Ontario spending over $2.6M on in-home care services in the Thunder Bay area

Organizations that provide caregiver support in Thunder Bay are getting over $2.6 million in extra funding from Ontario as the government looks to redirect hospital patients to more appropriate settings.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland announced the added funding Tuesday morning, with this breakdown:

• $2.5 million for Wesway.
• $90,100 for the Alzheimer's Society of Thunder Bay.
• $50,000 for the City of Thunder Bay's Meals on Wheels program.

The funding, from the Ministry of Health's Alternative Levels of Care and Patient Flow initiatives, is part of the government's $131-million plan to reduce the number of alternative level-of-care cases — where a patient occupies a hospital bed while waiting to be moved elsewhere, such as to a long-term care home.

"The funding will be used … to divert patients by leveraging current community support services. This will enable people to stay at home instead of being hospitalized, and help remove some of the pressures on our hospitals and emergency rooms," Holland said in a news release Tuesday. 

A representative from Meals on Wheels was unavailable for the funding announcement event at Wesway, but provided comments in a news release.

"We are thankful for the additional funding," said program manager Heather Mihichuk. "As the needs of our population increase, this additional funding has allowed us to continue to meet the needs of Thunder Bay's most vulnerable by providing nutritious meals seven days a week."

Giving care to caregivers

Wesway expects to have served more than 1,500 families across northwestern Ontario by the end of this year, said director of services Dana MacMillan. The funding boost from the province will enable the non-profit organization to serve an additional 300 families.

"We're reaching out to those families who don't have other services and supports, and who might otherwise acquiesce to the emergency department or look at a hospital stay for either themselves because they have health concerns themselves, or for their family members," MacMillan said.

Wesway offers a family-directed model of service, which means clients can use the funding in a way that best serves their unique needs, she said.

"Perhaps I'm caring for a child who has some exceptionalities and what would really help me to get a break is if I had a fence in my yard because I would know that my family member could go outside, play, have opportunities to experience the outdoors like any other child," MacMillan said.

"Knowing that fence is there provides me that extra security, that break, knowing that I can get some relief."

She said she's grateful for the recognition of the critical role caregivers play in the health-care system.

"Without our caregivers, our health-care system would truly collapse."

In-home services make big difference

Among the Alzheimer's Society's services is the option for a personal support worker (PSW) to provide in-home activation and respite.

"Whether they like to do puzzles, like to play games, if they need a bit of meal prep — this individual goes in consistently, and she's a familiar face and there's a regular schedule built up with our registered clients," said executive director Pamela Gerrie.

The organization's PSW service helps 20 families and has done more than 200 in-home visits since she started last November, she said. The extra provincial funding will help ease the current wait-list for that service.

According to Gerrie, caregivers spend an average of 26 hours a week looking after loved ones, which is why it's important for them to have access to supports that ease that pressure.

"Caregiving for somebody living with a diagnosis of a dementia is extremely taxing and trying on the care partner when there is no support," Gerrie said.

"Just to be able to allow or let that care partner go out for coffee with friends like they used to, and go Christmas shopping if they need to or just go for a walk — that's truly important to that care partner to keep them healthy."