Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Assisted-Living Services Help Seniors at Home
Feb. 2012 - Seniors in the Champlain region are
benefitting from a new assisted-living program that helps them maintain their independence. Funded by
the Champlain LHIN and operated by various community agencies, services include
homemaking, personal hygiene, care coordination, security checks, and a 24/7 on-call service.
The aim of the program is to increase health services for seniors in their own homes. This relieves pressures on hospital emergency rooms. It also prevents premature admissions to long-term care
homes, freeing these beds for people who need them the most.
“I don’t feel I ever want to go into a nursing home,” says
George Girard, 79, who has angina and
suffered a stroke that weakened the left side of his body. He and his 77-year-old wife Shirley, who is
being treated for cancer, are clients of the assistedliving program coordinated by Bruyère Continuing
Care and operated on a day-to-day basis by VHA Health & Home Support.
The couple resides in a cozy apartment in Orléans.
They receive 16 hours of services every week from
personal support workers who help with laundry,
vacuuming, and bathing, among other tasks.
“They’ve changed my whole life,” says Mrs.
Girard, who was referred to the program after being admitted to hospital. “You can’t describe
what they do for you, because they just do so
much.” Family and neighbours also often drop by
to chat or help with errands such as collecting
groceries. The couple says that without the
assisted-living program, they’d be in a long-term
care home.
In the Champlain region, 370 clients have received
assisted-living services since the program began
last year, up from
166 six months ago.
Early results show
that clients in the
program – even
though they are
generally more ill –
visit the emergency
room less often than
seniors who are not
enrolled in the
program. By 2013,
more than 500
clients will be accessing assisted-living services in
the Champlain region at any one time. Clients are
referred to the program by the Champlain
Community care Access Centre.
Johanne Forget, coordinator of the Bruyère
assisted-living program, says the program works
because it is flexible enough to match the unique
needs of each individual client. “I make sure I
know as much as I can about services in the
community to help maintain people at home,” she
says. Mrs. Forget coordinates the clients’ general
care, conducting assessments of newly referred clients, and also responding to urgent calls offhours.
The Bruyère program currently has 51
clients on its roster.
The assisted-living program is just one of the
transformative initiatives the Champlain LHIN has
recently put in place.
“Seniors want to stay independent for as long as
possible, and the LHIN works with other
organizations to make that happen,” says
Champlain LHIN Interim CEO Chantale LeClerc.
“We want to ensure seniors transition from one
area of the health system to another in a seamless
manner, especially when discharged from hospital
after an acute illness. The program is an example
of how the LHIN is creating healthier, more caring
communities.”
A number of agencies are coordinating assistedliving
programs funded by the LHIN across the
region:
- Barry’s Bay and Area Senior Citizen Home
Support
- Bruyère Continuing Care (Ottawa)
- Canadian Red Cross (Cornwall)
- Grove Nursing Home (Arnprior)
- Hawkesbury & District General Hospital
- Mills Community Support Corporation
(Almonte, Carleton Place)
- Montfort Renaissance (Ottawa)
- Ottawa West Community Support Services
- Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre
(Ottawa)
- Personal Choice Independent Living (Ottawa)
- Renfrew Victoria Hospital
- Williamsburg Non-Profit Housing Corp.
Source: Champlain Local Health Integration Network
Email: champlain@lhins.on.ca
Website: www.champlainlhin.on.ca
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