Area seniors getting a lift

Ontario is funding the purchase of eight new Dodge Caravans for the North West LHIN to help area seniors get to and from medical appointments, wellness programs, and recreational activities like exercise classes as part of the province’s landmark Aging at Home Strategy.
A total of 100 vans across the province, and more than 250 new programs, are part of this $1.1-billion initiative to help seniors live healthy, independent lives in the comfort and dignity of their own homes.
“Having local transportation services will be a major help to our seniors,” said Gwen DuBois-Wing, CEO of the North West LHIN. “It will make a significant difference in the delivery of health care to seniors, especially those living in rural areas.
“The new vans will support seniors to access medical appointments and receive the care they need when they want it,” she stressed.
“There has been a huge need for safe, affordable, and accessible transportation so that seniors can get to medical appointments, as well as to programs designed to prevent and treat health issues,” noted Sharon Sidlar, a retired seniors’ health care manager in Thunder Bay.
“This is truly exciting news for seniors and for our communities.”
“By making it easier for seniors to access vital health and wellness services in our community, we are helping to ease pressures on our hospitals, particularly emergency rooms,’ said Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Michael Gravelle, who also is the minister of northern development and mines.
“I am delighted that these new vans will help seniors in our community age at home with the dignity and independence they so deserve.”
The eight vans in the North West LHIN, being placed in six communities across the region, will provide more than 11,000 rides for seniors across Northwestern Ontario to and from medical appointments this year.
Altogether, the new van fleet will provide 135,000 rides for seniors across Ontario.
Ontario’s Aging at Home Strategy is a four-year, $1.1-billion initiative launched in 2007.