NEWS
Connected to your community
LHIN uses funds to focus on seniors home care, mental health supports
SUBMITTED
Members of the Renfrew County St. John Ambulance Youth Unit who competed at the Ontario First Aid competition in Sudbury pose with the big nickel. In back, from left, are Alma Keuhl, Tyler LeBlanc, Derrick Neadow, Scott Bannister (junior program leader), Danielle St- Amour, Braydan Neadow, Alyssa Black, Courtney White, Jade Rabishaw, Conrad Neadow, Talia Belleau, and Maryse Belleau; and in front Carolyn Picard (coach), John Girard (assistant coach), Miranda Mason (junior program leader), Jessica LeBlanc (assistant coach), Darlene Keuhl (administration), Evan Mohns (Renfrew administration) and Jackie Daniels (branch manager).
Local St. John youth members do well at Ontario competition Lifestyle - The Renfrew County St. John Ambulance Y1235 Youth Unit achieved excellent results when members travelled to Sudbury Nov. 16 for the Ontario Regional First Aid Competition. The Cadet team (ages 11-15) placed second and the Crusader/Adult team (ages 16+) first in their categories. They will now move on to the Toronto Provincial First Aid Competition next
June. The Renfrew County youth units, based in Renfrew and Pembroke but covering the whole area, are always accepting new members. The program is free for youth ages 6 to 18. For more information, contact Carolyn Picard at 613-818-0119 or the local office at 1-800-519-8117.
Lifestyle - Seniors and other residents in the Eastern Ontario are receiving better access to home care and community supports to help them live independently and at home longer. In a news release last Friday, the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) reported that the province is providing more than $23.7 million to boost home care for more seniors and for expanded community health care services, including mental health supports, in the region, which includes Arnprior and area. It is estimated that one in six Champlain residents has a mental health or substance abuse disorder with higher rates among youth and young adults. The investment will “strengthen programs that reduce unnecessary emergency room and hospital readmissions.” Twenty-five programs serving thousands of new clients are receiving new, annual funding. They include: • expansion of adult day programs to provide part-of-theday supervised programming in group settings for dependent adults, such as the frail elderly, individuals with dementia, and
those with disabilities. The investment will serve 156 more people every year; • expansion of assisted-living services for high-risk seniors to provide personal support and homemaking on a 24-hour basis, along with urgent-call response and care co-ordination, with 160 more people obtaining services annually due to the investment; • expansion of the First Link Program, which serves individuals newly diagnosed with dementia, their families and caregivers. The program, which helps people obtain information and connects them with services, will support 704 more people each year; • expansion of the Going Home Program, which enables hospitals and community-based agencies to work together to discharge clients from hospital safely. It provides at-home services to clients for a 10-day period after hospital discharge. The funding will expand the services to reach 750 more clients. LHIN officials point out recent initiatives to improve care for seniors have had a positive impact. In September, seniors in Champlain spent 3,488 fewer
days waiting in hospital for community service, compared to two years previously. The new investment will help advance the LHIN’s Integrated Health Service Plan, with the stated aim of supporting healthy people and healthy communities through a quality, accessible health system. “These are the type of investments that are transforming the health system and improving the lives of individuals and families,” said Champlain LHIN CEO Chantale LeClerc. “The Champlain LHIN is working closely with our partners to expand programs and put in place new initiatives that address the needs of communities across our region. This work is well aligned to our key strategy of building a strong foundation of primary, home and community care.” More than 48,000 people were getting home care last year in the Champlain region, which has a population of 1.2 million people. Over the next 20 years, the population of seniors aged 65 and over in Ontario will more than double from 1.9 million to 4.2 million in 2036.
SAVE $1.00
ON ANY REACH® TOOTHBRUSH
38 Arnprior Chronicle-Guide EMC - Thursday, December 5, 2013