Nova Scotia to do small renovations to help more seniors stay at home

The government of Nova Scotia is starting a pilot program aimed at helping seniors stay at home if they would prefer that over long-term care facilities. 

The initiative, which mirrors a program that started in Boston, is called Capable. It partners older individuals with a nurse, an occupational therapist, and a handyperson who will visit their homes. 

It's among several investments that will inject $28.9 million into the province's continuing-care system.

"For people who want to age in place and stay there longer, we're going to send expert teams in to evaluate them and create a plan to help people stay at home longer," said Barbara Adams, minister of seniors and long-term care.

She said this could have a dramatic impact on the waitlist for those waiting for long-term care, as well as on the number of people who area in hospital but can't go home because they don't have the proper supports in place. 

"As a physiotherapist, I can tell you that one of the number-one reasons people moved into a nursing home was when the family didn't know how to support someone staying at home."

In a news release, the province said $2 million has been allocated to that program, in which three teams will be trained to serve about 300 clients over the next year.

"If there's some minor adjustments that need to be made to the home, rather than having to go through a grant program to make renovations, we will be able to pay for the renovator to make some adjustments to the home, which will allow the senior to stay in the home much longer."

Adams said minor adjustments might include putting rails on a staircase, widening doorways, or doing slight changes to allow a wheelchair into a washroom. 

She said they haven't created a cap yet on how much the province will invest in each renovation. She said the American program offers between $3,000 and $8,000 per home.

Other money announced Thursday will go toward infection control, emergency preparedness and improvements to facilities, among other things.

Long-term care staffing

The release also said $8.1 million of the funding will go to long-term care facilities to help address staffing shortages.

The money will be used to maintain long-term care assistants, which was intended to be a temporary program when it was first established.

"It's to keep the people who are already there, and if there are needs in place to expand that, we want to be able to do that," said Adams. 

Janet Simm, president and CEO of Northwood, said in the release that the funds would help home-care workers as well, so that they can "be more responsive" and their clients can "remain comfortable and safe in their own homes."

The announcement also includes funding for emergency repairs at facilities, home-care safety equipment, clinical administration support for long-term care facilities, and efforts to modernize home-care administration.

About $500,000 will also go to the Atlantic Canadian Red Cross bed loan program, which provides hospital beds to people who need them at home.