Long-term care residents will see more regulations around air conditioning and cooling within their homes this summer. Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton made the announcement Thursday, citing this as a step forward for residents comfort and safety. “The new regulations came into effect May 15, and I’m happy to announce that all 626 long-term care homes have informed us that they are in compliance. Last year, nearly 13%, or 79 long-term care homes had no air conditioning at all.” With these new regulations comes the assurance that a “designated cooling area” will be present in every long-term care home. Currently, 60 per cent of homes are fully air conditioned, including resident rooms. This number is an improvement from the 42% we saw last summer. 23% more of the homes in the province are working towards becoming fully air conditioned.