There’s No Place Like Home
What would you do if you or someone you love had a sudden need for help with normal daily activities? This need may arise because of a disability or because of aging. You might need help with housekeeping, food preparation or even basic personal hygiene or dressing. Would you even know where to start to look for this kind of help?
Happily, there are resources available to help those in need of care right in their own homes. If you live in the province of Ontario, one of the best places to start is your local Community Care Access Centre (CCAC). The CCAC system is funded by the provincial Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC), and its role is to provide home care and to coordinate care in your community. The CCAC provides some services free of charge, and it can also supplement the services you already have available.
You can find your local CCAC and find out what services are available by going to their website: http://www.ccac-ont.ca/ .
You can also do a keyword search for care at http://www.310CCAC.ca , or you can phone 310-CCAC (or 310-2222), using your local area code in Ontario.
There are numerous advantages to receiving home care (as opposed to institutionalized care), such as:
- allowing for more individualized care and treatment
- reducing exposure to outbreaks of infectious diseases
- allowing more independent living
- reducing monetary costs to the family
- keeping families together
Unfortunately, home care will not be enough to meet every person’s needs. People with advanced or complicated health problems may need to receive care in an institutionalized setting. Perhaps the best way to determine if a person is a good candidate for home care is to have an in-home evaluation by an occupational therapist (OT). This can be arranged through your local CCAC in Ontario. An OT will do a functional assessment to see how much help you need, and a safety assessment to see if you can live safely in your environment.
Another way that people can access home care is through their family doctor. And of course if you’ve been hospitalized and need home care upon discharge, hospital staff should be able to help you to coordinate home care.
Looking at the demographics of North America, as our population ages the need for care for the elderly will continue to grow. Since resources for institutionalized care are limited, home care will be crucial for the care of the elderly in the future.
Finally, it makes sense to plan early for your future care needs. Discuss with your family and your doctor what your home care options will be, so you can be better prepared if the need arises.
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Dr. Karl’s Take Home Message:
1. Home care allows those who need assistance because of a medical condition to live more independently, to receive individualized care, to avoid institutional outbreaks, to keep families together, and to reduce costs for families.
2. In Ontario your local Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) can provide home care services, and coordinate community services for you
3. To find out if you are a good candidate for home care, an occupational therapist (OT) should do a functional assessment and a safety assessment.
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