Connecting Oakville Seniors with the Care They Need to Live Independently

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Ontario is helping more seniors maintain their strength and recover from illness or injury so they can continue to live more independently.

The province is investing more than $1.7 million over three years in the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) to help seniors with complex medical conditions who have experienced a recent loss of strength or mobility. Local investments include:

  1. Halton Healthcare Services – Oakville-Trafalgar Hospital – Step Up Program
  2. Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre – Rapid Recovery Program
  3. Cooksville Care Centre – Enhanced Restore

Thanks to this investment, Oakville seniors will get the support they need as they recover after an injury or hospital stay. By helping seniors regain their strength and mobility after an injury or illness, we’re helping more seniors live independently and remain active in their community.

This is part of a $40 million province-wide investment that will enhance rehabilitative services and programs including:

  1. Comprehensive risk assessment programs in the community
  2. Hospital day programs and outpatient and community clinic services
  3. Access to short-stay hospital rehabilitation programs
  4. Supports for seniors in their home and community after a stay in hospital

These services will help frail seniors who are at a high risk of losing their ability to live on their own as a result of an injury or prolonged hospital stay. The increased supports will help them regain the physical strength and conditioning necessary to return home and live independently.

“We are honoured to receive this funding, which not only recognizes Halton Healthcare’s excellence in geriatric care but also enables us to continue to provide our frail elderly patients with critical restorative ambulatory programs and support them with a more seamless continuum of care as they transition home from the hospital.”— Denise Hardenne, President and CEO, Halton Healthcare Services

This investment will also help support families and caregivers, help seniors avoid emergency department visits, and reduce the need for hospital admissions or placement in long-term care homes.

Improving health outcomes for seniors is also part of the government's plan to build a better Ontario through its Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care, which is providing patients with faster access to the right care, better home and community care, the information they need to stay healthy and a health care system that’s sustainable for generations to come.

Quick Facts

• About 150,000 individuals, or about eight per cent of all seniors living in the community, have multiple chronic conditions or complex care needs that may lead to hospital stays.

• For frail seniors, extended bed rest during a hospital stay can cause more rapid loss of muscle strength and flexibility than in younger people.

• Ontario is investing $156 million annually to support enhanced access to physiotherapy, and exercise and falls prevention services to more than 200,000 additional seniors and eligible patients.

• The Rapid Recovery Program is an innovative program designed to provide enhanced rehabilitation services in patient’s homes to enable a safe and timely discharge from hospitals.

• The Enhanced Restore Program is a dedicated 26-bed short stay unit that offers specific restorative and rehabilitative care with an interdisciplinary approach to program goal development and discharge planning. It is designed to address the care needs of frail elderly who are at risk for long-term care placement or acute care admission, and supports adults to continue living independently at home.

• “Step Up” is an outpatient program designed to provide ongoing rehabilitation therapy to assist elderly patients in a successful transition back to the community following a hospital admission. This program enables an earlier discharge and reduced stay at the hospital.