October is Community Support Month
TORONTO, Oct. 1, 2014 /CNW/ - As Community Support Month in Ontario kicks off, clients and care providers have one message to deliver: Home and Community Services are critical in helping family caregivers and supporting seniors and persons with physical disabilities to remain in their own homes. There is a need to increase these services to meet the current demands, with wait lists and the growing demand for services.
October is the time to celebrate Community Support across the Province. It is our time to profile and thank the dedicated staff and volunteers of our community support agencies who deliver critical services to frail seniors, persons with disabilities or debilitating chronic diseases and their families.
Community Support agencies provide a wide variety of services such as attendant care, adult day programs, Meals on Wheels, respite for family caregivers, personal care and home support, transportation to medical appointments, home care and supportive housing programs just to name a few.
The unsustainability of the growing health budget is a concern for government and Ontarians alike; by supporting a strong and robust home and community care sector, the government gets better value for the dollars they spend. Home and Community Support Services are the key to a sustainable healthcare system.
Community Support agencies are working with their partners; the Local Health Integration Networks, Community Care Access Centres and other health care providers to integrate care for Ontarians. Their services help alleviate backlogs in emergency rooms and get people out of hospital beds and back home with programs that help them manage their chronic diseases, and reduce demand on long-term care homes and acute care health services.
"The demand for community support continues to grow as our population ages. For too long we have had a healthcare system that is reactionary and focused on institutional care. There is a time and place for that type of care but there is also a need for services that allow people to take ownership, celebrate their independence and be supported where they want to be in order to live the best lives they can" said Deborah Simon, CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association.
Here are the specific days for the month:
| October 5 – 11 |
Meals on Wheels Week |
| October 8 |
Congregate Dining Day |
| October 12 – 18 |
Adult Day Program Week |
| October 15 |
Client Intervention and Assistance (CIA) Day |
| October 19 – 25 |
Supportive Housing Week |
| October 22 |
Attendant Services Day |
| October 23 |
Transportation Day |
| October 24 |
Respite Services Day |
| October 27 |
Friendly Visiting/Telephone Reassurance Day |
| October 28 |
Hospice Services Day |
| October 29 |
Home Help/Maintenance Services Day |
| October 30 |
Elderly Persons Centres Day |
About OCSA
The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) is the voice of the home and community support sector. Across the province each year, more than a million people receive home care and community support services such as in-home nursing, therapy and personal support, Meals on Wheels®, adult/Alzheimer day programs, transportation to medical appointments, respite for family caregivers, supportive housing and attendant services for persons with disabilities. These services are important, cost-effective measures that prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization.
More information can be found at www.ocsa.on.ca.
Image with caption: "Ontario Community Support Association (CNW Group/Ontario Community Support Association)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141001_C2213_PHOTO_EN_6176.jpg
SOURCE: Ontario Community Support Association
To arrange an interview or for more information please contact: Amanda McGoey, Director of Policy and Communications, Ontario Community Support Association, 416-256-3010 x- 232 - office, 647-526-3771 - cell, [email protected]
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