Caring for Our Aging Parents
What do you do when you are faced with the responsibility of navigating the health care system on behalf of your parent(s)? It can be a daunting task. Here are some resources that might make the process easier for you.
Community Care Access Centres of Ontario (CCAC)
www.ccac-ont.ca
There are 14 CCACs in Ontario. These arm's-length organizations are funded and legislated by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to manage local care, whether it be in the community, at home or within the long-term-care sector.
What does "local care" mean? What does it consist of?
- Personal support: assistance with personal care, bathing, getting dressed.
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational therapy
- Social work
- Speech language pathology
- Nutritional counselling
- Nursing care
- Equipment loans: items such as walkers, raised toilet seats, bath chairs or benches, hospital beds etc. These are usually limited to a 28-day loan period, after which you must make your own arrangements. Your physiotherapist and/or occupational therapist should be able to assist you with this process.
The CCAC contracts out its services to agencies in the community which then provide service to clients in their homes.
You will need a valid OHIP card and a referral from a family doctor to access services through the CCAC.
A case manager/care coordinator will be assigned to your parent. The case manager will make a home visit to assess your parent's needs. The assessment is completed using a computerized assessment tool called the RAI MDS. The case manager will determine the types of services required and will order them through the contracted service providers. Contracted professional service providers (as opposed to personal support services) will report back to the case manager as to the client's progress and need for further services.
This process can be quite confusing, as there can be many individuals involved, depending on how many services are being accessed. Each agency involved will do its own assessment. Each agency will have a primary contact person.
Community Support Agencies - Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA)
www.ocsa.on.ca
Use the OCSA care-finder to locate a community support agency in the neighbourhood where your parent resides, in order to access services such as:
- Meals on Wheels
- Transportation
- Social work: supportive counselling, advocacy, crisis intervention, alternate housing
- Homemaking: light housecleaning, personal support, meal preparation etc.
- Day programs for frail and/or cognitively impaired individuals
- Friendly visiting programs
- Telephone reassurance/security check
- Supportive housing
These community services are supplementary services and are not covered under the CCAC mandate, with the exception of day programs in the York Region area. Thus, they are not coordinated through the CCAC.
For a diagram showing CCAC services and community services, click on the link below:
DISCLAIMER: The
information and documents contained in this section are presented for
information purposes only. The material is in no way intended to
replace professional medical care or attention by a qualified
practitioner, and should not replace treatment or be used as a basis
for self-diagnosis.
If you find information on the site that should be corrected, please contact us.