Supplemental Care for Seniors in Long Term Care Homes (Nursing Homes) in Toronto and the GTA

Eldercare Home Health works with seniors who live in Long Term Care Homes to ensure that they receive the nutrition, hydration and care that they need.

Working one on one means that we can ensure that clients are actually able to consume their meals and receive the nutrition that they require. We work to ensure that proper hygiene is in place and that our Client’s physical needs are met, and we provide socialization and mental stimulus at a level that is appropriate for each individual client.

Long Term Care Homes are designed to provide care for seniors and others who have significant care needs.

Seniors who live in Long Term Care Homes may be physically disabled, suffering from dementia or both. They may be bedridden and/or be unable to feed themselves or take care of their own personal hygiene. They may be prone to wandering, and as a result be on a “locked floor”. They may even be a risk to themselves or others.

Helping you manage

Lisa, thank you. We are all very grateful for what you and your staff did for both our parents. We know how demanding an assignment it was at times. Having Registered Nurses overseeing my father’s care made all the difference – it’s hard to imagine how we could have gotten through the last four years without Eldercare Home Health. If you are ever asked for a reference, please feel free to contact me, although your reputation may make that unnecessary. All the best to you.

~ Florence, client’s daughter

In Ontario, Long Term Care Homes must be licensed or approved by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and are are governed by the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 (LTCHA). Wait lists for specific facilities can be long, as much as two years, and there is no guarantee that the long term care facility most convenient to a Senior and their family is the one that will be offered.

In Long Term Care homes nutrition and hygiene are key. However, staffing ratios of up to 15 clients per caregiver during the day and 20 at night are not uncommon.

Assisting a frail senior who has mobility issues,dementia or Parkinson’s Disease (to name but a few of the possibilities), can be extremely time consuming. Facility staff often find that they are stretched to the limit trying to ensure that the seniors they are caring for receive the nutrition they need and that they are properly hydrated.

Similarly, ensuring that clients, many of whom are incontinent, are kept clean on a day to day basis as well as bathed (Facilities must abide by Ontario Government guidelines mandating clients are bathed two times per week) can also be very challenging.

Clients who are bedridden must be repositioned on a regular schedule or are at risk of developing “bed sores”, which on their own, can be life threatening.

Below are the steps we take when arranging supplemental senior care in Long Term Care Facilities.

Step 1 – During the initial phone inquiry we’ll ask:

• Who you are calling about (friend, relative etc.), their age, recent health issues, mobility, medications, (we currently provide care throughout the GTA) and the name of the Long Term Care facility.
• If there has been a recent physical change such as a rapid loss of weight, a fall(s), surgery, a sudden change in cognitive status etc.
• What your key concerns are and what would you like the outcome to be.
• If the senior requiring care is competent and “on board” – prepared to accept care?
• How soon you want to have care in place. And more.

Most often a Registered Nurse will be available to talk with when you call. If none is available, a Registered Nurse will review the notes taken when you first called, and call you to follow up within one hour.

Step 2 – Assessment by a Registered Nurse:

• If you and the Registered Nurse (see above) agree that it would be helpful to go the next step, a no-charge, no-obligation on site assessment will be arranged.
• The Nurse will often talk with the Director of Care and other healthcare professionals at the site to ensure that she has as complete a picture of the situation as possible.
• This assessment allows the Registered Nurse to meet with the senior requiring care and assess their condition from a Registered Nurse in the community point of View. The assessment also provides an opportunity for you and the family, or anyone else involved in care decisions to have any questions they might have, answered.

Note: All assessments are conducted by a Registered Nurse.

Step 3 – Care plan – proposed by the Registered Nurse:

• The plan will include identifying desired outcomes and the responsibilities of the caregivers.
• The Nurse will propose a schedule for care, including duration and frequency of shifts.
• A Registered Nurse will be assigned to case manage all care. The Registered Nurse will be your key contact person and will be involved with selecting the appropriate caregivers and supervising all care. She will also personally visit the client on a regular basis.
• The Registered Nurse Case Manager will liaise with the client’s Doctor(s), Pharmacist and other healthcare professionals, coordinate the care we provide, and advocate for our client.

There is no added fee for case management by the Registered Nurse.

Step 4 – The care agreement:

• You will be asked to sign a care agreement that, in essence, says that you are hiring us to provide care and have agreed to our rate. There is no additional fee for the involvement of the RN Case Manager.
• You are not locked into a set number of weeks or number of hours per week (although the minimum for an individual shift is 4 hours).
• Invoices can be paid by cheque or electronically through any of the major banks.

Step 5 – The care begins:

• With the agreement signed the Registered Nurse Case Manager will identify caregivers with the appropriate skill set, personality and availability, schedule staff and implement the plan of care.
• You can relax. All our caregivers are employees of Eldercare Home Health. All staff are insured, bonded and covered by WSIB. We handle all payroll, government remittances etc.

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