Aging

Togethering as a frustrating, messy yet meaningful journey

For part four of the Togethering Series, Amy reflects on how the pandemic and her mother's heightened and unpredictable home care needs caused her family to come together to take care of each other in seemingly impossible yet profoundly meaningful ways.

Let’s ditch the ‘fear of long-term care’ narrative; instead, let’s uncomplicate aging at home

Instead of focusing on setting or place of residence, the starting point for discussions on long-term care should be understanding individuals’ physical, functional and social care needs.

On mentors: Honouring the legacy of a palliative care specialist

Gone but not forgotten: Darren Cargill honours his mentor in palliative care, Ciaran Sheehan, for National Hospice and Palliative Care Week.

‘We take care of our own’: Shared family values guide Togethering

Stella and Derek are an example of proactive "Togethering." When the couple were expecting their first child, they purchased a home across the street from Stella's parents to stay close. Part two of the togethering series explores how Stella and Derek are considering new ways of "togethering" as Stella's parents require more care.

Togethering in the face of a degenerative disease

After Andrea's father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015, it became difficult for her to provide him care in Toronto from her home in the U.S. Eventually she would have to figure out a shared living space that worked for both of her parents and her and her husband. Read Andrea's story navigating "Togethering" in part three of the series.

Togethering – Exploring housing options and the concepts of care

Togethering is unique for each family. It can take many different forms in where we live, how we support each other and how we transition together as an intergenerational “circle of care.” This introduction to the "Togethering" series explores some housing options built around concepts of care.

The essential role of spiritual care in long-term care

In 2020, Ontario's LTC lockdown policies led to the elimination of religious, recreational, therapeutic and social activities for residents, resulting in a spiritual health crisis in LTC homes. As a front-line occupational therapist, I witnessed first-hand the devastating consequences of the removal of spiritual care.

Episode 32 – Agitation in Dementia and Antiplatelet Therapy after Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Promoting gender equity in healthy aging matters

Longer lives are one of the greatest achievements in medicine. Yet we see a diminished quality of life for many older adults, especially women, due to inequities institutionalized in health care. So how do we de-institutionalize these inequities?

Dementia care in need of province-wide network in MINT condition

Ontario does not have a standardized primary care model for dementia. But for other prevalent health conditions, Ontario has provincial clinical networks. Such a network should be established for dementia care too. Here's why.

COVID-19 fallout an opportunity to fix crisis in care

Sharon Straus is a geriatrician and physician-in-chief at St. Michael’s Hospital, among other leadership roles. We're profiling her as a Pillars of the Pandemic honouree.

Love for grandmother ‘a driving force’ during pandemic

Nathan Stall is a geriatrician and scientist who fought against the heartbreaking toll that the pandemic had on the elderly and those in long-term care. We're profiling him as a Pillars of the Pandemic honouree.

Ontario’s plan to hire 4,000 LTC staff is misguided. Here’s why.

The Ontario government’s plan to invest $260 million and hire 4,000 staff in the long-term care sector is yet another ineffective attempt to solve the crisis of the PSW shortage without addressing the bigger issue: retaining the folks in these positions.

Let’s invest in helping more seniors stay at home – and stay active

As the percentage of elderly Ontarians increases, we should spend more of our tax dollars not on care homes, but rather community-based services that will help seniors age at home.

Healing through community: Reflecting on collective grief from COVID-19

We are grieving loss of life on a mass scale at a time when pandemic restrictions have disrupted our customary death rituals and traditions. Could an initiative called The Reflection Room help LTC residents and others cope with their grief?

Integrating care to fill the gap for seniors’ physical, mental health

Mental and physical health are often treated separately, even though they're closely linked. That disconnect can be even worse for seniors, whose care is often fragmented to begin with. But one program is trying to change that.

‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure’: Hospitals slow to recognize increasing number of dementia patients

In our hospitals, we have no systems in place to identify people living with dementia, measure how many there are or how their dementia impacts our care. And hospitals are not implementing programs to improve.

Preventing violence against older women: A time for action

There is an epidemic that is often overlooked that has gotten worse during COVID-19 – the abuse and neglect of older adults, particularly older women.

Seniors with dementia in LTC homes are using virtual reality to relive their pasts

During the pandemic, elderly people with dementia in long-term care homes have used virtual reality to relive their pasts. Is this dementia care's future?

COVID mortality rate highlights need to re-examine long-term care 

The tragedy of COVID-19 deaths in long-term care homes should catalyze a paradigm shift in Canada’s approach to promoting the health of our aging population.