Heather Latter
An assisted living program has been operating here since March and spots are still available.
“We’re funded to service 12 individuals who reside either in Green Manor or Rose Manor, and right now we are sitting at nine,” noted Stephanie Weir of Community Support Services Fort Frances, who works out of a unit at Green Manor.
It was announced earlier this year that 12 spots would be funded here by the North West Local Health Integration Network while Atikokan received six more in addition to the seven it already had.
“We finally received the funding in the middle of February,” said Brenda Wood, manager of Community Support Services for Rainy River District Home Support.
“We were to be up and running by March 31 and we had three clients on by then,” she noted.
Currently there is room to serve three more individuals in Fort Frances and one in Atikokan. But it’s hoped there will be another 12 spots here next year, as well as some possibly in Emo down the road.
Weir acknowledged there have been some misconceptions about the program.
“The assignment of assisted living of an individual is to the individual, not to a unit,” she explained.
“So as that person moves or doesn’t need the service, that assignment can move to someone else who lives in another unit.
“Some people have a misconception that units have been retrofitted or something done to it,” Weir added.
“But really we bring the service to the individual,” Wood clarified.
Weir said they would like to have all 12 spots filled here by the end of September or mid-October.
There are several ways clients have become part of the program—some have stepped forward themselves while for others, it was their families who showed an interest.
Weir said the person has to undergo an assessment through Community Care Access Centre to determine whether they are eligible.
“CCAC kind of works the door to the program,” she noted. “So they decide who is eligible and who is not.
“Once they deem you eligible, that’s when we pick up the torch and put you on the program.”
Weir noted the program is subsidized and therefore costs about $120-$150 a month.
“But that includes a ‘Lifeline’ service that costs $50 a month,” she indicated, adding a lot of people already have that service.
“So when they come into this program, they eliminate that $50 payment but they have a new $120-$150 payment,” Weir remarked.
“It’s a lot more affordable and a great value.”
What the individual receives for that payment is based on their needs—needs that are identified through their assessment with the CCAC.
“Everybody gets a personalized care plan that they have input in creating,” Weir explained.
“You do have to have some level of independence to be on the program.”
But Weir said they help with everything from light housekeeping, meals, laundry, and bathing to medication reminders, keeping track of appointments, and wellness checks.
“Everybody is different,” she stressed. “Some people like to do their own laundry and they are still good with their own meals.
“So for those people, maybe they just need the wellness check or a med reminder.”
Weir said each individual receives a personal schedule of what to expect, such as the times someone is going to be here, give or take 20 minutes in case something happens with the previous client.
There also is a phone number on the bottom that they can call so they can always have a direct line.
Staff are available to respond to any calls for assistance from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. But someone actually is on-site from 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 3-7 p.m.
“So the response time in the lulls would be 10-15 minutes, whereas the response times when someone is on-site would be just minutes,” Weir noted.
“Then from 10 p.m.-8 a.m., that’s where if they were to need assistance or medical help, they have their ‘Lifeline’ button.”
“And ‘Lifeline’ would dispatch their contact for after 10 p.m., plus we would be notified by ‘Lifeline’ in case they went to the hospital,” said Wood, noting as the program grows, there will be more on-site workers.
“We are looking to expand 12 more this coming year,” Wood said. “If that happens, it’s definitely a bonus because the more funding we receive, the more service we can provide.
“We see this becoming staffed 24 hours at some point.”
While the apartments at the two manors here have not been retrofitted, Weir’s office within Green Manor has been updated with a walk-in shower to assist clients.
“We did that so that people living in the other units don’t have to redo their bathrooms,” she said.
“It’s a rental for them,” she explained. “They are welcome to redo their bathrooms and make modifications, but it is on their own dime and so it’s not really economical.
“So for those people who can’t or don’t want to, we have one that they can get in and out of really simply,” Weir said.
“If part of your care plan is we help you to do one of your baths, then we can just wheel you up here and use this one.”
Weir added it was a win-win situation to partner with the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board for the space.
“Vacancy was down in the building so bringing the service to this site, it actually bumped up their vacancy,” she remarked.
“And there is still a few units left but not as many as there were.”
Weir also said there are so many benefits to having the assisted living program there.
“Family finds it comforting that someone is always checking on mom or dad,” she noted.
“It’s nice and reassuring for them and for the senior, too, because at first they may not think they need it, it’s hard to let go of any independence as you get older, but once they see how it works, then they are glad to see that face during the day.
“And the time spent with their children now becomes quality time,” she added.
In addition, Weir also operates Home Support Services in Fort Frances, Rainy River, and Emo, so she has access to different programs that also can be beneficial to them.
“It can open the door to other programs and services,” she noted.
Community Support Services will be hosting a grand-opening of the program on Friday, Sept. 25 from 1-3 p.m.
Wood said there will be refreshments, as well as an information session with pamphlets and housing applications on hand.
She noted it’s a good opportunity for local agencies to learn about the program—and for seniors and their families to check it out.
“DSSAB might open up an apartment that’s ready but vacant, so it’s a good opportunity for members of the public who currently live in their own homes to come over meet us and see what a unit looks like,” Weir said.
“Maybe their home is getting a little too big for them or harder to maintain.”
She added the manors are rent geared-to-income but they also have market spaces.
“You don’t have to be in a certain income bracket to live here,” she stressed.
“This has been a long time coming but seniors want to remain living as independent as possible, with some help,” Wood noted.
“That’s what assisted living is all about.”
For more information, call Weir at 274-2244.
