Thoughts on reform in long-term care.

The authors, drawing on their experience as administrators at Winnipeg's Deer Lodge Centre, ponder the challenges facing long-term care facilities in light of improving community-supported care, changing resident's needs, and the fragile state of today's health care economy. This article identifies the need for fresh, resident-oriented thinking among administrators and staff in the distribution of power in long-term care facilities, and proposes new social interactions that can enliven and humanize residents' and staff's mutual roles and behaviours.