We do! We are excited to share that we have been invited to partner with Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) and other aging-in-place partners across Canada. Together, we’re implementing innovative practices to delay admission to long-term care, prioritizing safety, health and overall quality of life improvements. Our shared goal is to reduce emergency department visits, support care partners and optimize the use of health and social care resources.
We are proud to be one of the 26 organizations invited to participate in the Enabling Aging in Place initiative.
“It was exciting to get the news that we were selected for this program.” said Emily Ballinger, Program Coordinator. “We are always happy to be able to improve our services. We are grateful to Toni Surko for taking the lead on the application process.”
This $15K funding that comes with Phase 1 will allow HHNL to extend their programming to a weekly Day Hospice starting in May in Carleton Place for current clients.
Evidence shows that one in 10 people who enter long-term care potentially could have been cared for at home with formal support. However, lack of information and navigation support, limited mobility and transportation, geographic disparities and other barriers make it difficult for many older adults to be supported to age in place.
Enabling Aging in Place (EAIP) brings together health and social service organizations from across the healthcare continuum to implement promising practices that are delaying entry to long-term care. The collaborative aims to improve safety, health and quality of life outcomes, while also reducing emergency department visits, lessening demands on care partners and making better use of health and social care resources.
How the collaborative works
The collaborative will be delivered in two phases. Phase 1 teams receive support to create an implementation and evaluation plan. This helps them develop a sustainable aging in place program that builds on the strengths of individual communities and responds to the local needs of older adults and their care partners.
Program goals
The overall goal of HEC’s Enabling Aging in Place Collaborative is to support the teams in the EAIP Collaborative to implement and evaluate promising practices that enable aging in place, with and for older adults and their care partners, through enhanced services and improved access to, and navigation of, services in a patient-centred manner.
Photo: Emily Ballinger, HHNL Program Coordinator and Toni Surko, former Director and lead on this initiative were invited to an in-person Enabling Aging in Place workshop in Toronto on February 8 and 9, 2024. They report that it was a valuable and exciting experience.
