York Region will have more seniors than children in 6 years
The Region has seniors strategy, which outlines how to best support the aging population over the next 10 to 20 years
Newmarkettoday.ca
Sept. 30, 2019
York Regional Council received an update on the performance of the Region’s two long-term care homes and implementation of the Region’s Seniors Strategy, which looks at the changing senior population, redefines the Region’s role in serving seniors and sets a collaborative course for action to best support the aging population over the next 10 to 20 years.
“The needs of our population are changing. We know that by 2026 there will be more seniors than children in York Region --the first time this will ever happen in our Region,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson. “York Regional Council is committed to fostering healthy communities that support the changing needs of seniors and to providing the supports where all seniors of different abilities, income levels and health can continue to live, work and age in place.”
Under the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007, the Region must provide its Committee of Management --in this case, Regional Council --with a report on the annual performance of its two long-term care homes, Maple Health Centre and Newmarket Health Centre.
In 2018, the Region continued to deliver exemplary care and services to ensure the safety and comfort of residents, including 532 residents supported through 192 long stay long-term care beds, six short stay respite beds and 34 convalescent care beds.
More than 2,000 adults participated in five Adult Day Programs, receiving support, benefiting from social inclusion and providing their caregivers with respite. The Psychogeriatric Resource Consultant Program also provided over 900 visits to long-term care homes and community service agencies to deliver 1,800 hours of direct service and provide almost 6,000 staff with knowledge and skills to engage effectively with adults and persons living with dementia or cognitive diagnoses.
Both long-term care homes have made several improvements under a new revitalization plan launched in 2018. Improvements include:
- Implementing enhanced dementia care for residents
- Improving clinical care and other supports to strengthen care across a diverse range of needs
- Improving opportunities for communicating and collaborating with residents, families and staff to strengthen trust, engagement and transparency
- Restructuring nursing leadership and registered and non-registered staffing resources with resident care needs
- Introducing new technologies for providing care and expanded online learning opportunities for staff
“The specialized needs and complexity of residents’ care are changing with a high demand for our services. Our long-term care homes continue to deliver exemplary care that meets the unique and diverse needs of residents all while reporting high satisfaction ratings from residents and their families,” said City of Vaughan Regional Councillor Gino Rosati, Chair of Community and Health Services.
York Region’s Seniors Strategy was launched in 2016 in response to the changing needs of a growing population. Pressures in the areas of finance, health, aging in place and staying safe and connected to the community led to the identification of the Region’s four key roles in serving an aging seniors population.
Actions to meet these priorities are well underway, benefiting residents and caregivers:
- Keeping seniors healthier, longer: Piloted seven Nature’s Classroom programs with 121 seniors to provide social networking opportunities, awareness of Regional programs and services for seniors and increased physical activity
- Connecting seniors and their caregivers to the right programs and services at the right times: Developed and distributed 10,000 Personal Medical Information kits for seniors and caregivers to organize their health care information and post on their refrigerators for first responders in case of medical emergencies
- Supporting age-friendly, complete communities: Conducted a needs assessment to identify potential programs and services to be offered through the Unionville Seniors Hub project
- Balancing seniors needs with the needs of all residents: Established income and asset limits for subsidized housing to ensure that the Region’s limited supply of affordable rental housing is accessible to those most in need
The Region recently shared comments with the Provincial government as part of their Seniors Strategy Consultation and is also partnering in the application for two Ontario Health Teams to ensure that seniors’ needs are met in the new health care model.
The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to 1.2 million residents and 52,000 businesses with over 636,600 employees. More information about the Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/regionalservices.
