Senior Forum on the Quality of Publicly Funded Home Care

On Sept. 27, 2014, a community forum was held at Oakville Town Hall to enable seniors and their families to share their experiences relating to publicly funded personal care and support with  the organizations involved in the provision of those services. 
 
This event focussed on the issues faced by seniors with special needs and disabilities, such as Alzheimer’s disease, vision impairment, physical ailments and other challenges. Seniors and their families discussed the issues they face under the current service delivery model and offer suggestions for how their needs could be met more effectively. In addition, families with successful personal care and support experiences were encouraged to share approaches and methods that have worked well. 
 
The driving force behind this event is Pearl Cameron, a senior Oakville resident who received personal care through CCAC for more than 15 years. Cameron who is vision impaired has faced many challenges in securing the care and support that is appropriate for her needs. By organizing this forum, she hopes to provide constructive community feedback to the provincial government so that personal care and support services for all seniors with special needs are delivered effectively.
 
Panelists representing various facets of the health and personal support system, provided brief representations from the perspectives of their organizations and then participated in a constructive dialogue with the audience. Panelists included:
* John Rafferty, National President & CEO, Canadian National Institute, of the Blind (CNIB).
* Mary Burnett, CEO, Alzheimer Society of Hamilton Halton. 
* Caroline Brereton, CEO, Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre (CCAC).
* Lori Paton, Owner, Nurse Next Door. franchise, Oakville
* Mary Gavel, Director of Navigator & Patient Advocacy, iCare Home Health Services.
* John-Frederick Cameron, Moderator, provided a family member’s perspective. 

The objective of this forum was to gather ideas for improving the delivery of publicly funded personal care and support so that the needs of all seniors are met with compassion, dignity and respect. A synopsis of the discussion will be provided to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term care.

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iCare Navigator Resources

iCare Home Health and iCare Navigator endeavour to provide our clients the tools to help meet your varied health care needs. The resources page lists services that are offered by community (private or non-profit), provincial or national agencies and could be accessed separately or in different combinations based on patient and family needs. However we also know that every situations is different, and you may require iCare Navigator services to assess your personal situation! iCare Home Health is pleased to collaborate with other agencies to further enhance the resources offering for the optimum health and wellness of our clients. Nominal service fees maybe applicable for iCare Navigator support services. For more information, please complete and submit the “Contact an Advocate” form on the iCare Navigator page.