Aging at Home Strategy by J. Jilks

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Aging At Home Strategy is an investment of $702 million for seniors across Ontario that will provide seniors and their caregivers with an integrated continuum of community based supports to enable them to stay healthy and live more independently in their homes. Locally, the North Simcoe Muskoka region will be allocated more than $13 million dollars in order to develop local solutions to enable seniors to stay in their homes.

The funding may be applied to activities that will increase the overall supply (range and quantity) of services (up to 80%) as well as an opportunity to leverage change through innovation (20%). Provincial objectives include senior centered care/easy to access; ensuring seniors homes support them; supportive social environments; and identify innovative solutions.

Locally, a project team has been developed in order to advise the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network (NSM LHIN) in the planning and development of local innovations and solutions. To date, the project team has reviewed existing relevant literature, and developed themes and categories which formed the basis of the local objectives and directions found in this document.

The Aging At Home Strategy in NSM LHIN will target seniors who are living at high risk in the community.

The following are the four key areas or directions the project team has determined will be the focus of the Aging At Home Strategy:

• System Navigation
• Home Support
• Supportive Living Environments
• Primary Care Initiatives
Embedded into all of these key areas, there will be a focus on transportation and health human resources.

The next steps for the project team are to engage the community to further develop these directions into more concrete priority actions and to communicate to all stakeholders.