Coronavirus has disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable seniors. We need socially innovative solutions to redesign long-term care and help seniors age safely and with dignity.
As people living in long-term care homes brave another lockdown, communication is key and the presence of family members (virtually or through the window) is needed.
We must support disabled people’s call to abolish long-term care and develop a national home care, palliative care and pharmacare system that funds and prioritizes their desire to live in communities.
A study shows the COVID-19 pandemic has made Canadians fear sub-standard and dangerous living conditions in nursing homes. They want home care, and tax policies that will support it.
National policies could improve long-term care, but major party election platforms do not address the pressing needs of seniors in care, even after the catastrophic toll of COVID-19 in care homes.
In the absence of guidelines or training regarding sexual expression in long-term care homes, most staff are ‘just winging it’ on potentially sensitive issues.
The need to transfer 2,500 COVID-19 patients around Ontario, and bring in extra doctors from other provinces, exposes two fallacies about Canada’s health-care system.
Canadians are living longer, but are they living well? The challenges to aging well go beyond the problems in long-term care. Substantial change to Canada’s support service systems is long overdue.
Naturally occurring retirement communities, or NORCs, are unplanned communities that have a high proportion of older residents. They may be critical to finding housing solutions for aging Canadians.
Personal support workers are crucial but under-appreciated in the health-care system. They are often subjected to racism, and they struggle to make ends meet while caring for our most vulnerable.
The stigma that dehumanizes people living with dementia is reflected in the toll of COVID-19 in long-term care. Reforming long-term care must challenge this stigma with a new ethic of care.
COVID-19 public health messages often classify ‘elderly neighbours’ as in need of aid, and overlook the substantial contributions, achievements and resources of older people.