefits

By: Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald

Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, PhD FSA FCIA, is the director of financial security research at the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) at Ryerson University, writes about Canadians with RRSP savings should use some of those savings as an income bridge to delay Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits.

LEARN MORE >

July 28, 2020 – The World
July 28, 2020 – The World

Isolation may be a greater risk than COVID-19 for residents of Canada's nursing homes

By: Anita Elash

Nursing homes across Canada have recently started to open their doors to family visits. Experts are starting to lobby governments to expedite these reopenings. Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA in Toronto, supported the initial lockdown. He saw a few weeks of lockdown as “a necessary evil,” reasoning that “it’s not going to be great but [that] we have to weigh risks and benefits.”

LEARN MORE >

July 27, 2020 – Toronto Star
July 27, 2020 – Toronto Star

Bill loved to walk, but the COVID pandemic curbed his movement and his spirit

By: Moira Welsh

It’s not unexpected that an older person forced to stay immobile would develop a blood clot, said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA. “One of the common things we see is increased blood clots. People on long-haul flights who are not getting up and walking around are much more likely to get a blood clot,” Sinha said.

LEARN MORE >

July 22, 2020 – Tri City News
July 22, 2020 – Tri City News

Special report: Protecting seniors’ homes from the pandemic's next wave

By: Stéfan Labbe

These are often the frailest of Canadians, caught in a system experts say has long been neglected, where unregulated government transfers make up only two-thirds of the OECD average and often fail to ensure adequate care. “We failed long-term care in Canada,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA.

LEARN MORE >

July 24, 2020 – Commons Pandemic podcast
July 24, 2020 – Commons Pandemic podcast

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, joins Commons Pandemic podcast. Four months after the first outbreak in a Canadian nursing home, over 7000 long-term residents have died of COVID-19. But if you look at the news or social media or our political debates, it seems like we’ve already moved on.

LEARN MORE >

July 23, 2020 – Toronto Star
July 23, 2020 – Toronto Star

‘I can’t go and touch her.’ Long-term-care homes finally open their doors to visitors, but distancing in many remains

By: Moira Welsh

Seniors’ advocates, like Dr. Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the National Institute of Ageing, say socially distanced visits are not enough to help residents who are suffering without the family or friends who previously helped with daily feeding, bathing and important emotional connections. Without the people they rely on, some residents have given up and lost the ability to walk or talk.

LEARN MORE >

July 22, 2020 – CBC News
July 22, 2020 – CBC News

More COVID-19 deaths at for-profit nursing homes in Ontario, study finds

By: Colin Perkel

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, not involved in the study, said 30,000 long-term care beds in Ontario are in dire need of upgrades. "Many of these older multi-bedded homes happen to be owned by for-profits," Sinha said. "The study really speaks to the need to redevelop that." The government of Premier Doug Ford initially promised to build 15,000 beds in five years and redevelop another 15,000, Sinha said.

LEARN MORE >

July 22, 2020 – CJAD 800 AM
July 22, 2020 – CJAD 800 AM

Ken Connors in for Aaron Rand with Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Director of Financial Security Research at the National Institute on Ageing at Ryerson University in Toronto. To discuss why only 1 per cent of Canadians delay their pension.

LEARN MORE >

CTV News – July 17, 2020
CTV News – July 17, 2020

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, spoke to CTV News about Ontario’s improved visitor policies for long-term care homes. “This is a welcome advancement but we’re still finding challenges, when homes are actually the ones in charge of organizing the visits.”

LEARN MORE >

Toronto Star – July 15, 2020
Toronto Star – July 15, 2020

Ontario OKs indoor visits to long-term-care homes

By: Moira Welsh

The government’s announcement comes as the National Institute on Ageing, based at Ryerson University, released recommendations to guide provinces on the safe return of family visits to long-term-care homes. Written by two geriatricians (Dr. Nathan Stall and Dr. Samir Sinha), and two infectious-disease specialists, (Dr. Jennie Johnstone and Dr. Allison McGeer), the paper, called Finding the Right Balance, makes a series of “evidence-based” recommendations.

LEARN MORE >

CBC News – July 11, 2020
CBC News – July 11, 2020

It's time to let family caregivers back into Ontario nursing homes, medical officer says

By: Ellen Mauro

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, said the province's current rules are too restrictive, even damaging. "They're missing the point," Sinha said. "I think a lot of people are going to die of loneliness and isolation and the fact that they're not getting care at levels of what their families were providing before ... if we keep putting these restrictions up."

LEARN MORE >

CBC The National – July 8, 2020
CBC The National – July 8, 2020

Parts of central Canada are in the midst of an early summer heat wave, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made cooling off a lot more complicated. Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA speaks to CBC about conditions in LTC homes.

LEARN MORE >

BBC - July 8, 2020
BBC - July 8, 2020

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, joined the BBC to discuss COVID-19 in long term care in Canada

Learn More>

 
Featured
CTV News - June 25, 2020
Jun 30, 2020
CTV News - June 25, 2020
Jun 30, 2020

Study on COVID-19 Long Term Care deaths discussion with Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA.

Learn More>

Jun 30, 2020
The Globe and Mail - June 25, 2020
Jun 30, 2020
The Globe and Mail - June 25, 2020
Jun 30, 2020

81% of COVID-19 deaths in Canada were in long-term care – nearly double OECD average

By: Kelly Grant

Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA in Toronto, said the same pattern held true within Canada. “The standout province in Canada has been B.C.,” he said. The government there acted early to protect long-term care homes and it has had far fewer outbreaks and deaths than central Canada as a result, Dr. Sinha said.

Learn More>

Jun 30, 2020
The Wall Street Journal - June 24, 2020
Jun 30, 2020
The Wall Street Journal - June 24, 2020
Jun 30, 2020

Coronavirus Lays Bare Poor Conditions in Canada’s Nursing Homes

By: Paul Vieira

“This is a huge black eye” for Canada, said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research and co-chairman of Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing. He said policy makers’ inaction to address nursing-home shortcomings—most notably funding for staff—“helped sow the seeds of the tragedy we have been witnessing.”

Learn More>

Jun 30, 2020
Global News Health IQ - June 22, 2020
Jun 30, 2020
Global News Health IQ - June 22, 2020
Jun 30, 2020

“From what we know right now, older people are the most susceptible to dying from COVID-19,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA in Toronto. “So for this person who’s 75 and older, you know, she’s got about an eight per cent risk of dying if she got COVID-19,” he said.

Learn More>

Jun 30, 2020
CTV News Your Morning - June 19, 2020
Jun 29, 2020
CTV News Your Morning - June 19, 2020
Jun 29, 2020

Lessons learned from COVID-19 and sharing research from the National Institute on Ageing.

Learn More>

Jun 29, 2020
CTV News – June 18, 2020
Jun 19, 2020
CTV News – June 18, 2020
Jun 19, 2020

Ontario Long-term care visits resume

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, joined CTV news and says that Ontario long-term care home visit restrictions are a bit over restrictive.

Learn More>

Jun 19, 2020
Macleans – June 18, 2020
Jun 19, 2020
Macleans – June 18, 2020
Jun 19, 2020

How to fix a national embarrassment

COVID-19 has proven highly contagious and cruelly lethal for elderly patients−characteristics that seem specifically engineered to wreak havoc on nursing homes, as attested by worldwide mortality figures. Yet Canada’s experience has been “uniquely bad,” laments Michael Nicin, executive director of the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) at Toronto’s Ryerson University. “With 82 per cent of all COVID deaths in Canada occurring in long-term care homes, we are unfortunately leading the world in this regard.”

Learn More>

Jun 19, 2020
The Daily Courier – June 18, 2020
Jun 19, 2020
The Daily Courier – June 18, 2020
Jun 19, 2020

Families with elderly loved ones weigh risk of visits

By: The Canadian Press

With COVID-19 cases on the decline, public health officials are relaxing restrictions about who and how many people we can see. But experts warn people need to remain vigilant about visiting the elderly and immuno-compromised people. "Everybody's a bit uneasy because there's a lot of things we don't know right now," said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA.

Learn More>

Jun 19, 2020
Toronto Star – June 17, 2020
Jun 19, 2020
Toronto Star – June 17, 2020
Jun 19, 2020

Desperate long-term care reforms require a big-picture vision

By Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald Contributors Michael Nicin

COVID-19 showed us that maintaining the status quo for LTC in Canada is an unacceptable path. Financial projections by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) show it’s also expensive and financially unsustainable.

Learn More>

Jun 19, 2020
CBC The National – June 16, 2020
Jun 19, 2020
CBC The National – June 16, 2020
Jun 19, 2020

Frustration surrounds visiting restrictions at Ontario nursing homes

The Ontario government has now allowed for limited family visits to long-term care homes, but some doctors say the remaining restrictions are stricter than they need to be, and that is frustrating families.

Learn More>

Jun 19, 2020
Global News – June 12, 2020
Jun 19, 2020
Global News – June 12, 2020
Jun 19, 2020

Long-term care facilities to allow visits, but strict guidelines remain

By: Alicia Draus

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA, says the pandemic has highlighted how important a role families play in caring for their loved ones in long-term care facilities. Sinha says as funding for long-term care facilities has decreased across the country in recent years, family members have been there to pick up the slack.

Learn More>

Jun 19, 2020
Financial Post – June 11, 2020
Jun 12, 2020
Financial Post – June 11, 2020
Jun 12, 2020

Peter Shawn Taylor: Why Canada Needs for Profit Nursing Homes

By: Peter Shawn Taylor

Amid accusations that for-profit long term care is a moral abomination, more thoughtful voices recognize a diversity of outcomes across the entire industry. According to Michal Nicin, executive director of the National Institute on Ageing at Ryerson University in Toronto, “Some of the private homes are doing exceptionally well because they have deeper pockets and much better planning procedures” than non-profits. “It is not clear to me that one class of ownership structure is doing noticeably better than any others.”

Learn More>

Jun 12, 2020
Global News – June 9, 2020
Jun 12, 2020
Global News – June 9, 2020
Jun 12, 2020

More seniors expected to turn to reverse mortgages due to COVID-19

By: Erica Alini

Long-term care settings accounted for more than 80 per cent of the deaths caused by COVID-19 in Canada, according to data from the National Institute on Ageing published in late May.

Learn More>

Jun 12, 2020
Ottawa Citizen – June 9, 2020
Jun 12, 2020
Ottawa Citizen – June 9, 2020
Jun 12, 2020

'It is inhumane': Daughter kept from dying mother's bedside because of limits on long-term care visitors

By: Elizabeth Payne

Dr. Samir Sinha, director of health policy research at the National Institute on Ageing, said there is nothing in the provincial guidelines that limits family members with dying loved ones to a certain amount of time.

Learn More>

Jun 12, 2020
Global News – June 7, 2020
Jun 12, 2020
Global News – June 7, 2020
Jun 12, 2020

Long-term care facilities are the only option for many. What happens when they fall short?

By: Meghan Collie

Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto, agrees — employees need better wages and more benefits. In Ontario, long-term care workers are also not receiving enough masks or the same employment support when it comes to taking sick leave compared to doctors in a hospital, Sinha previously told Global News. This can put more pressure on workers to come in even if they feel unwell.

Learn More>

Jun 12, 2020
CTV News – June 6, 2020
Jun 12, 2020
CTV News – June 6, 2020
Jun 12, 2020

'We've been so blessed': In-person long-term care visits resume in some provinces

By: Jill Macyshon and Solarina Ho

Some experts say the face-to-face visits could be extended further, allowing family caregivers indoor access as well, especially in facilities experiencing staffing shortages. "Making sure that we can make those as safe as possible, because sometimes that lack of care is more deadly if you will … than the virus itself," said Dr. Samir K Sinha, the Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network.

Learn More>

Jun 12, 2020
 CTV News – June 3, 2020
Jun 5, 2020
CTV News – June 3, 2020
Jun 5, 2020

'It can’t be for nothing': Daughter of Northwood resident wants answers after mother's COVID-19 death

By: Natasha Pace

Dr. Samir Sinha, the director of geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the University Health Network Hospitals in Toronto, says the COVID-19 virus preys on seniors. “When we start looking at seniors who are in their 70s, their 80s and 90s, we see death rates of up to eight, 15 and 25 per cent.” Sinha says we now know that older homes that have multi-bedded rooms are more likely to face outbreaks and have significant death counts.

Learn More>

Jun 5, 2020
CTV News – June 3, 2020
Jun 5, 2020
CTV News – June 3, 2020
Jun 5, 2020

Northwood seeks private rooms after COVID-19 tragedy, but will N.S. fund the fix?

By: The Canadian Press

Dr. Samir Sinha, director of health policy research at the National Institute on Aging at Ryerson University, says it's crucial over the next 16 months that large Canadian homes like Northwood move to single-room layouts, even if it requires more government funding. "I hope nobody is haggling over the costs here, especially when so many lives have already been lost," he said in an interview.

Learn More>

Jun 5, 2020
CBC News – June 3, 2020
Jun 5, 2020
CBC News – June 3, 2020
Jun 5, 2020

Conservative leadership candidates pitch fixes for long term care

By: Catherine Cullen

"I think [Canadians will] expect more from their Conservative candidates and they'll expect more from any government that wants to be in charge of their future," said Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the University Health Network Hospitals in Toronto.

Learn More>

Jun 5, 2020
iPolitics – June 2, 2020
Jun 5, 2020
iPolitics – June 2, 2020
Jun 5, 2020

More than 1/3 of Ontario LTC facilities report increases in worsening pressure ulcers, chemical or physical restraint use

By: Victoria Gibson

Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics for Toronto’s Mount Sinai and University Health Network hospitals, called the phenomenon “a tale of two stories” — something he believes underscores a need for national, home-by-home data across Canada. “We can only improve on the quality of care that we’re delivering at each individual home if we actually know what each individual home is doing,” Sinha said.

Learn More>

Jun 5, 2020

 

summer2
summer1
New Page
 

National Institute on Ageing
Ted Rogers School of Management
Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University)

350 Victoria St.
Toronto, Ontario
M5B 2K3
Canada 

Contact Us

info.nia@torontomu.ca