co-housing and dementia villages: social innovations offer alternatives for long-term care

covid-19 has amplified  existing cracks in the long-term care (ltc) system in canada . we need socially innovative solutions to help seniors age safely and with dignity.

from  co-housing  to  community paramedicine programs ,  home-based primary care  to publicly funded  dementia villages , there is hope on the horizon.

to better understand the challenges of the ltc system in canada, i  interviewed stakeholders involved in approaches attuned to individuals’ needs at different stages of aging — all of which are socially innovative.

senior co-housing

one of the goals outlined in the  national institute on ageing’s national seniors strategy  is to help seniors stay active, engaged and maintain their independence. but many seniors struggle  finding suitable housing  — especially affordable housing.

while retirement homes exist, for many  the costs are out of reach  — so  some are choosing co-housing .

louise bardswich is a retired college dean and  co-owns a home in port perry, ont.  she and three other women  pulled their resources together to build a shared home .

while $1,100 is not affordable for everyone, its considerably cheaper than a ltc facility in ontario — the long stay semi-private option is  $2,280.04 per month .

co-housing can be difficult due to zoning bylaws but legislation put forth in 2019  called the golden girls act , named after bardswich and her fellow co-owners, aims to make it easier for seniors to create co-housing.

community paramedicine programs

an integral part of supporting older adults to continue living safely in their homes is ensuring that they have access to the services they need. one innovative example is  community paramedicine programs . these  programs use existing trained emergency medical personnel to provide primary health care  to people who may have a difficult time leaving the home to see a doctor.

jc gilbert is the deputy chief in charge of operations at the county of simcoe paramedic services. in the five years since the launch of its  community paramedicine programs , gilbert says there’s been a positive  impact on patient’s overall well-being  and reduced emergency calls. “we’re seeing people able to cope with their illness much better at home.”

the ontario ministry of health currently funds  the development of community paramedicine programs  across every region of ontario.

home-based primary care

house calls  is a primary health care practice for home-bound seniors living in toronto, led by dr. mark nowaczynski and  sprint senior care .

dr. nowaczynski explains that  seeing people at home gives health practitioners the ability to gain a more holistic understanding of a patient’s health and well-being  that is not possible during an office visit. the level of care he and his team provide  can prevent hospitalizations and admissions to nursing homes.

dr. nowaczynski estimates that in toronto there are 100,000 to 150,000 seniors who would benefit from  home-based primary care . between house calls and other programs, “we’re probably meeting the needs of not even two per cent of that population. so, we are barely scratching the surface and the consequences of that are that there’s a large population of seniors who are receiving inadequate ongoing care.”

making it  possible for people to age at home has been shown to reduce the reliance on the health care system and be cost effective . some countries have even shifted more of their health-care budget to community and home-based care. denmark spends 36 per cent of its ltc funding on care in designated buildings (like nursing homes), and the rest on home and community-based care.

in canada, only  13 per cent of its ltc budget goes to home and community-based care .

dementia villages

dementia villages  are communities of care designed to give their residents freedom and choice within a safe and supporting environment.

the first dementia village in the world opened in 2009 in the netherlands.  the hogeweyk  is an intentionally designed village with 23 houses for 152 seniors living with dementia. the village has a bar, restaurant, theatre, grocery store, streets and gardens for residents to use and enjoy.  it is publicly funded and runs on a budget comparable to conventional nursing homes .

providence living in partnership with island health  will open canada’s first publicly funded dementia village care model in comox, b.c.  with construction starting this year, it will feature smaller households that support freedom of movement, access to nature and connection with the community.

this article is republished from the conversation under a creative commons license. read the original article.

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co-housing and dementia villages: social innovations offer alternatives for long-term care

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