Frequently Asked Questions

At-home care is health care that is provided in the comfort of a person’s home or place of residence. This care can be hourly or in the form of live-in care. We offer in-home care so that our Clients can age in place in a space that is safe and familiar to them alongside all of their personal belongings and sources of support. Home care can be scheduled health care services that are provided in a person’s home, as well as live in care where a caregiver lives alongside a Client to provide them with the support they need on a day to day basis.

The reality is that every Client will have different care needs, which impacts the cost of our care services. Contact us at any time to book a consultation so that we can provide you with a personalized quote. Home care services are not only safer, but also are often more affordable than long-term care facilities. At Integracare Home Care, we pride ourselves in offering the highest quality home care and live in care.

People utilize in-home care for a variety of reasons. People commonly utilize at-home care due to:

• Disability
• Injury
• Long-term health conditions
• Age-related and personal support needs
• Alzheimer’s & dementia care
• Conditions impacting mobility
• Consistent care needs
• Desire to age in the comfort of their own home
• Palliative care & more.

There are many benefits to receiving home care. At-home care allows individuals to age in place in the comfort of their home, receive customized and personalized care in an atmosphere that is familiar to them, and maintain closeness to their personal belongings, family, and pets.

In-home care refers to the periodic health care provided on an hourly basis in home when needed by an individual, whereas live-in care is the care provided by a caregiver who lives in an individual’s home to assist them with day-to-day activities such as ADLs. At Integracare Home Care, our caregivers provide a variety of home care services including live-in care.

Home health care can provide a wide range of services depending on the service an individual has chosen and their unique needs. At Integracare Home Care, home care can also include live in care, palliative care, wound care, physiotherapy, massage therapy, and more.

To arrange care with Eldercare Home Health, contact us today! Give us a call at 416-482-8292, send us an email at info@eldercarehomehealth.com, or fill out our form online and we will get back to you right away.

Integracare Home Care has been in the in-home care industry for three decades. Since its inception, our home care agency has been committed to providing the highest quality of service. We provide a high level of training to all of our compassionate and experienced caregivers to ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to provide a premium level of service for our Clients.

You can call us at any time. The earlier the better. Unlike almost any other care provider, we always try to see our clients before we start providing care.If you can give us a few days notice that usually works best. It gives us a chance to do a detailed assessment and gives the family a chance to meet us and ask any questions that may come up.We take a holistic approach to providing elder care, and there are many details need to be attended to in order to ensure a positive outcome. One of the most important is having a good client – caregiver match. Allowing for the time needed to make a detailed assessment and to meet the client and family means we are that much further ahead in being able to make the best possible caregiver match.

That said, sometimes it unavoidable and we are called in at the last minute.

In those situations we ask for as much information as can be provided over the phone. We then arrange care and one of our Nurse Supervisors, a Registered Nurse specializing in Gerontology, goes out to meet the client at the first opportunity.

The assessment is performed by one of our Nurse Supervisors, a specialist in Gerontology. The Nurse meets with the client and usually the family. When appropriate she will also meet with the hospital team, the Doctor, Physiotherapist, etc. to discuss care requirements and objectives. A thorough medication review is also performed.If a client is returning home from the hospital, the Nurse Supervisor will usually go to the home, assess it for safety and accessibility, and where necessary, make recommendations for changes intended to help make the return home as comfortable and safe as possible.There is no charge for the initial assessment.

Yes. We often find that families want, or need supplemental care.Hospitals, much as they may like to, often are not able to provide the level of care our clients are comfortable with. We work with the hospital staff to ensure that our clients receive the level and quality of care they expect, and are entitled to.Retirement homes are not usually equipped to care for clients who need significant levels of care. We help by providing the care required, which enables clients to remain in a setting they are comfortable with.

For clients returning home from the hospital, we often start off providing anywhere from 8 hours to 24 hours of care per day(depending on the situation). Once everyone is settled and a routine has been established it’s not unusual for us to actually recommend a reduction in hours of care.

Client’s care needs often change during the time we are with them. Some of our clients are with us for a very short period of time, usually to help them recuperate after a fall, surgery or an illness. We also have many long term clients who have been with us for a number of years. Making sure the appropriate amount of care is provided as their needs change, is part of our responsibility.

The minimum number of hours for a single shift is 4. We provide care up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We can almost always work with Homecare (The Community Care Access Center or CCAC) to come up with a scheduling solution that makes the most sense for everyone. A number of our clients have actually come to us through Community Care Access Centers.

Everyone is different. Some clients only require 4 hours every other day for a few weeks, others need care 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

It depends on a number of factors: the client’s health, the client’s level of activity and expectations, family support available and, if they’re not at home, the environment (nursing home or hospital, and what kind of care they are able to provide).

Our clients range from their early 60s right up to just over 100 years old. Most of our clients are in their 80s and 90s

We believe that providing a care solution is about helping people feel happy, safe and comfortable. It means taking the time to match the right caregiver(s) to the client, that the environment the client is, or will be living in is as safe and comfortable as possible. That their medication is appropriate, that their needs are taken care of. That someone is listening and will respond should they have any questions or concerns. And ultimately, for you, it means peace of mind.

All applicants are interviewed on site, in our offices. All applicants have their references checked and credentials reviewed.

Most of our staff are prepared at the Personal Support Worker (PSW) level. Many of our staff are Nurses and Doctors in the countries from which they came.

We look for people who are genuinely interested in working with the elderly and have the qualifications to do so. She looks for individuals who are positive, confident and responsible and who understand the responsibilities associated with working with the elderly.

Because of our demanding hiring process only 10 – 15 % of applicants end up working with Eldercare Home Health on an ongoing basis.

Our staff is hired by us and is on the Eldercare Home Health Inc. payroll. We take care of all government remittances associated with being an employer. All our staff are covered by Workers Compensation. Our goal is to make having caregivers working with you and/or your family as worry free as possible.

All our staff are supervised by a Registered Nurse. The importance of RN supervision when working with elderly clients cannot be understated.

Our RNs have the knowledge and experience that comes from years of working with elderly clients. Our RNs understand medications (medication often has a significantly different affect on the elderly) and their assessment skills are specifically attuned to the often very different situations that the elderly find themselves in.

In addition to regular client contact, an RN is on call 24/7 to caregivers who may find a client’s health status has changed suddenly. They’re also available 24/7 to clients and their families for urgent matters.

An advocate is someone who supports or speaks on behalf of another. Our Registered Nurses are medical professionals. They know what is normal, what to expect, and what can be done. They know how to access the available resources within the healthcare system and how to communicate with other health care professionals to advocate for our clients – to help ensure that they receive the best care possible.

We do everything we can to ensure that our clients receive what we consider to be unmatched value for their care dollars.

We know you’ll find our rates to be very competitive – although it is our feeling that there really are no comparable services available in Toronto (learn why below). Call us at 416 482-8292 for our current rate.

• Unlike most other services, we provide an on-site, no-obligation assessment by a Registered Nurse. We know how difficult it is to decide on the best path when dealing with an unfamiliar situation. Especially when it’s the health of a family member. You want to feel that you’ve made the most informed decision and that you’re doing what’s best.
• We look at the whole picture when arranging care. Yes, the client’s health status is first and foremost, but what are the resources available to the client to help keep them on track? There are many questions and each client has their own specific needs: Are there family members living in the house, or is the senior living on their own? Is there a medicine cabinet full of prescriptions (possibly outdated) and over-the-counter medications that should be reviewed by a pharmacist? What about mobility aids? Would the client benefit from having them, who will arrange for them? Are there any unsafe conditions at home – a client who smokes in bed (unsafe in itself), are smoke detectors in place, are there loose carpets, steep stairways etc.? What kind of physiotherapy is possible, and has it been put in place? Who will be helping the client follow through on the physiotherapy regime and what happens if the client has a setback? What happens if the client falls at night and no-one is home? Is the Doctor involved up to date with respect to the latest medications and treatments for the client’s condition? Often our RN’s are more current than family physicians about the latest drugs and treatments for the elderly because they work with them every day.
• We follow through – we make sure that what is supposed to happen, happens.